Perkins’ Cierra Bravard helped lead the No. 14 Florida State women’s basketball team to a Junkanoo Jam tournament title.

Bravard, who was honored with the MVP of the tournament trophy, scored 21 points against Arizona State and the Seminoles earned a come-from-behind 65-55 victory. For her efforts against the Sun Devils (3-2) and her 24-point, 10-rebound double-double the night before, the junior post player from Sandusky, was named MVP of the tournament.

Assisting Bravard in a win that helped the ’Noles capture the championship in the Freeport Division of the Junkanoo Jam, was freshman forward Natasha Howard. The Toledo native finished the night with 21 points as well.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins’ Trisha Krewson has transferred to Kent State to continue her basketball career. She will have to sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer restrictions and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining starting with the 2011-12 campaign.

As a sophomore at Bucknell, Krewson was named a second-team All-Patriot League performer after leading the Bisons with a 12.4 points per game average.

Last season, she was named to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II first team, while also earning Patriot League Honor Roll accolades. She scored a career-high 30 points against Lycoming (Dec. 30, 2009).

As a freshman, she played in 28 games, including 18 starts and was named the 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

At Perkins, she was selected as a McDonald’s All-America nominee as a senior after scoring over 1,000 points for her high school career. She was named All-Ohio Second Team in 2008 and All-Ohio Honorable Mention in 2007. She was also a three-time All-SBC First Teamer and All-District First Teamer.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Mount Union head football coach Larry Kehres recorded his 300th career victory as No. 2-ranked Mount Union defeated St. Lawrence, 49-0, in a Division III NCAA Tournament first-round matchup at Mount Union Stadium on Saturday.

Kehres improves his career record to 300-22-3. He became the 11th college football coach in all divisions — and the fastest — to reach the 300-win mark.

Now in the Round of 16, the Purple Raiders (11-0) will host Delaware Valley Saturday at noon. Delaware Valley defeated Salisbury in the first round, 23-12.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Oberlin native Aaron Gibbs and Oberlin graduate Morgan Jones helped lead Ohio Dominican to an 11-point second half comeback, winning 65-62 over Mid-Continent University in the championship game of the Red Roof Inn Roundball Classic on Saturday in Alumni Hall.

Down 59-52, junior Zak Kapron hit two free throws, and Jones swiped a rebound away from MCU’s Tim Bryant and laid it in to bring ODU to within 59-56 with 3:25 left.

After three missed shots, Gibbs took a pass in the post and spun right for an open layup to make it a one-point game. Then, after Kapron stole an inbounds pass, Trew buried a three-pointer from the left wing to give Ohio Dominican its first lead of the second half at 61-59 with 1:21 to play.

The Panther defense forced another Cougar miss, and Kapron missed a short jumper, but Gibbs was there for the tip-in to extend ODU’s lead to 63-59 with 40 seconds to play. Mid-Continent missed two more shots, and Jones picked up the rebound and hit two free throws to seal the win.

Gibbs led ODU with 13 points and also had seven rebounds to go along with three assists. Jones finished with four points and four rebounds.

Gibbs was named the tournament MVP and Trew was named to the all-tournament team as well.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Kent State head baseball coach Scott Stricklin introduced the Golden Flashes’ 2012 freshman class on Friday.

Elyria’s Jake Neuschaefer was one of 10 athletes to get introduced.

Neuschaefer, who is ranked by Perfect Game as the 257th-best prospect in the nation and fifth-best prospect in Ohio, achieved First Team All-Northeast Ohio honors in 2009 and ‘10 and First Team All-Lorain County selection in ‘10 at Elyria High School under head coach Mike Brandyberry. He was also named First Team NEOBCA in 2010 and Honorable Mention All-Ohio. Neuschaefer has also competed for the North Coast Vipers and the Midwest Redbirds.

"Jake is one of the best athletes we’ve ever recruited," Stricklin said. "He’s a great runner with great instincts, and he really can control the center of the diamond from centerfield. He can play any of the three outfield positions as well as being a leadoff-type hitter who can steal bases and put pressure on defenses."

