Elyria’s Tess Sito wasted no time making her mark in college softball.

Sito hit four home runs and had 10 RBIs in five games over the weekend for Cleveland State, earning her the Horizon League Batter of the Week, in just her first week of playing collegiate softball after a stellar high school career.

"I’m really excited," Sito said. "It wasn’t too much different, just a little faster. Batting-wise I felt really good, once I got my first hit."

Sito went 10-for-18 with two doubles, four home runs, six runs scored and 10 RBIs, while also boasting a 1.333 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. She also stole three bases.

"I didn’t expect to do so well," Sito said. "Offensively, I just clicked in pretty good. Once you get your first hit, it really gives you a lot more confidence when you step up there.

"I was just really happy with my offense, but defensively, I really want to prove a lot."

Sito also picked up her first pitching win in her first collegiate start, an 11-6 win over Weber State. She allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings.

"My pitching wasn’t the greatest, but there’s always room for improvement," Sito said. "I’m always ready to learn more. Defensively I wasn’t very sound. I had a lot of fumbles at shortstop, but hopefully I’ll do a lot of practicing and I’ll get better at that."

CSU head coach Angie Nicholson, who is also from Elyria, was more than impressed.

"Tess had a phenomenal week at the plate," Nicholson said through a press release. "She was totally zoned in and made the most of her times at the plate. All four of her home runs were blasts that easily cleared the fence.

"She came into the season with a lot of pressure on her because of her past accomplishments on the field but you would have never known it. She was calm and cool and played like a junior or senior. I look forward to seeing what else she can do during her Viking career."

In just her second game as a Viking, Sito went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, four RBI and a pair of home runs to lead CSU over Weber State.

She saved her best game of the weekend for last. In a 12-8 loss to No. 22 Tennessee, Sito went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and five RBIs. She also had a solo home run in the first, an RBI double in the second, a lead-off home run in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh.

Sito is glad to get off to such a good start and is mostly glad that the nerves are gone.

"Even when we were still in Cleveland and we hadn’t even left yet, I was really nervous," Sito said. "I wasn’t sure if I was even going to play and how I was going to do. Once I stepped on the field the first game, a lot of it went away. It was real exciting, but still nervous at the same time."

For her high school career at Elyria, Sito went 75-9 on the mound with 814 strikeouts in 531 innings pitched. Her senior year, she helped lead the Pioneers to a state championship. At the plate, she batted .470 with 107 RBIs and 143 runs scored. She also stole 46 bases in 48 attempts.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

The Falcons of Notre Dame College believe they have a perfect fit in former Cleveland Indians pitcher Len Barker. NDC Baseball announced today that Barker has been hired as an assistant coach.

The former Tribe hurler and veteran of 11 Major League seasons is the author of one of the most memorable pitching performances in Indians’ history, a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15, 1981.

“Len brings a wealth of experience and professionalism that will be keys in the ascent of Notre Dame Baseball,” Falcons second-year Head Coach Nick Weisheipl said. “In addition, we are very fortunate to have someone as recognizable as Len to help promote the program and the College.”

Barker’s life in baseball has included 20 years of coaching youth baseball. He also coached three years at the Galloway School in Atlanta in the mid-90s. Over the last 10 years, he has operated a private business in northeast Ohio while working part-time for the Indians.

Barker pitched for Cleveland from 1979-83, racking up 56 wins for the Indians. His Major League career began in Texas in 1976. In addition to pitching for the Rangers (1976-78) and Indians, Barker also pitched for Atlanta (1983-85) and Milwaukee (1987).

The 6-foot-5 right-hander tossed his perfect game, one of just 18 in the 135-year history of Major League Baseball, in his third season with Cleveland after having won 19 games and leading the American League in strikeouts, with 187, in 1980.

In his gem against the Blue Jays, Barker struck out 11 batters, all on swinging strikes. He did not go to a three-ball count on any of the 27 batters he faced that evening. At the time, his outing marked the 10th perfect game in history of baseball and the first in the designated-hitter era.

Later in the 1981 season, one which was marred by a 50-day MLB players’ strike, Barker pitched before 72, 0866 Indians fans in the 1981 All-Star Game, played at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. He tossed two scoreless innings in that game, his lone appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

With NDC Baseball, which was instituted in 2005, Barker will be an assistant coach.

