Amherst’s Shawn Chrapczynski set a new Oberlin College record that highlighted the day for Oberlin at the NCAC Indoor Pentathlon.

Chrapczynski totaled 3,105 points on the day and was just two points back of Ohio Wesleyan’s Andrew Diehl, who won the event with 3,107 total tallies. Chrapczynski picked up eight critical team points for the Yeomen, which will go a long way in determining their finish at the NCAC Championships next week.

The pentathlon consisted of one athlete competing in the 1,000 meters, 55-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and shot put. Chrapczynski’s best performances came in the long jump, which he won with a mark of 21-01.50, and the 1,000 meters where he paced second in 2:51.12.

"This was a great way to kickoff the conference championships," Head Coach Ray Appenheimer said. "Shawn was just awesome today and he truly displayed his great athletic ability."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Elyria graduate Tess Sito is at it again.

In just the first week of the softball season, Sito, a sophomore at Cleveland State, has already notched another accolade, being named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week.

Sito, the 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year, did not allow an earned run over 12 2/3 innings, recording two victories. The sophomore went all seven innings in a 1-0 win over Ball State on Saturday, striking out seven to work around six hits — all singles. Sito went 3 2/3 innings in the nightcap on Saturday, adding five more strikeouts. In Sunday’s championship-clinching win, Sito tossed the final two innings.

At the plate, Sito added a homerun and two RBIs in going 5-for-12.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Wellington graduate Melissa Rennie, a freshman catcher on the Ohio State softball team, was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week. Rennie claimed the weekly honor along with freshman pitcher Cassee Layne, of Michigan State.

This is the first weekly award of Rennie’s career and first conference recognition of the season for the Buckeyes. The OSU rookie earns the honor after helping the squad to two wins last weekend at the South Alabama Invitational in Mobile, Ala. In three games at the tournament, Rennie totaled seven hits, including three home runs with six RBIs in her second ever career collegiate event.

In the Ohio State’s 4-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana Feb. 19, Rennie posted her first career three-hit game. In the following game against Tennessee-Martin, she led off an inning with her first career home run to give Ohio State a 6-3 lead over the SkyHawks.

In the final game of the invitational, Rennie continued her hot bat at the plate with her first multi-homer performance with a season-high four RBI. Her offense was a main part of the Buckeyes’ rally to win 12-4 in extra innings vs. the Purple Aces. Rennie scored leadoff the top of the fifth with a home run to left center to cut the deficit to 3-2. In the eighth inning, the Buckeye rookie put Ohio State ahead, 6-3, with a two-run home run to help start a nine-run inning for the Scarlet and Gray.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon Lake native Dick Deasy, who is the head coach of the women at Notre Dame College of Ohio, has announced his retirement after the season.

Deasy, who has been the head coach since 2001, is the program’s longest tenured coach and its winningest. Deasy has been a coach, teacher and administrator at both the collegiate and high-school levels for 50 years. At Notre Dame, he has guided the Falcons to a 182-119 mark and five 20-win seasons, including the current campaign (22-8) which has earned the team a postseason berth for a seventh time in the last eight years.

"I have enjoyed my time at Notre Dame immensely," Deasy said. "It’s a wonderful institution, and I’m so proud of all the young women who worked so hard to build up and maintain our women’s basketball program.

"It’s the right time for me to retire, so I wanted to tell them first. But that being said, what the team doesn’t know is what I get out of coaching them — I learn from them, and the day-to-day interactions with the team keep me young."

Deasy is also the winningest coach in the history of Avon Lake boys’ basketball. He has won over 500 games combined at all levels of basketball in his illustrious career. At Notre Dame he coached in his 300th game last week.

Deasy’s Falcons open play in the 2011 AMC Championship Tournament on Tuesday. Notre Dame earned that home-court date with an upset road win over No. 16 Cedarville on Saturday.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard and the Florida State Seminoles women’s basketball team are that much closer to another regular-season conference title.

Two games away to be exact.

The No. 12 Florida State women’s basketball defeated No. 17 Maryland, 72-66 on Sunday, led by Bravard’s 14 points. The Seminoles now control their own destiny as far as a regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference championship is concerned, now just needing a win at Miami and at home against Clemson to finish in at least a tie at the top of the league pile.

FSU’s victory also moves its record to 22-5 overall and to 10-2 in league play. The ‘Noles have now won at least 10 ACC contests in a school-record three consecutive seasons.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

New London graduate Corey Chaffins picked up his first win of the season as Eastern Michigan’s baseball team defeated the No. 4-ranked Clemson Tigers, 7-6, in the second game of a three-game set on Saturday.