Jake, along with his brother Nolan Neuschaefer, who plays at Baldwin-Wallace, will be playing for the Lorain County Ironmen, a summer wooden-batten collegiate league that plays at Lorain's Pipe Yard.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

courtesy of Zachary Dzurick

It was not love at first sight when Elyria Catholic senior MacKenzie Tweardy first tried the sport of diving.

"I absolutely hated it," Tweardy said. "I was a gymnast for 15 years and it wasn’t gymnastics. I grew up my entire life as a gymnast and always landed on my feet."

Over time Tweardy fell in love with diving and she worked hard at it. Really only starting her freshman year, Tweardy has come along way.

"She has improved enough to catch the eye of one of the finest coaches in America," her current diving coach Jeff Arnold said.

On Tuesday, Tweardy signed a National Letter of Intent to dive at Purdue University under coach Adam Soldati.

Soldati, now in his sixth year at Purdue, has coached four NCAA champions, 41 NCAA All-Americans, 112 Big Ten Finalists and 10 Big Ten Champions. He has won two National Coach of the Year Awards and four Big Ten Coach of the Year Awards. The Boilermakers’ diving program this year was recognized as a Center of Excellence by USA Diving.

During her freshmen year, Tweardy’s only desire was to attend The University of Notre Dame for college. The Fighting Irish even offered her a scholarship but Purdue won her over.

"Notre Dame is phenomenal school. Who doesn’t want to go to Notre Dame?," Tweardy said. "Notre Dame and Purdue had a swim meet and I had recently taken an interest in engineering. My mother said we should check it out."

Tweardy went to the meet convinced nothing could change her mind. The Purdue campus altered her perceptions.

"I stepped on campus and absolutely fell in love with it," Tweardy said. "The facility is brand new and it is top in the nation. I loved the coach. He is funny and easy to talk to. I got to know the team and I really liked everyone. The engineering program is phenomenal. Everything clicked. It felt perfect."

Tweardy plans on being a platform specialist with a concentration on the 10 meter. She will major in Biomedical Engineering.

"I hope to go to medical school to be an Orthopedic Surgeon or do research to make medical devices to help athletes and prosthetics."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Vermilion’s Jeff Baker concluded his senior season at Cleveland State University.

He was named to the All-Horizon League second team after starting all 20 matches in midfield and serving as the Vikings’ team captain.

Baker was also honored for his academic success by being named a CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District first team selection.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Huron’s Lauren Volz made it official, signing with the Ohio University to play golf next fall.

This past golf season, Volz shot a 155, which was good for the 8th best score in the Division II state tournament.

After winning the conference, sectional and district titles, the Huron girls golf team finished in fourth place at the state tournament at the par-70 Ohio State University Gray Course in Columbus.

Volz shot a 75 on the first day and an 80 the next. Volz was a Second Team All-Ohio selection.

This was the third straight year Huron has made it to the state tournament. The Tigers finished in fourth place as a team last season.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The Cuyahoga Gold Bowl is staying in John Carroll for another year.

Despite coming back from 24-7 deficit, Balwin-Wallace’s comeback attempt came up short, falling for the third-straight season to John Carroll, 31-28 in the annual Cuyahoga Gold Bowl game on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Don Shula Stadium.

Quarterback Ryan O’Rourke led the Yellow Jackets down the field in the last 4:38 for a 12-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off by a Kyrell Cook 1-yard TD run to cut the deficit to three with 1:04 left in the game.

However, the ensuing on-side kick attempt was recovered by John Carroll, who then ran out the clock for the season-finale win.

"It was a pretty exciting for us and our seniors, everybody is ecstatic," O’Brien said.

Baldwin-Wallace found itself down early, but fought back, as its slim playoff hopes would’ve been still alive with a win.

However, tailback DaQuan Grobsmith and quarterback Devin O’Brien had other ideas. Grobsmith rushed for three touchdowns and a career-high 189 yards on 20 carries, while O’Brien rushed for 120 yards on 19 carries.

John Carroll wasted no time, scoring on its first possession. A 47-yard reception by Frank Ross from O’Brien was the key play as Grobsmith capped it off with a 9-yard TD run to give John Carroll an early 7-0 lead.