“My motivation is to help and teach our young student-athletes and get Notre Dame to a championship,” Barker said.

The Falcons’ season started last weekend; NDC went 3-1 in a four-game series at Pikeville (Ky.). On Feb. 27, Notre Dame’s season continues in Winter Haven, Fla., where the team is slated to play a 10-game tournament schedule against colleges and universities from across the United States.

Barker, 54, resides in Geauga County. He and his family have lived in northeast Ohio since 1997.

Courtesy of Sports Information Director Skip Snow

LCCC head coach Katie Street, right, has turned the women's team around. After going 0-11 last season, the Commodores improved to 10-17 in their first year playing in the OCCAC, which plays in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Lorain County Community College’s Christa Wodarcyzk, a freshman from Columbia, was named the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the week for her outstanding play last week.

Wodarczyk scored a career-high 26 points and led the Commodores to a
75-72 victory over Columbus State Community College. Her free throw sealed the win for the Commodores with 20 seconds to go.


Wodarczyk also finished with 22 points in LCCC's 69-60 loss to Tri-C and she added 16 in a loss to Edison Community College. Over the past week, she has averaged 21 points per game and shot 81 percent from the free throw line.

LCCC ends the season with an overall record of 10-17 and 2-12 in the OCCAC.

Last season, Midview graduate Katie Street took over the women’s basketball program and finished with a record of 0-11. This season the program has taken a large step forward as it competed at the National Junior College Athletic Association level for the first time.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Captains Ariel Brough (left) and Catherine Spisak (right) celebrate

St. Mary’s Catherine Spisak hit a clutch free throw that put Baldwin-Wallace ahead 66-65 with 16 seconds remaining and the Baldwin-Wallace women’s team rallied to defeat cross-town rival and sixth-seeded John Carroll, 68-65 in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The Yellow Jackets (18-8) advance to the OAC final four on Friday in Columbus.
B-W has beaten JCU six-straight times and in 36 of the last 37 meetings to lead the all-time series, 41-19. With its loss, JCU ends its season at 11-14 and on a four-game losing streak.

B-W is back in action on Friday when it plays second-seeded Mount Union College, a 59-56 winner against Otterbein College, in one semifinal game at host and top-seeded Capital University in the Capital Center in Columbus at 7:30 p.m. Capital hosts Ohio Northern University in the other semifinal match. The 2010 OAC Women’s Basketball Championship Game will be played on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon Lake’s Christine Chiricosta was named the Mid-American Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week for her outstanding tennis play at Bowling Green last week, making it the second time this year she was honored as athlete of the week.
Chiricosta went 3-1 as the Falcons split a pair of matches, beating Detroit and losing to Michigan State.

Chiricosta was dominant in her two singles match wins, defeating Detroit’s Sophie Sjoberg-Sundstrom, 6-2, 6-1 and Michigan State’s Michaela Silesova, 6-1, 6-1. In doubles, she teamed up with freshman Maddy Eccleston to defeat Detroit, 8-6, but lost an 8-7 (4) to Michigan State.

Chiricosta is now 7-1 in dual-match singles play this spring and 14-3 in singles matches this year and 56-17 in her BGSU career.

Chiricosta, who is a junior, is tied for 18th in BGSU history in singles wins. She is deadlocked for 17th on the BG doubles wins list, with 54, and is 19th on the combined career list, with 110 wins as a Falcon.

In the classroom, Chiricosta has a cumulative grade point average of 3.96 as an adolescent/young adult/secondary education major.

Last spring, she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team, becoming the first student-athlete in BGSU women's tennis history to earn such an honor. On the court, she has been named to the All-MAC Second Team in each of her first two seasons.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Westlake’s Rosa LaMattina missed the game-tying shot at the buzzer as the No. 22 ranked Mount Union women's basketball team suffered a 66-64 loss Saturday at Capital.

The win gave Capital the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's OAC Tournament.

Mount Union (21-4, 14-4 OAC) will be the the No. 2 seed and host No. 7 seed Otterbein on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in an OAC Tournament quarterfinal game.

LaMattina had 14 points while Kori Wiedt (North Olmsted) had 11 to lead the Raiders.