Chaffins pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief. He was brought in as Tim Combs seemed a bit rattled as he walked the only two batters he faced to bring in the fifth run for the Tigers. Chaffins then entered the game and got out of a bases loaded jam by striking out the clean-up hitter, Shaffer, to end the inning.

Chaffins then shut down the Tigers in the final two frames, taking just seven batters to get the final six outs to preserve the Eagles first win of the season and first win over a ranked opponent since opening day last season when they defeated No. 25 Kansas.
The Eagles improve to 1-1 on the season with the win while Clemson falls to 1-1 with the loss.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Elyria graduate Megan Bashak threw five scoreless innings as Cleveland State defeated Belmont, 4-1, on Sunday to claim the team title of the Austin peay Spring Classic with a 3-1 record.

In just her second career start, Bashak went five scoreless innings against Belmont, allowing three hits while striking out six and walking just one to pick up her first career victory. Fellow Elyria graduate Tess Sito, who was battling the side effects of being hit with a line drive on her pitching arm the day before, threw the final two innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits.

The Vikings are now 5-4 on the year.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

When Southview High School closed, it hit close to home for Bobby Soler, whose entire family has graduated from the Lorain school located on State Route 57.

Just a year away from graduation, the Saints’ soccer standout was stressed about the closing and didn’t know where he wanted to attend high school for his final year.
His mom suggested moving to Amherst and the rest is history, so to speak. Solar signed his letter of intent to Tiffin University on Wednesday at the Steele High School library in front of his family, coaches and teammates.

"It was very tough, it really put a hurting on me," Soler said of the school closing. "I was pretty depressed about that. My mom mentioned that we could move to Amherst and I knew that Amherst had a pretty nice soccer program and it came through and we made a nice run."

Soler played two years at Southview before Lorain City Schools consolidated the school with Admiral King.

His Lorain roots run deep and he’s proud to be the first member of his family to attend college.

"It feels great. I wanted to please my family as the first generation to go to college," Soler said. "I wanted to prove that no matter where you come from, you can go to college."

Last fall was only Soler’s third season of soccer. He began playing his sophomore year and knew the odds that would be a collegiate player were against him, but what he didn’t have in talent and pedigree, he made up for with effort and heart.

"From the day that Bobby came in here, that’s the one thing that he brought," Amherst coach Brett Thompson said. "You saw how hard he worked. The things that impressed me instantly about Bobby were that he came in and had a tough team his senior year and he was determined to outwork everybody."

"I knew coming into varsity level that I wouldn’t have enough talent to be up to speed with everyone else," Soler said. "I thought if I just gave it my all then I’d make something happen on the field and that’s what I’ve done."

Soler finished the season at Amherst with six goals and two assists as the Comets reached the Division I district semifinals.

Picking a school is never easy, but when Tiffin came to Soler late in the game, things progressed quickly from there.

"I had a couple of offers from D-III but what makes (Tiffin) standout the most is that this one came out of nowhere and I got that call the weekend of my birthday saying they wanted to offer me to come play there," Soler said. "I got the call on Friday and went and on Monday I went and visited. Everything happened kind of fast but I went and visited and I loved it."

Soler said he’ll study forensic science at Tiffin.

courtesy of Colin Wilson

Elyria graduate Honesty King, also a former Lorain County Miss Basketball, hit a career-high six three pointers for a career-high 18 points to help lead Cleveland State to a 74-66 win at Wright State on Thursday.

CSU improved to 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the Horizon League, while WSU slipped to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in the league.

"Honesty was huge tonight, probably playing the best game of her career," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "People will see the six three’s and the 18 points, but she was phenomenal up top defending the ball. She forced some turnovers and gave me confidence that I could put her up there if Shawnita (Garland) gets in foul trouble as she did tonight."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Admiral King graduate Matt Toth received recognition for his strong two-year career thus far with the Storm by being named the 15th best player at NCAA Division II schools in Ohio by Buckeye State Baseball.

"It’s always nice to see your guys recognized for their accomplishments," Head Coach Brian McGee said. "Matt’s been one of our most consistant players hitting over .300 every year. He definitely has the capability to being All-GLIAC this season."

Toth played in and started all 45 games in the outfield in 2010 and hit .344 (56-for-163). He led Lake Erie with 13 steals and was second on the team with 40 runs scored.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Amherst’s Ryan Rua was named the fourth best draftable prospect in NCAA Division II according to Baseball America. Rua is the first position player listed in the publication’s small college preview.