Baldwin-Wallace answered back on a third-down-and-seven play. O’Rourke was chased out of the pocket and hounded by two defenders before throwing a jump pass to the sideline of the end zone to a jumping Aaron Hurd, who hauled it in before going out of bounds. After D.J. Debick picked off an O’Rourke pass on B-W’s next possession, Grobsmith was able to bully his way in from 4-yards out to score his second touchdown of the first quarter for a 14-7 lead.

Grobsmith added his third touchdown in the second quarter on a 8-yard TD run, pushing the lead to 21-7.

"This was huge for us," John Carroll head coach Regis Scafe said. "This was a good way to end the year and set the tone for next year. (B-W) is a good football team. This was no gimme victory. We had to earn this thing. Our kids played their hearts out and I’m really proud of them."

Despite a four-win improvement from last year, B-W head coach John Snell didn’t expect to lose.

"It was a very disappointing loss," Snell said. "I really thought we were in a position to finish the season at 8-2 and have a possible playoff opportunity depending on what else happened in the conference, but we didn’t get it done. We didn’t play well enough in the first half and didn’t take advantage of our opportunities and had too many penalties that cost us. You can’t do that against a team like John Carroll."

After a Brad Marchese 19-yard field goal to take a 24-7 lead, B-W used some trickery to try to cut the deficit before halftime. O’Rourke lateralled to Anthony Fairhurst, who then threw across the field, connecting on a 41-yard TD pass to Cook. That cut the deficit to 24-14 going into halftime.

A Kevin Johnson 62-yard kickoff return to open the second half set up another score to cut the deficit to three. O’Rouke scored on a 6-yard quarterback keeper to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game.

B-W’s defense did its job on the Blue Streaks’ first possession in the second half. On a fourth-and-four in B-W territory, O’Brien’s pass was knocked away and B-W took over on downs and halted a potential scoring drive.

"It’s awful (coming up short)," said O’Rourke, an Avon graduate and 2008 Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner. "8-2 sounded really good and now we’re 7-3 and it’s obviously not what we wanted, but there were some key mistakes in the game by me.

"We had a great turn around. Nobody expected us to do anything good this year, but we had four more wins than they had last year. We wish we could’ve send the seniors out a better way, but it was a good season."

However, B-W was unable to capitalize and on the following John Carroll possession, Frank Ross scored on a 5-yard TD run that capped off a 9-play, 74 yard drive, to make it 31-21.

B-W used some more trickery, this time with Danny Reineck taking a handoff, then threw downfield to Aaron Manders, who out jumped his defender and pulled in the 42-yard catch. The big play didn’t pay dividends as kicker Kevin Pollock missed to the left on a 30-yard field goal attempt on a fourth-and-20.

"Overall, it’s been an awfully good year," Snell said. "Our kids have done a great job, our seniors have done a great job, considering the season that we had last year. They’ve done a great job getting us back on track. The hope and plan is we can build from here and keep getting better. I’m proud of our kids for having this kind of season."

J.J. Laseak and Ryan Kish led the Yellow Jackets defense. Laseak had 11 tackles, while Kish had 10.

"We just got down early," Kish said. "Once we adjusted, we were fine, but we dug ourselves a hole. We left everything out there and it was a lot of fun. I wish we would’ve came out on top, but we still went 7-3 after going 3-7 last year. It was a really fun year."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Lake Erie College’s three-game winning streak was snapped in Ashland as the Eagles scored just seconds into the contest and broke open the game with a huge third quarter on its way to an 87-17 victory Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium.

Joe Horn scored six touchdowns for Ashland (8-3, 7-3 GLIAC), who outscored the Storm 42-0 in the third quarter on its way to winning its seventh in a row to close the season. Lake Erie (3-8, 3-7 GLIAC) turned the ball over seven times.

Admiral King graduate Cameron Bryant reached double digits in tackles for the fifth straight game, leading Lake Erie with 12 tackles and a sack.

Lake Erie won three of its last four games, including a 48-45 win over Findlay, 30-15 over Ohio Dominican and 31-27 over Tiffin.

Last year as a sophomore, Bryant played in all 11 games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams, making 19 tackles. He even returned a kickoff for seven yards at West Liberty on Sept. 12 and recovered an onside kick attempt at Wesley on Nov. 7.