Last week, LaMattina was named the OAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week. She scored a career-high 27 points to lead Mount Union to a 81-78 win over Baldwin-Wallace. She came back with 18 points in a 68-66 win at Otterbein to give Mount Union its first 20-win season since 1997-98.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins’ Amy Schlessman is off to a solid start in just her freshman season playing tennis at Kenyon College.

Schlessman teamed up with junior Prita Kidder to win a No. 1 doubles match, 8-3 over Walsh’s Shellie Webster and Barbara Lewis.

Schlessman then won at No. 2 singles, defeating Lewis, 6-1, 6-1.

Schlessman is 4-3 in singles play and a combined 2-6 in doubles action.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

On July 1, it will become official.

Lorain Catholic graduate Adrian Abrahamowicz has been named the head baseball coach-in-waiting at Oberlin College, replacing Amherst graduate Eric Lahetta, who has been at the helm for 13 years.

Since joining the Yeomen staff in 2005, Abrahamowicz has served as pitching coach and has managed the offense while coaching third base. During the last three seasons, he has also served as the associate head coach and team’s recruiting coordinator. He is largely responsible for bringing in some of the deepest classes in program history.

“It’s a really exciting time for me, because I’ve had an opportunity to help build the program as a recruiting coordinator,” Abrahamowicz said. “I feel like I’ve got a head start on things I wanted to do. Coach Lahetta has always been a guy that let me do my thing recruiting. We’ve been able to build a program, rather than come into a situation where you’re walking into a program that you’re not familiar with. I’m familiar with the school. I’m familiar with the reputation of the school, the type of kids we have to recruit academically and are going to fit in our baseball program.”

Abrahamowicz, a Tiffin University graduate, coached at Lorain Catholic in 2004 — the school’s last year — and was the assistant coach from 1996 to 2000 at the now-defunct school. He also coached at Elyria Catholic in 1995.

“I’m a little more of a direct guy than Eric, but at the same time, he has given me the flexibility to be the type of coach that I am,” Abrahamowicz said. “I’ve been able to do a lot of things from within the start and now it’s time for us to reap the benefits. A lot of what were doing is a credit to Coach Lahettta as well.”

Abrahamowicz will be replacing Lahetta, who will be taking on a new role as the assistant athletic director — a job that will allow him to spend more time with his family.

His wife Becky Lahetta (Kanuch) is the girls’ soccer coach at Oberlin High School. His daughter Mackenzie plays soccer and basketball at Firelands, his son Cody runs track at South Amherst Middle School and he also has a one-year-old son named Chase.

Lahetta, a 1986 Amherst graduate, originally went to Ohio Wesleyan to play football and baseball after high school. He then transferred to Bowling Green and played baseball for two years for the Falcons after making the team as a walk-on. He went to work as a director of stadium operations with the Canton-Akron Indians before taking the job as pitching coach at Oberlin College for two years before taking the head position.

“I’m looking forward to new challenges,” Lahetta said. “I’ll be doing some new things and learning some things. I’ve been prepping myself over the last 13 years to do this so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Lahetta is confident in the baseball program he helped build.“Adrian has done a great job,” Lahetta said. “He’s been my right-hand man for the last six years. The last three years, we’ve been prepping him to be head coach. Baseball-wise, he’s as good as anyone around here. He’s done everything we’ve asked as an assistant coach. It’s his time to be a head coach.

“I feel like as a head coach that I’ve done a pretty good job of turning the program around and getting it to a point where were very competitive and I think Adrian is the guy to take it to the next level.”

Abrahamowicz is excited about the future of the Yeomen, especially juniors Phil Brua (Avon), Brandon Cantrill (Western Reserve), Ben Puterbaugh (Massillon Jackson), Ben Kauder (St. John’s Jesuit) and Ryan Mouch (St. John’s Jesuit).

Oberlin opens up its season on March 12, when they play a doubleheader at Berea College. They then will travel to Marysville, Tenn. to play back-to-back doubleheaders against Marysville College in the Foothills Classic.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

At Left: Robertson; at right: McDonald

Amherst’s Shannon McDonald and Avon Lake’s Randi Robertson recently completed their final seasons running cross country at Marietta College.

