The 2008-09 high school athletics year is in the books and it’s time (drum roll please) to present this year’s Suburby Awards.
There is no hardware attached to these awards. They are unofficial and were arrived at unscientifically. I did not pore over reams of statistics. These calls are made from the hip and based purely on one person's opinion.
My point being: Don’t take them too seriously.
So, without further delay, and in no particular order, here are this year’s winners:
The Picasso Award – Senior pitcher Erick Locker tossed a no-hit masterpiece when Lake Center Christian bested Kidron Central Christian 8-0 in the Division IV district semifinal. The Tigers won the first district title in LCCS history.
Clutch Performance Award – After a narrow loss to Streetsboro at the Portage Trail Conference championship meet, Coventry’s wrestlers gathered themselves to win the sectional title. Nine Comets advanced to districts after a 7-0 mark in PTC Metro dual meets and winning the overall conference title. Junior Randy Henline again placed fifth at the Division II state meet. Honorable mention: Green senior Ben Pollock hit a game-winning jumper to beat state-ranked Barberton.
The Houdini Award – Tuslaw quarterback Shelby Combs. Late in the game, Combs slipped two Manchester tacklers and led the Mustangs on a touchdown drive for a come-from-behind 24-21 PAC-7 football win at James R. France Stadium last October.
AT&T Long Distance Awards – Green juniors Dylan Papp and Kyle Wheeler placed fifth and eighth, respectively, when the Bulldogs placed fourth at the OHSAA Division I cross country state championship race. Papp also won a regional track title in the 3,200 (9:26.67).
Defensive Play of the Year – Coach Tom McBride’s Lake boys’ basketball team blanked Canton McKinley 18-0 after one quarter and won 62-46 at home.
Best Quotes – “A lot of people talk pretty bad about our school, and our school’s really not that bad, at all. I don’t think so. I’m definitely holding the Spartan pride.” – Springfield senior Scotty Cole.
“I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw my name in the paper. It was breathtaking. I never thought I would get anywhere with the sport of bowling.” – Green senior Shannon Brown.
Best 1-2 Punch – Lake High senior wrestlers Scott Mattingly (135) and Zach Cline (145) both are headed to Central Michigan University.
Welcome Back Kotter Award – This is a tossup between Manchester junior Amber Silver and Green junior Kurt Gamby. Both athletes returned to basketball and helped lead their teams to successful seasons in 2008-09. Silver’s best sport is volleyball, while Gamby led the Bulldogs to the Division I state baseball tournament.
The Roller Coaster Award – The football teams at Lake and Green share this award, after staging one of the most exciting openers in recent memory. Trailing 16-0 after one quarter, the Blue Streaks rallied for a 39-30 win at Memorial Stadium. The rivalry resumes Aug. 28 at Lake.
Heartbreak Hotel – Lake girls’ basketball seniors Dana Brown, Jordan Jenkins, and Lauren Myers deserved a better ending to their terrific season (17-5, 7-3). The Blue Streaks lost the Federal League Tournament championship to Canton McKinley and were eliminated in overtime in the district playoffs by Massillon Perry.
Tough Luck Injury – Coventry senior Ethan Wichterman endured more than his share of injuries during his football career. As a junior, Wichterman played with nine screws and a metal plate in his ankle following a car accident. As senior, an assortment of injuries kept him sidelined for much of the season. HM: Lake senior football player Michael Chack and Green senior half-miler Ryan Pinheiro.
The Close Shave Award – Lake Center Christian won its regional baseball semifinal 3-2 in 10 innings and then lost the championship game 3-2 when the Tigers made the final out at third base.
Unsung Heroes – Manchester’s distance duo of sophomore Mike Barber and freshman Kyle Daily. Barber and Daily, running the 3,200, enabled the Panthers to win two dual track meets and tie another. Coach Steve Schaadt: “I couldn’t be prouder of those two guys.”
Most Improved Athlete – This coveted Award also results in a tie: volleyball setter Aubrey Kirvin (Lake) and distance running standout Kyle Wheeler (Green). Setting to a smaller (but super athletic team) in 2008, Kirvin had 38 assists in a playoff loss to Wadsworth as the Streaks finished 18-4. Wheeler was eighth in Ohio in Division I cross country and won the Jackson Twilight Invitational 800 meters (1:57.97). Honorable mention: Green second baseman Jake Deluca.
Best Coaching Job – Green High baseball coach Jon Wallace guided the Bulldogs (25-4) to the Division I state tournament and was selected to coach in the Mizuno Series earlier this month in Chillicothe. Wallace’s teams have won three district titles and one regional crown in the last six years. HM: Coventry wrestling coach Keith Shinn.
Senior Scholar-Athletes – The boys again did a nice job in 2008-09. Jordan Huff (Lake) ranked first in his senior class and was a three-year football letter winner. Huff will be attending The Ohio State University. Three-sport athlete Ben Pollock (Green) ranked second in his class and is headed to Xavier University. Soccer and track athlete Ryan Pinheiro (Green) ranked third in his class and will attend The University of Akron. Soccer all-star Tim Sedgwick (Manchester) was tenth in his senior class and is headed to Otterbein. Springfield’s Kayla Crites (volleyball), CVCA’s Joell Maisano (soccer), and St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Daylen Harrison (basketball captain, state champion) are HM picks.
Senior Male Athlete – This is my toughest pick in five years. My top four candidates are Shane Byler (Lake Center Christian), Kory Hull (Manchester), Nilesh Patel (Springfield) and Ben Pollock (Green). Byler scored 1,000 career points in hoops and was a key performer on the Tigers’ regional runner-up diamond squad. Headed to Mount Union College for football, Hull was a three-sport star for the Panthers and made a major impact in track as a senior. Patel is the WAKR Student-Athlete of the Year, earning first-team All-PTC in baskets and a regional qualifier in track, clocking 50.2 in the 400. Pollock was a senior leader for the Green XC team, which placed fourth in the state, hit two-game winning buckets in basketball and was named to two senior all-star games, and ran a leg on the Bulldogs’ school record-setting 3,200-meter relay team. I’m going with Pollock in a photo finish.
Senior Female Athlete – Green’s Kelsie Ahbe. Although she did not win a third state title in pole vault, Ahbe is the clear-cut choice based on a remarkable career both on and off the field. District championships in soccer, numerous Suburban League, district and regional titles in track, she capped it off by joining the swim team her senior year because: “I needed to do something.” A class act and one of the all-timers at GHS.
Hinkle Named At LCCS
Lake Center Christian School did not have to look far to find a successor to Brad Beun as boys’ basketball coach.
Aaron Hinkle, a nine-year assistant to Mark Kinsley at Green, has taken over the Tigers and hit the ground running. Beun stays on as assistant principal and athletic director.
“It’s about the same distance from my house to Green High School as it is from my house to Lake Center Christian,” said Hinkle, who will continue to teach at Green.
“This is a budding athletic program, with a great administration, surrounded by terrific people with a great mission,” he said. “It’s a good fit.”
Hinkle has several goals for the LCCS program: 1. Build depth, 2. Improve retention of middle school-aged boys who might be inclined to leave and play football at a public high school, 3. Raise the boys’ level of commitment for basketball, 4. Eliminate or at least lessen the financial burden for parents when it comes to skill-building activities for their sons.
Hinkle, a finalist for head-coaching jobs at Kent Roosevelt and Kenston High Schools, was a student assistant coach at Kent State under Gary Waters for two seasons and served one season as junior varsity coach at Streetsboro before coming to Green.