As a freshman, he played in nine games as a true freshman, making six total tackles, including three solo. He was also named team’s Scout Defensive Player of the Year.
Bryant played four years of football and baseball in high school. He was an All-Lorain County First Teamer in football twice and All-District and All-Lake Erie League First Team selection. He was also an All-Lorain County and All-LEL First Teamer in baseball.

Bryant’s grandfather Charles Bryant played football at Ohio State University and professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals. Bryant’s great-grandfather Clay Bryant pitched six seasons for the Chicago Cubs, appearing in the 1938 World Series.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Ashland’s soccer team (13-5-3) was bounced from the first round of NCAA Tournament by No. 21 Missouri S&T (11-5-3), 3-1, in Highland Heights, Ky., at NKU Soccer Stadium. It is the third straight season the Eagles have lost in the first round of the postseason tournament.

The Eagles have dropped first-round NCAA Tournament games in the last three seasons. In Kansas City in 2008, Ashland lost, 3-2, to Northern Kentucky after falling behind 3-0 in that game. Last season, the Eagles dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Lewis in Quincy, Ill.

Vermilion’s Kurt Innes closed out his sophomore season, while playing in six games, including two starts. He went 2-0 in those starts, which also include a shutout. He recorded nine saves on the year.

At Vermilion, he played goalkeeper all four years. He earned six letters, four in soccer and two in basketball. In soccer, he earned first team All-Lorain County honors in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2006 and 2008, he was second team All-West Shore Conference and made the first team in 2007. His team went 37-22-9 over the course of his career and won sectionals in 2006 and 2007. In basketball, his teams went 46-21 overall, and won a district championship in 2008 and sectional championships in 2007, 2008, 2009.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Wellington’s Christian Huelsman and six other Ohio Northern soccer players were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference for 2010 in voting conducted by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Joining Huelsman on the first team were Nate Bascom, Cameron Johnson and Austin Windsor.

Chris Matejka and Mac Church were named Second Team All-OAC and junior Abrim Mueller was selected Honorable Mention.

ONU bowed out on Friday in its third-straight NCAA postseason appearance, losing 2-0 to host No. 18 Calvin (Mich.) at Zuidema Field in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament.

The Polar Bears wrapped up the season with a 17-5-1 record overall.

Huelsman, a 22-game starter at forward, led the Polar Bears’ offense this year with 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists.

He has earned a .515 shot-on-goal percentage and has knocked in two game winning goals this season. In 2009, Huelsman was named Second Team All-OAC.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Huron’s Andy Thompson, a junior defender at Baldwin-Wallace was named to the second team of the Ohio Athletic Conference, for his outstanding play this season.

Joining Thompson was Jeff Grater, who was named to the first team and as the OAC’s Midfielder of the Year. In addition, Tyler Leister, Carlin Vandendriessche and Pat Brennan were also selected to the second team.

Thompson finished the season with one goal and had the second most assists on the team with six for eight total points. He played in all 22 games and earned his third varsity letter as a three-year starter. Thompson will enter his senior season with five goals and 10 assists for 20 total points.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Edison’s Tristan Stoll was crowned a champion as Baldwin-Wallace’s wrestling team finished fourth out of nine teams at the annual Messiah College Invitational Tournament in Grantham, Pennsylvania.


The Yellow Jackets had 59 total points and were led by Stoll, who was the champion of the 197-pound weight class.

Stoll was seeded No. 2 at 197 pounds and compiled a 4-0 mark with a pin and three decisions. He dominated Messiah’s Russell Jones in the title match by a 15-7 count.

The Yellow Jacket grapplers are back in action next today when they travel to University Circle to compete at the annual Case Western Reserve University Duals. Action begins at 10:00 a.m.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Amherst’s Lauren Percival, a sophomore, was named to the NCCAA East Region Team, while playing volleyball at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

The former Amherst standout leads the Lady Cougars with 1,538 assists and 45 aces. She has also compiled 42 blocks and 90 blocks and is second on the team with 556 digs.

Percival was one of four members of the Mount Vernon team, along with their coach that were honored when the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region awards were announced recently following a vote by the region coaches.

The Lady Cougars are currently 40-3 overall (10-0 in the American Mideast Conference) after taking down West Chester University, 3-2 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal match.