Rua, the all-time and single-season home run record holder at Lake Erie, earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Regional Team honors last season when he hit .400 with 11 homers and 40 RBI. That came on the heels of a freshman year in which he hit .320 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs.

This past summer, he was named MVP of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League All-Star Game and was a All-GLSCL First Team pick after helping the Hamilton Joe’s claim the wood bat league’s championship.

"With his performance this summer in the Great Lakes League and how he has played on the field at the collegiate level the past two seasons, Ryan is getting notice and recognition from the professional baseball community," Storm head coach Brian McGee said. "He continues to work hard and improve himself as a player, and that will lend to further accolades for him personally and serve as a great example to the other players in our program."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

AVON LAKE — For a school like Avon Lake, having a few players move onto college football every season is almost expected. That’s why Monday’s ceremony at the school was so special.

The Shoremen announced that five players from this team will be playing on scholarships next season at colleges from the East Coast to the Midwest — a school best.

"I’ve been involved in the football program at Avon Lake for 37 years and we’ve never had five scholarship players in one year," said head coach Dave Dlugosz, who just finished his 19th year as head coach. "We’re seeing five tremendous examples of all three proponents of our football program."

Brian Mihalik, who will be playing in April’s North-South game at Ohio Stadium, will play at Boston College, his father’s alma mater.

"Through the whole process he didn’t want to steer me in either direction but it ended up being the right choice," Mihalik said. "He’s excited and I’m excited."

A terror for opposing quarterbacks, Mihalik had 11 sacks in 2010 and also played tight end. The second-team All-Ohio selection also returned an interception for a touchdown against Shaker Heights in Week 2 and was one of the team’s captains along with the other four signees, which made it more special.

"It’s really exciting, it was a lot of fun," Mihalik said. "We’ve all tried to be leaders for the team no matter what happened."

Shoremen tackle Andrew Bohan, a third team All-Ohio selection, will be playing his football at Akron next year. The top lineman in Lorain County filled in nicely for Michigan recruit Christian Pace and helped pace the two-pronged running attack of Zach Johnson and Dontez Smith. Bohan will be joining Mihalik at the North-South game in April and is on the Ohio roster for the Big 33 game between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Bohan, a 6-foot-5 lineman, is fulfilling a goal by signing on with the Zips, a choice that he found relatively easy.

"It’s a little unreal looking back to years ago wanting to play football in college," Bohan said. "I liked everything they showed me. It was just a great fit, I felt comfortable down there."

Bohan, along with defensive back Peter Lancione was also named Academic All-Ohio. On Akron’s schedule every season in the Mid-American Conference East Division is Buffalo, where Bohan will face fellow Shoreman Ronnie Willoughby.

"It’s a little friendly rivalry in the MAC," Bohan said.

One of the county’s top receivers, Willoughby’s 40-yard dash time dropped significantly in the summer of 2009, putting him on the college radar when he timed out at 4.6 seconds and then caught nine touchdown passes in each of the last two seasons. Also a standout for the Shoremen basketball team, Willoughby was selected third team All-Ohio and is part of a solid recruiting class for the Bulls.

"I’m just happy that it’s all over. The recruiting process is so long," Willoughby said. "I’m excited to play college football."

Choosing the Bulls came down to being comfortable and having a chance at success.

"It’s like a big family out there," Willoughby said. "The coaching staff is very good … They’ve won everywhere they’ve been. This is the best recruiting class Buffalo has ever had so that went into it a lot."

The Shoremen had just three signings planned for National Signing Day last Wednesday, but two other players joined the party after the ceremony was snowed out and pushed back to Monday. Lineman Micah Charlton went on his visit to Georgetown College in Kentucky on Friday and fell in love with the campus right away. The first African-American co-captain for Avon Lake football, Charlton was happy to join his teammates as they all celebrated moving on to the next level.

"When I got to Georgetown I knew it was where I was supposed to be," Charlton said. "I know I made the right decision."

Charlton’s brother, Charles Howard, was killed in August of 2009, so his signing was done with a heavy heart and with memories Charles, who played running back for Elyria, on his mind.

"I know he would be proud of me so I’m just going to go to the next level and make him proud there," Charlton said.

Charlton was glad he was able to share the moment with his teammates because of the support they showed him through the hard times.

"When my brother died, my teammates became my brothers," Charlton said. "Every Friday night I would go out there and do it for him, so this is basically for him."

Last but not least was quarterback Trent Toy, who will play at Walsh University in Canton. Toy made considerable strides in his two years at the helm for Avon Lake and helped lead the Shoremen to two Southwestern Conference championships and 16 victories in two playoff seasons along with his fellow seniors.