McDonald and Robertson helped lead Marietta to a sixth-place finish at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship. They also helped lead the Pioneers to a fifth-place finish at the Carl Broughton Invitational and then took seventh at the Otterbein Invitational. Marietta also placed 14th in Division III at the All-Ohio Championship and 20th at the Inter-Regional Rumble before closing the year with a 26th place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championship.

McDonald and Robertson provided a consistent effort and helped maintain the team’s exceptional 1-5 split.

In 2008, Robertson ran a season best 5k time of 19:51 (14th) at the All-Ohio Championship and a season best 6k time of 22:40 (7th) at the Don Cathcart Invitational. She earned All-OAC first team honors after taking third place (23:26.59) at the OAC Championship and was named Cross Country/Track & Field Academic All-OAC. McDonald ran a season best 5k time of 21:25 (64th) at the All-Ohio Championship and a season best 6k time of 23:56 (93rd) at the Inter-Regional Rumble.

In 2007, Robertson ran a season best 5k time of 19:36 (40th) at the Western International Invitational and a season best 6k time of 23:20 (43rd) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. She earned All-OAC second team honors after placing 11th (24:22.48) at the OAC Championship and became the first female in Pioneer history to be named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team. McDonald ran a season best 5k time of 20:20 (17th) at the Bill Sudeck Invitational and a season best 6k time of 24:03 (82nd) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Earned All-OAC second team honors after taking 17th place (24:43.03) at the OAC Championship.

In 2006, McDonald ran a season best 5k time of 20:22.42 (28th) at the Dragon-Berg Invitational and a season best 6k time of 24:38 (138th) at Penn State's Spiked Shoe Invitational.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Edison's Tristan Stoll continues to impress in his junior year wrestling at Baldwin-Wallace.

Stoll went 3-0 at the John Summa Memorial Tournament last week and became a Yellow Jackets' individual champion at 197 pounds.

On the season, Stoll is 16-3 overall (3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference).

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve's Steph Tinney, who is a junior track athlete at Ashland, was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week.

Tinney finished in first place in the 400 with 55.77 time, which is the top time of the season in the 400. She was also a part of the 4 x 400 relay that finished second.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Jazzminn Richey-Obey is seen on the bottom far right.

Jazzminn Richey-Obey is seen on the far right.

Southview's Jazzminn Richey-Obey, who is a sophomore bowler at Hampton University, was one of the athletes chosen by the college to represent its new website (http://www.hamptonpirates.com/).

Richey-Obey, who also made the dean's list, and the Hampton University women’s bowling team won five matches this past weekend at the Golden Bear Invitational, hosted by Kutztown University on Saturday and Sunday.

The Lady Pirates went 2-4 in team play on Saturday. The team defeated Delaware State and Coppin State, but lost to Florida A&M, Valparaiso, Stephen F. Austin and SUNY-IT.

The Lady Pirates (45-55) will return to action next Saturday and Sunday, when they travel to Dover, Del. to compete in the Capital City Classic hosted by Delaware State University.

Richey-Obey bowled for Southview's first-ever bowling teams and in her senior year, she received a scholarship for Hampton University. She was a three-time Pepsi-Cola Scholar and helped the Saints qualify for the state tournament in 2007 after placing third at districts.

To read a College Insider about Jazzminn, go to http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2008/09/03/sports/doc48be0fc55d0a7882369993.txt

Football

Two of the most impressive football teams in The Morning Journal’s Western coverage area were Perkins and Division VI state champion St. Paul.

So it’s no mystery as to why both teams are sending players to the next level.

Eric Schweiterman’s heroics helped win his team a state title. Now he’ll try to translate that to a stellar college career at Ashland University. Joining him from Perkins will be Tyler Owens.

Perkins also is sending a player to a Division I school. Standout defensive lineman and purveyor of SBC quarterback nightmares, Nico Caponi signed his National Letter of Intent with Akron Wednesday.

Also continuing his career to the college level for Perkins will be Adam Ferback, who is heading to Walsh University.

Rounding out the local players who will play college football is Amherst’s Cody Balko, who joins Elyria Catholic’s Jared Schuster at Notre Dame College.

Elyria’s Trynell Davis and Cameron Koepp will play at The Univeristy of Findlay.