With the win, the Lady Eagles advance to today's semifinal where they will meet Edinboro, who took down defending PSAC champ California (Pa.) 3-1.

Kutztown and Clarion will meet in today's other semifinal match. The PSAC Championship match is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. Both semifinal matches and Saturday’s title contest will be played at Clarion, the No. 1 seed from the Western Division.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Pictured --- Left: Palmer; Right: Karpinski

Avon Lake’s Beth Karpinski, a senior, and Allie Palmer, a sophomore, are part of Case Western Reserve University history.

The pair from Avon Lake are part of the first ever volleyball team to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The tournament begins Friday (Nov. 12) at Frostburg State University (MD) with the Spartans playing against SUNY-Cortland in the opening round.

The Spartans were 24-10 during the regular season and earned the program’s highest UAA Championship finish (fourth) since 2000. Case won 11-straight matches in September and played eight top-25 opponents throughout the season.

Karpinski played in 30 matches (104 sets) and has 215 kills, 19 assists and 34 serving aces. Palmer has played in 30 matches (104 sets) and has 220 kills and 35 assists.

The Case Western Reserve-Cortland winner will face the winner of the Frostburg State vs. Pitt-Bradford match in the regional semifinals on Saturday. Regional finals are set for Sunday with the regional champion advancing to the Elite 8 at Washington University in St. Louis on Nov. 19-21.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Story and photos courtesy of Kareem Elgazzar

Lorain High's Shanique Ogle signed her letter of intent to play both basketball and track at Bowling Green State University on Wednesday at Lorain High School. Ogle averaged 18.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per game as a junior last season.

"It’s overwhelming to finally know I made this decision," Ogle said. "I have so much on my back right now, and now, I can just play for me and get bettter for BG."

As a track athlete, Ogle qualified for the state tournament as a sophomore and a junior in the shot put competition. She earned sixth place in shot put at the state tournament this past spring.

"When I go, I expect to be a part of their winning tradition," Ogle said.

The Bowling Green Falcons have won the Mid-American Conference six consecutive times entering this season led by Curt Miller. They finished 27-7 last season with a conference record of 14-2 in 2009-’10 and have played in four NCAA Tournaments since 2004 including a Sweet 16 run in 2007.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

courtesy of ZACHARY DZURICK

AMHERST — It’s not everyday a 5-foot, 7-inch athlete plays middle hitter.

It is even rarer for that 5-7 middle to attract the attention of a Big Ten school. On Wednesday, Amherst senior Deme Morales officially signed her letter of intent to attend the University of Wisconsin on a volleyball scholarship.

Morales will play for Pete Waite, who has a 256-100 record in 11 years at Wisconsin, including nine 20-plus win seasons an appearance in NCAA title game. Morales is expected to be a defensive specialist for the Badgers. She was known for her powerful hitting at Amherst but was very well-rounded.

"In my opinion she is the greatest Amherst player to ever wear the uniform," head coach Laurie Cogan said. "She is a complete volleyball player. There is not a skill she has not mastered. She could in my opinion play any position. If a school needed her to run an offense I believe she could be a setter.

"She is going to Wisconsin as a defensive specialist, it will be interesting to see when she graduates from Wisconsin she comes out as. I believe at some point her skill at the net will see her take some swings at the net at the Big Ten level. I think she will excel as a defensive specialist and before she leaves there she will be one of the better ones in the Big Ten."

Morales was a four-year starter and during that time Amherst was 89-16. Morales was a part of two Southwestern Conference championships and made three regional appearances. She was a two-time SWC MVP and two-time First Team All-Ohio. As a sophomore she was second team All-Ohio.

This season, Morales had 453 kills including 44 in the district final against Olmsted Falls which was one short of a state record. She had 241 digs, 82 aces and 43 blocks.
Morales never played volleyball before her sophomore year. Cogan said she was self-made.

"No player has ever worked harder in my program," Cogan said.

Cogan got a little emotional during the signing.

"I am so honored to have had the opportunity to coach her," Cogan said. "Those type of players you only think go to parochial systems. They typically leave their high school she stayed here.

"It is not about where you go to play. It is about who you are and the dedication you have to your program. You can excel in public you don’t have to go to a parochial school to go tot he Big Ten. You just have to be good at what you do. Deme is very good at what she does.