"It feels great to know where I’m going to school," Toy said. "It’s nice to know where I’m going and to know I’m going to play football at the next level."

Even it they came on late in the process, Walsh stood out among the colleges who were interested in Toy.

"It ended up being really easy," Toy said. "Walsh stood out among all the schools. When I went there on my visit and met with my coaches it felt comfortable. It was a place I could see myself spending my next four years."

courtesy of Colin Wilson

AMHERST — When a 155-pound Marty Thomas began playing varsity football at Amherst, his coaches told him he was too small to play linebacker.

A school-record 312 tackles later, Thomas signed his National Letter of Intent to play that same position at Robert Morris University in a ceremony at Amherst High School on Monday.

Though it frustrated him at the time, the coaches that told him he couldn’t do it were the ones Thomas thanked the most as he signed his letter.

"I just used that as fuel every day go out there to practice and work my tail off in order to prove to them that I could do it." Thomas said. "Even though they shot me down at first they gave me a lot of inspiration."

Thomas has been All-Ohio the past two seasons and anchored a stingy Amherst defense as one of the best inside linebackers in the state of Ohio.

He made 136 tackles in 2009 which was good for second-most in Division I despite only playing 10 games and followed that by leading the division in tackles in 2010 with 151 in 10 games, something he’ll always remember fondly.

"It’s the greatest feeling I’ve had in my whole life," Thomas said. "Looking back on it I really enjoyed playing football at Amherst. I’m really looking forward to trying to make an impact in college."

As he signed his letter in front of his family, teammates and coaches, Thomas was praised by both athletic director Ron Hause and defensive coordinator Chad DiFranco.

"As a high school football coach, this is what we want for everybody," DiFranco said. "To see him go on makes me very, very proud. All of us who’ve had a chance to work with Marty couldn’t be happier for him and his family."

Robert Morris made a good impression early on Thomas from both a campus and academic standpoint to a football standpoint as Thomas will likely remain at linebacker where he wants to play.

"I just loved the whole feeling of the college. Right when I went there I decided, ‘This was the place for me,’" Thomas said. "I’m just looking forward to making an impact there."

Though he’s not sure if he’ll red shirt or get in right away, Thomas is ready to get started and do whatever it takes to get on the field.

"Hopefully I can get in on special teams and see what happens from there," Thomas said. "Right now there’s no specific plan. I’ll just figure it out when it happens."

Thomas, who will likely study sports management at RMU, said he has wanted to play college football since he began playing as a kid and pretty much never had any doubt he would do it.

"I saw that it was a possibility the second I started playing," Thomas said. "I never took no for an answer. It’s what I wanted to do so I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me that I couldn’t."

Thomas said working with trainer Mark Valenti of Cleveland Ave. Ludus helped his game quite a bit as he gained plenty of size and quickness over the past two years.

"I wouldn’t have gotten as strong or as fast or as big as I did if it wasn’t for him," Thomas said.

In Thomas’ Amherst career, the Comets were 23-7 and continually boasted one of the county’s best defenses.

He recorded 19 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, five forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and an interception over the past two seasons.

Thomas was named first team All-District, first team All-SWC, first team All-County, first team All Morning Journal and Amherst’s best team linebacker in each of the last two seasons. In 2010 he was the team’s defensive MVP and a team captain and earned his third varsity letter.

courtesy of Colin Wilson

ELYRIA — He may have officially committed to play football at The Ohio State University on Thursday, but for Elyria senior Chase Farris, signing his letter of intent at his school meant a little more to him.

Friday, at the school’s auditorium in front of faculty and teammates, Farris sat next to his mother Dina and finally got to enjoy his signing day.

Farris was originally supposed to sign on Wednesday, but Elyria had to postponed school on Tuesday and Wednesday due to treacherous winter weather.
Despite the delay, Farris said was happy to share the moment with his family and friends.

"It kind of crushed me that we didn’t have school on Wednesday and we couldn’t get it out of the way then, but the way it happened — I wouldn’t take it back for anything," Farris said.

During the assembly, Elyria Athletic Director Jerry Chizmar and former Elyria football coach Steve Hamilton took turns acknowledging Farris’ accomplishments on and off the field.

After Farris signed his letter he grabbed an Ohio State cap and put it on with a big smile on his face.

"It’s been a long time coming," Farris said. "Just to sign on the dotted line was a wonderful feeling."

Farris’ mother, Dina, said she was glad her son got to have his moment in the spotlight.

"Today has been a good day," Dina said. "We finally got a day where we could all come together. I’m just blessed and very humble and I’m grateful for the community and all of our supporters."

Like any mother would be, Dina was brimming with pride.