Girls basketball

It’s not just a good year for Avon Lake girls basketball on the court. The Shoregals will send Lindsey Nock to Denison University to play basketball. Nock signed her National Letter of Intent Wednesday in the Avon Lake High School Media Center.

Soccer

Joining Nock and Pittsburgh football signee Dan Schnieder in the media center at Avon Lake was soccer standout Tani Lopez. Lopez will continue her career at Ashland University.

Westlake’s Natalie Bechtel is signing with Ohio University and AJ Suever is signing with Rensselaer Polytechnical.

On the boys side, Alex Obbey of Amherst has signed on to play at the University of Louisville.

Others

Perhaps one of the area’s most impressive signings was Perkins’ Matthew Hoty, who has signed on to join The University of Tennessee’s track and field team. Hoty was a state champion for Perkins the last two springs in the shotput and holds the Ohio Division II record with a distance of 64 feet and 8.25 inches.

Rounding out the five Perkins athletes to sign letters of intent was swimmer Katie Quinn, who continues her career at Clarion University in Pennsylvania.

Courtesy of Morning Journal Staff

When Elyria senior Isaiah Byler put pen to paper on Wednesday, it completed a journey that a few years ago seemed unlikely. But several acts of kindness gave Byler an opportunity and he took full advantage by working hard and staying committed. The result was a Division I football scholarship to Bowling Green State University.

Two years ago the six-foot-five Byler weighed 330 pounds. His head coach Steve Hamilton told him for a D-I school to take him seriously as a prospect, he needed to slim down and increase his mobility.

A process that is easier said that done. Byler needed help. A chain of events unfolded that changed Byler’s life.

His youth pastor Josh Kirskey committed to pay for the first six weeks of Byler’s training with former NFL player LaCharles Bentley and Bentley agreed to cover the rest if Byler showed promise.

"It was a blessing," Byler said of Kirskey’s kind offer. "I wouldn’t have been able to pay for LeCharles’ camp. It was $1,000 for six weeks. He said that someone blessed him when he was young and he was paying it back."

Working with Bentley evolved Byler’s body and his game.

"No doubt. I still work four to five days with LeCharles," Byler said. "It has been a big blessing. It is unbelievable how much he has helped me. He gave me that diet that helped me lose 60-70 pounds. Now the weight is lost, he has me on another diet to convert fat to muscle. He helped me get a D-I scholarship and be All-Ohio."

Byler committed to Bowling Green in July and his signing yesterday made it official.

"I am excited to start a new chapter in my life," Byler said. "High school is almost over and I’m excited to play college ball."

Byler first met the Bowling Green coaches at Ohio State’s football camp. He made an unofficial visit and then an official one and he was hooked.

"I visited there and it was just a wonderful place," Byler said. "It is a very beautiful campus. There is a lot of history there as it is over 100 years old. It has some of the best programs in the country."

Byler was also impressed with the football program. Last season first year head coach Dave Clawson, previously Tennessee’s offensive coordinator, guided the Falcons to the Humitarian Bowl and a 7-6 record.

"The football facility is the best in the (Mid-American Conference)," Byler said. "I really like the new coaching staff. Coach Clawson is a great guy. I really like his personality. I grew up partly in the south in Tennessee so I relate to him. The football program is really on the rise with being in the Humanitarian Bowl. It is a pretty strong team. All of these are reasons I chose Bowling Green."

Byler credits all those who helped him earn this opportunity to play D-I football.

"It was a big circle of people helping me," Byler said. "Coach Hamilton for giving me time to work with LeCharles, Pastor Josh Kirskey paying for the camp, my parents helping out with gas money to get there and LeCharles working with me. Without them I would not be getting a D-I scholarship."

Courtesy of Zachary Dzurick

After spending four seasons with one of the most successful high school football programs in the area, Avon Lake senior Dan Schneider officially signed his National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Pittsburgh this fall.

"Pitt has a good blend of academics and football," said Schneider, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end. "It was a mix of everything that allowed me to make my decision."

During the past three seasons, the Shoremen finished a combined 27-8 with three Southwestern Conference championships and three playoff berths. In 2009, Avon Lake lost three of its first four games, finished 8-4 and lost to Toledo St. Francis DeSales in the second round of the playoffs.

Playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Schneider was voted the Lorain County Defensive Lineman of the Year and made the A.P. First Team All-Ohio as a tight end.

"Winning the SWC that many times and getting to run out on the field with my friends was the best part," he said.

Signing Day may have been on Wednesday, but Schneider made his decision in the summertime, weeks before the season started. His top three schools were narrowed down to Pitt, Florida State and West Virginia.

"My recruiting experience was crazy and tiring at times," he said. "I didn’t exactly plan on deciding that early, but I wanted to give myself enough time to make a sound decision."

Earning a 4.5 GPA at Avon Lake and scoring 30 on the ACT, Schneider is somewhat undecided when it comes to his academic future.

"I’m leaning toward (studying) something like business and maybe go to law school."

Schneider was the 17th recruit to sign from the Class of 2010 at Pitt and fourth from Ohio. Scout.com has him ranked as the 23rd best tight end prospect in his class and the 40th best overall in the state.

He will most likely redshirt during his first season in Pittsburgh but could earn a spot on the roster with hard work and a good training camp.

One of the more significant aspects of his visit to Pittsburgh was a lunch meeting with senior tight end Nate Byham. Byham came into Pitt as one of the top tight end prospects in the country, was named to the All-Big East Team and was able to give valuable insight to life as a Panther.

"It was good to hear from a player," Schneider said. "Sometimes coaches say things that might not turn out being true, but players will always tell you how things really are."

The Panthers are coached by former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt, who led the Chicago Bears for eights seasons and the Miami Dolphins for five.

Notable Pitt alumns include NFL Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Dan Marino and Tony Dorsett as well as Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis in more recent years.

Wannstedt and the Panthers went 10-3 last season, coming within one game, a close loss to the University of Cincinnati in the Big East Championship, from reaching the Sugar Bowl.

Schneider is a solid run blocker, a gifted receiver and should find a good niche in Wannstedt’s pro-style offense.

Football, however, isn’t the only thing on his mind at this time.

"I’m looking forward to the same things any college kids looks forward to, like living away from home" Schneider said. "Playing football is a bonus for me. I am very fortunate."

Courtesy of Cory Schuett

Who needs National Signing Day anyway?

Not Avon Lake offensive lineman and top recruit Christian Pace.

Pace has been enrolled at The University of Michigan for about a month now. The 6-foot-4 recruit graduated high school early so that he could get accustomed to college life and the demanding workouts that are required of Michigan players.

"I won’t be trying to learn all these new things all at once I’ll be here for awhile," he said.

Pace knew he was making a tough choice by enrolling early, likely missing out on prom and graduation with his class, but he had bigger fish to fry.

"I made sure that Christian understood that when he made this choice that he understood that he’d miss some of that stuff," said Avon Lake coach Dave Dlugosz, who has had his share of Division I recruits over the years. "He said, ‘Yea, I’m going to miss my friends and everything, but I’m ready to take that next step. I’m ready to go on to the next level now.’"

Pace is also taking on the bigger challenge of making a position change. A right tackle in high school, Pace’s lack of length — for a Big Ten lineman — made him better suited to be a center. But he’s taking the challenge in stride.

"It’s going to be an interesting transition with snapping and everything, but I’ll play wherever they want me to," Pace said. "The center makes all the line calls and reads the defense and gives the O-line all the calls it needs but other than that, I’m basically coming in fresh to the position."

The transition may be easier than it sounds though. Pace was the unquestioned leader of the line in his senior year and has the ability to see the whole field as a play develops.

"He finishes blocks really well, he’s also an intelligent football player," Dlugosz said.

"Christian understands concepts, when you tell him ‘we’re running this blocking scheme,’ he will be able to visualize who everybody is supposed to block and how he fits into that scheme. So he ends up being like a coach on the field. He understands those things really well."

Dlugosz isn’t alone in that opinion, either.

"I’ve had coaches tell me that (Pace’s highlight tape) is the best they’ve ever seen, bar none, coaches throughout the country," he said.

Rivals had Pace listed as the No. 5 center recruit in the country. Scout.com has him at No. 11. He also received offers from Colorado, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Northwestern and could have even joined teammate Dan Schneider at Pittsburgh.