"She has a big place in my heart. I will miss her dearly."

Morales was heartfelt about her time at Amherst.

"I don’t think it can get any better than this," Morales said.

"I had an opportunity to play with people who love it as much as I do. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. Even if you didn’t play, you are all a part of me now. All the coaches, all the trainers, all the teachers I will take it with me to Wisconsin."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Transferring isn’t always easy.

For former Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner Ryan O’Rourke, he made it look just that.

After playing in six games as a true freshman at Slippery Rock (Division II) last season, he transferred to Baldwin-Wallace (D-III) and has excelled beyond expectations through nine games this year.

On the season, the Yellow Jackets boast a 7-2 record, after going 3-7 last season. O’Rourke, an Avon graduate, has started all nine games and completed 102 of 187 passes for 1,352 yards, including 15 touchdowns. His quarterback efficiency is 132.12.

"I knew I had to prove myself, coming down from D-II to D-III," O’Rourke said. "I had a lot of preparation coming into the season. I just let that do the talking. We’ve had a good season so far, but we’ve let two slip away."

Despite playing six games, including two starts last year at Slippery Rock, O’Rourke says he feels more comfortable at B-W.

"Obviously, the offenses are different," said O’Rourke, who completed 23 of 51 passes for 324 yards, including two TDs at Slippery Rock. "It’s a lot more fun and suitable here for me. Nothing against Slippery Rock or anything, but I love my teammates here and I can’t wait to keep playing with these guys two more years."

The Yellow Jackets have only two losses this season. Beside a 41-21 loss to Ohio Northern four weeks ago, B-W’s only other loss came against the nation’s second-ranked team in Division III Mount Union, 41-13 last Saturday. B-W gave it all it could against the Purple Raiders, even being tied 13-13 after one quarter and being down just 20-13 at halftime, but Mount Union scored 28 unanswered points to put the game and Ohio Athletic Conference title away.

"We knew we had a good chance and felt we could compete against them," O’Rourke said. "The intensity was there in the first half, but we let it slip in the second. They had some long drives and we had some turnovers. That’s not a good mix."

O’Rourke completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards with a TD but was picked off three times.

"They chose to tighten up a little and send more pressure," O’Rourke said. "I knew I was going to take some shots, but I just had to stand in there and deliver some throws.

"It’s frustrating because we were in it really until early in the fourth quarter. We’re a young offense. We let some mistakes get the better of us. We can’t let that happen."

O’Rourke is pleased with his first season at B-W and looks forward to playing two more years.

Earlier this season, O’Rourke was chosen the Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week as he shined in his very first game with B-W. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards and threw three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Wooster. He threw TD passes of 40-, 59-, and 19-yards.

He then topped that performance on Oct. 23 against Wilmington College when he threw four touchdown passes in a 38-0 win over the Quakers. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 259 yards, including the four scores.

O’Rourke broke almost every passing record at Avon and set Lorain County records for touchdowns in a season and a career, until this year when Elyria Catholic’s Danny Reaser broke it. His senior season, he threw for 2,374 yards and 33 touchdowns and led Avon to a 12-1 season, which included two playoff wins before losing its only game to Sunbury Big Walnut in the D-III regional final. He also received the Lorain County Golden Helmet Award, All-Ohio First Team and All-District Offensive Player of the Year, among other accolades.

Baldwin-Wallace will improve last year’s win total by five games if they defeat John Carroll at Don Shula Stadium on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Brookside's Salena Kauffman has commited to play softball at Cleveland State University. Brookside will hold a ceremony on Thursday (Nov. 18) at 9:30 a.m.

Kauffman will play her senior season at Brookside this spring. She's been playing varsity softball since her freshman season. She was an All-Patriot Athletic Conference selection Second Teamer last season.

Kauffman has been playing softball since she was five years old and started travel ball in 2005. This past summer in the Queen of Diamond Showcase South, she was a All-QDSS First Teamer, QDSS MVP and Cage MVP.

She was also selected as a catcher for the 2011 North American Select Team for the CUP Tournament in the Netherlands.

Kaufman will join other locals such as Elyria's Tess Sito, Andrea Nagy, Megan Bashak and Ashlee Stolarski. Keystone's Jessica Burt is a senior this season.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Southview graduate Gina Lurry has contributed to helping the Lock Haven University's volleyball team this season.

Lurry has played in 11 matches (26 sets) and has recorded 14 kills.

The Eagles are currently 20-9 overall and 13-6. They defeated West Chester University, 3-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal match on Tuesday (Nov. 9) and will advance to the next round.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon Lake's Tyler Beck and Morgan Srail have chosen Ohio University to continue their respective sports next season.

Back will play baseball at OU next fall, while Srail will continue her diving career.

Beck and Srail will be signing their letters of intent today at 2:15 p.m. inside the Avon Lake High School Media Center.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Marietta College’s volleyball team ended its season with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-17 loss to Ohio Northern last Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers closed the season with an overall record of 9-20 and finished 1-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Brookside’s Amber Wiley, a defensive specialist, played in 25 matches, finishing with one kills, 124 digs, six assists and eight service points.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Photo courtesy of Morning Journal/Anna Norris

Westlake's Kalpana Beach changed her mind and has now verbally chosen Ohio State to continue her basketball career.

Beach, whose in her senior year at Westlake, had originally gave an oral commitment to Notre Dame, but has chosen to stay closer to home.


Beach was an All-Ohio Second Teamer last year after averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Firelands’ Rachael Melendez closed out her sophomore season at Butler as Milwaukee defeated the Bulldogs, 5-0 in the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament at the Butler Bowl on Sunday.

This closes Butler’s season with a 9-11 record.

Melendez played and started in 19 games this season and is third in scoring. She scored three goals and assisted on three others.

Last year as a freshman, she played in 18 matches, including 12 starts. She recorded her first college goal in a win over Western Illinois (Aug. 30) and recorded her first assist against Purdue (Aug. 23).

At Firelands, she was All-Ohio her senior season, along with All-Lorain County three times and an All-Greater Cleveland selection. She was also named All-Ohio Second Team as a junior. She was also named the Lorain County Player of the Year her junior and senior season. She scored 102 career goals in high school including 60 as a senior.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Two second-half goals by Wellington’s Greg Stawicki led the Ohio Northern soccer team to a 2-1 win over Baldwin-Wallace in the semifinal game of the Ohio Athletic Conference men’s soccer tournament.

With the win, the Polar Bears improve to 16-4-1 overall and advance to the tournament championship game.

Stawicki’s first goal (third on season) tied the game in the 56th minute. His goal was set up when Austin Windsor used a free kick to set up a shot by Nate Bascom. Bascom’s shot hit off the right post and a streaking Stawicki put the rebound in to tie the game at 1.

Stawicki scored his second goal of the day (fourth of season) in the 74th minute when he finished a pass from high school teammate Christian Huelsman into the goal to put Northern up 2-1.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

BEREA — It was the classic tale of two halves.

In an intense battle for an Ohio Athletic Conference title, it was a strong second-half by Mount Union that surged the Purple Raiders past Baldwin-Wallace, winning their 100th consecutive road game in a 41-13 defeat over the Yellow Jackets at George Finnie Stadium in Berea.

With the win, Mount Union earned at least a share of its 19th-straight conference title (22nd overall). The win also gets the Purple Raiders an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Before the game, the teams couldn’t contain their excitement and had to be separated after a pre-game scuffle took place. The intensity carried on and the first quarter brought plenty of action as both teams scored two touchdowns each and the game was knotted up at 13.

Midview’s Josiah Holt returned the opening kickoff 45 yards, but a B-W penalty backed the ball back to the 20-yard line. After three-straight runs by Tim Miker, quarterback Ryan O’Rourke went to the air, throwing a 50-yard touchdown bomb to Kevin Johnson to take an early 7-0 lead. That was the largest deficit Mount Union has had all season.

"We felt good about ourselves scoring in the first try," B-W head coach John Snell said. "We’re not in it for moral victories. We wanted to come away with a win. We did a lot of good things. The game seemed closer than what the score indicates, but we wanted to win."

Mount Union wasted no time as Cecil Shorts returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to knot the score quickly at 7.

"That was the biggest play of the game right there," Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. "(Shorts) is an irreplaceable player. When he’s playing, the game changes for the defense. He’s a huge factor."