But in the end, he chose the Wolverines from as many as 25 scholarship offers.
Pace said he was impressed with the whole coaching staff for the Wolverines, namely line coach Greg Frey. His final three choices were Northwestern, Stanford and Michigan, which reflected Pace’s desire to get a top-notch education.

Michigan coach Rich Rodrgiguez likes what Pace brings to the table.

"Christian’s very athletic, a hard-nosed kid, and he played at a good program," Rodriguez said on Wednesday.

Of course, being from Northeast Ohio, which is known to some as "Columbus North," Pace has taken some good-natured ribbing from friends and even his coaches for his choice of college, which is the biggest rival to The Ohio State University.

But Pace didn’t grow up as much of a Buckeye fan. He liked the Oklahoma Sooners.
"No real reason, I just liked them," Pace said. "I would pull for Ohio State in games, but now, well — not anymore."

By playing college football, Pace is carrying on a family tradition and a Shoremen tradition. Pace’s older brother, Ian played at Fordham University and is now a graduate assistant on the coaching staff of Bowling Green State University.

"He helped me so much," Pace said. "He just instilled in me the hard work characteristic."

Pace is the third Shoreman to play in the Big Ten in the last 5 years. Before him were Trey Stross (Iowa) and Andrew Means (Indiana).

"I’m honored that I got the opportunity to represent Avon Lake at the next level. It’s great because it draws attention to Avon Lake and it’s good for upcoming players," Pace said. "Our past teams that Trey and Andrew were on were really solid teams that played in two state championship games and that really drew attention to our program, and the more I can help getting Avon Lake noticed is good."

Courtesy of Colin Wilson

National signing day couldn’t come fast enough for Elyria Catholic standout Josh Russ.

Last year, Russ verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati after a stellar junior season; where he was selected first team All-Ohio. Russ caught 35 passes for 691 yards and six touchdowns.

Russ, like many other athletes, officially signed his letter of intent on Wednesday, Feb. 3 to play football at UC.

“It’s kind of unreal to be honest,” Russ said. “I never thought I’d get to this level, but a lot of people have helped me to get where I’m at. They helped me with school and helped prepared me to be a better football player.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my family and former coaches and Elyria Catholic.”

This past season, Russ was selected again as first team All-Ohio. Offensively, he had 33 catches for 561 yards and six touchdowns. Russ also played defensive end and had 40 tackles (14 for loss), three sacks, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.

Russ said he chose UC because they were the first team who believed in him, but things got a little complicated when Brian Kelly, the coach who recruited him, signed a five-year deal to coach at the University of Notre Dame on Dec. 10.

Russ said he was lost at that point and didn’t know what was going to happen.

“To be honest I was really nervous in the beginning when it all happened,” Russ said. “I’ve never been through this, or knew anybody that was, so I was really nervous. I didn’t know what was going to happen, if I was going to lose my scholarship, or what.”

With his future uncertain, the Bearcats new head coach Butch Jones and his coaching staff contacted Russ a couple days later to assure him that he would he would not lose his scholarship.

“They have something great to build on what coach Kelly left behind,” Russ said. “I think they’ll do good with it and I’m happy with the new coaching staff.”

Russ will join a Bearcat’s program that has catapulted themselves into one of the top programs in the nation.

The Bearcats have won back-to-back Big East championships and have participated in two consecutive Bowl Championship Series games. In 2008, the Bearcats were 11-3 and earned a birth in the FedEx Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. Last season, they won 12 straight games and earned a berth in the All State Sugar Bowl, before losing to Florida.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Russ said the team wants him to play outside linebacker, but he will more than likely red-shirt his freshman year.

Elyria Catholic coach Ben Malbasa said he was honored to have coached Russ for three years.

“I’ve been very fortunate to coach someone as committed as he is,” Malbasa said. “He was always committed when he first stepped on to the field, but he continued to work at becoming a better all-around football player.”

Malbasa added that he knew Russ had the potential to be an elite player early in his career.

“I remember his second game of his sophomore season against Southview,” Malbasa said. “After that game I went back and watched the film and he made some plays where he caught guys from behind that impressed me. At that point I realized we had a special player.”

One thing that stood out for Malbasa about Russ was the fact he never got overwhelmed with the whole recruiting process. Malbasa said he was very impressed the way Russ made a decision very early and stuck with it.

“I didn’t really have to give him any advice,” Malbasa said. “I was there for him if needed some, but he’s a very privileged kid. He has a great family structure around him and his parents are very involved with him, which helped him a lot.”

Russ was not the only Panther to sign on Wednesday, as teammate Jared Schuster signed a letter of intent to play at Notre Dame College in South Euclid.

Schuster was first team All-Ohio as a junior, and second team All-Ohio this past season. He was also Lorain County offensive lineman of the year.

“I want to thank everyone for getting me here, because without them I wouldn’t be where I’m at,” Schuster said. “The experience is unreal, but it feels good.”

Courtesy of Anthony Rios

In front of everyone that mattered, Clearview’s Anthony Hitchens made his commitment to The University of Iowa official.

As his coaches, family members, teammates and fellow students looked on, the two-time All-Ohio football player signed an official letter of intent to play at Iowa and continue his football career with the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference.

“It takes a lot of stress off of me,” Hitchens said. “I don’t have to worry about it at all anymore. Now I can concentrate on playing basketball. It’s one less thing that I have to worry about. I’m happy to make my commitment to Iowa.”




Hitchens made visits to Kansas, Indiana and Toledo, before Iowa showed how serious it was about him last week. Eastern Michigan also was interested in Hitchens.




“They took me on a tour around the school and showed me the facility,” Hitchens said. “I met some football players and the coaches. They showed me a good time for the weekend. I’ve always wanted to go to Iowa from the get-go.”




Hitchens’ older cousin, Don, made something else official at the ceremony held in the auditorium at Clearview High School. “From one Hitchens to another,” Don Hitchens said as he passed Anthony a plaque with the Morning Journal sports page from a memorable day for both men. The headline read “Hitchens runs wild,” from the Oct. 2 game where Anthony ran for 354 yards to break Don’s 35-year-old career rushing record of 3,265 yards and the single game record of 352 yards previously held by David Dorinski, who reached that mark in 1976. He now holds the career rushing mark with 3,864 yards.




Hitchens received a call from Iowa last Wednesday and the school flew him out there on Friday to discuss everything.




“It was way more than I expected, it was really nice,” Hitchens said. “From the beginning, I’ve always wanted to go there. Originally, something came up and I wasn’t able to make it out there, but in the end (Iowa) came through with the scholarship.”




Defense is where he’ll find a home at Iowa whose defensive back coach Phil Parker is also from Lorain. Parker is an Amherst graduate (1983) and was inducted into the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame last year. Hitchens, who was an offensive star in high school, will be tabbed to play safety in college.




“It might be a little difficult at first,” Hitchens said. “But I think I’ll adjust to it. When I played linebacker, I was more of a run-first guy, but now that I’ll be playing safety, it’s more pass first. I think I’ll get use to it and hopefully I’ll be a pretty good safety.”




Hitchens will have an improved chance to play right away at the safety position, as Iowa’s All-Big Ten cornerback Amari Spievey made himself eligible for the NFL draft and strong safety David Cato is transferring.




In his high school career, Hitchens finished with 166 tackles, including 13 for loss, 12 sacks, five interceptions, six forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.




“It really didn’t matter to me if I was going to play offense or defense,” added Hitchens, who will head to Iowa on June 12. “I just really wanted to play at the next level.”




Hitchens leaves Clearview with a host of accomplishments. Not only is Hitchens, a two-time All-Ohio player, but he also won Lorain County’s Golden Helmet award. He was also named the Division IV offensive co-player of the year, along with Clearview’s Scholar Athlete award, the Captain’s award and the Offensive Player of the Year.


“I accomplished a lot in high school and not just on the field, but off the field as well,” Hitchens said. “I’m happy with my high school career and ready to move forward.”


This season, he finished with 1,428 yards rushing along with 26 touchdowns. On defense, he led the Clippers with 76 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles.




For his career, Hitchens had 519 carries for a 7.4 yards per carry average.As a receiver, he had 213 yards on 16 catches, which includes four touchdowns.



He also scored a total of 62 touchdowns, which include four defensive touchdowns.

swalker@MorningJournal.com