Shorts was making a return after missing four weeks with an ankle injury.

"Four weeks not playing was killing me inside," said Shorts, who led Mount Union with three touchdowns. "I just wanted to get back out there and contribute in some type of way for the team."

O’Rourke was intercepted on the next possession by Jordan and although Mount Union had a nice drive going, a Jeremy Murray 18-yard run went for naught as he fumbled at the 2-yard line. B-W’s Brandon Russo recovered the fumble to halt the drive.

Mount Union’s defense then stopped the Yellow Jackets to a three-and-out before Seaman delivered a jump ball to Miller, who caught the touchdown in the back of the end zone. B-W blocked the extra-point attempt by Elyria's Tyler Almeida as Mount Union led, 13-7.

After a 49-yard kickoff return by Kevin Johnson, O’Rourke orchestrated a 6-play 50-yard drive that was capped off by a Miker 1-yard TD run. Kicker Brad Pollock’s PAT went wide left and that tied the score at 13 at the 1:18 mark of the first quarter. The TD was Miker’s seventh of the season.

After a B-W defensive stop late in the second quarter, Mount Union caught a break when Ryan Dugan fumbled a punt near the 10-yard line. Quarterback Neal Seaman made the Yellow Jackets pay on the first play, throwing a 12-yard TD pass to Kyle Miller for a 20-13 lead.

The momentum carried forward as Mount Union mounted a 6-play, 71-yard drive to open up the second half, capped off by Shorts’ third touchdown of the game. Seaman delivered a 16-yard TD pass to the back of the end zone and Shorts hauled it in. After an Almeida extra-point, Mount Union grabbed a 27-13 lead.

B-W had a chance to cut the two-touchdown deficit to seven late in the third quarter, but on fourth-down-and-inches, O’Rourke pitched to Miker, who attempted to throw in the end zone to Aaron Manders, but two Purple Raider defenders were there to break it up.

Mount Union’s defense held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the last three quarters and recorded six sacks and three interceptions. Lambert Budzinski picked up sacks on back-to-back plays. Charles Dieuseul also added three sacks.

"We wanted to keep that bend, but don’t break mentality," Budzinski said. "We knew it was going to be a tight game. The score doesn’t reflect how physical and how hard hitting the game really was. In the second half, we didn’t make a lot of changes. We just stuck to our game plan and went with what we knew and what we expected them to do and it really payed off."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Elyria’s Tyler Almeida, who is the kicker for one of the nation’s top Division III team Mount Union, is one of 42 placekickers nationwide on the Fred Mitchell Award October watch list.

On the season, Almeida is second on the team in scoring with 67 points, 9 of 12 on field goals and 40 of 41 on extra points. He has converted 25 consecutive extra points for a Mount Union squad that is 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Almeida is one of only two NCAA D-III kickers from Ohio on the list and he is also being recognized for the community service work he does with the Raider Buddy program. The Raider Buddy program takes Mount Union football players into Alliance-area elementary schools to mentor and tutor children.

The annual Fred Mitchell Award, www.fredmitchellaward.com is provided to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker at Wittenberg University, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

From left to right: Phil Brua, Brandon Cantrill, Grady Campion

First-year baseball head coach Adrian Abrahamowicz has announced that seniors Phil Brua, of Avon, Brandon Cantrill, of Western Reserve, and Grady Campion will serve as team captains for the upcoming season.

"All three of these guys display the leadership qualities and work ethic to guide our team in the right direction," Abrhamowicz said. "I fully expect them to be positive influences on everyone in and around our program."

The Yeomen, who are coming off the best season in school history, return eight seniors who are poised to lead the team to its first-ever NCAC Tournament appearance.

Brua, who was a First-Team All-NCAC selection and Third-Team Great Lakes Region honoree, was simply dominant on the mound for the Yeomen in 2010. Brua set the school record for saves in a season (six) and tied the Oberlin mark for wins with a record of 6-3.

Cantrill was only one of two players to start in all 37 games last season. As the Yeomen’s main catcher he finished second on the team with a .328 batting average. He led the team with four home runs, while finishing second in slugging percentage (.543) and hits (38).

The Yeomen will begin their season on March 5 at Transylvania.

swalker@MorningJournal.com