"It just goes to show if you do what you’re supposed to do and give respect and listen to your coaches and teacher, then you can go far."

Dina said as Chase began to grow and get more and more into athletics she never thought football would be the sport he would excel in.

"The funny part is the sport he cared nothing about was the one that got him the scholarship," Dina said. "Growing up he played baseball and his main love was basketball. He carried a basketball around everywhere he went.

"He would always come to me and ask to go to all these different camps and it was because he wanted to be out there, not because I wanted him to do it."

The man who changed Farris’ fortune about playing football was Hamilton.

Hamilton convinced Farris to play football coached him all four years in high school. Although he is no longer the head coach at Elyria, Hamilton said he is happy for his former standout.

"I look at it as moving on in another direction," Hamilton said. "That young man has earned his keep and has done the work that is necessary in the classroom and on the football field.

"I was very excited for him because getting kids to the next level was a goal of ours when I took over the program."

Chizmar said that it’s always a special time when kids get to go to college.

"Any time you have a kid go to school it’s a special thing," Chizmar said. "Its shows you that the kids, coaches and teachers all worked hard and it’s just fantastic for the community."

Farris said he has no plans to go down to OSU early and that he’s going to workout at school and enjoy the rest of his season year. Farris added that he’s actually thinking about joining the track team in the spring for the first time.

When ask what events he would participate in, Farris just laughed and said, "Well I’m not going to embarrass myself running, but probably do shot put and disc."

courtesy of Anthony Rios

BAY VILLAGE — For the last two seasons, Bay’s Michael Brajdic won the Division II cross country state title in the shadow of The Ohio State University.

Last fall he broke the course record at Scioto Downs with a time of 15:01.09, a record that had been held since 1987 by Olympian Bob Kennedy.

That performance plus twice finishing below 15 minutes caught the interest of most of the top running programs in the country.

But Brajdic like all great runners trusted his gut and his heart and both told him where he really belonged.

"My gut throughout the process was I am an Ohio guy," Brajdic said. "I would really love to stay in Ohio."

Brajdic made the decision in late November but officially signed his Letter of Intent to attend Ohio State on Friday in the Bay High School Library.

"I am relieved," Brajdic said. "In 7th and 8th grade I looked up to people who made big college decisions like this. I have always waited for this day and it is amazing that it is here already. It is a new chapter in life."

Brajdic began the process by e-mailing schools himself but like most of his races, by the end of the process everyone was chasing him.

"I started over a year ago e-mailing and getting my name out there. I got some interest and as I did better I got more and more interest," he said. "Eventually I was lucky enough to narrow it down to a few schools I really loved."

Brajdic visited Georgetown, Notre Dame, Ohio State and North Carolina State. Likely a Finance major, Brajdic was impressed with the Business programs at all four schools.

After his performance at the state meet, some big fish joined the race late.

"I was set on those four schools but after I won state I heard from a ton of schools like Oregon, Oklahoma State, Duke and bigger schools like that," Brajdic said. "I thought about looking into those schools but I really loved the schools I had."

The difference maker turned out to be Ohio State Cross Country and Track head coach Robert Gary.

"I really liked what Coach Gary was doing and to run with all the guys I looked up to in high school would be huge for me," Brajdic said. "I love how organized he was. He is involved heavily in USA Track and Field. He plans out your college career and prepares you to run nationally. He already has big goals for me. He also has post-collgiate connections. If the will is there for me to keep running after college, he will find a way for me to take stabs at Olympic Trials."

Gary is happy Brajdic is becoming a Buckeye.

"I am very excited about Michael becoming a Buckeye," Gary said. "I became increasingly impressed with him and his family as the recruiting process continued. He clicked very well with our current team and I am excited to watch him develop with the rest of a great recruiting class of Ohio cross country runners."

Brajdic’s scholarship is actually a track scholarship. He will participate in Cross Country, Indoor Track and Track at Ohio State.

"Technically there are no cross country scholarships there is just track," Brajdic said. "So technically I am a track athlete who also competes in cross country."

courtesy of Zachary Dzurick

Elyria's Chase Farris wasn’t the only area football player who was patient waiting to sign his letter of intent.

Lorain’s Sherman Thomas also sign his letter of intent to play football at Ashland University after waiting two extra days because of the weather.

The senior defensive back was relieved to make his decision so that he could start concentrating on finishing high school strongly and what classes he’d take next year.

"I was glad to get it over with so I can focus on getting ready for school," Thomas said.

A three-year varsity player, Thomas didn’t realize his goal of playing college football until this season. That was thanks in part to former Lorain coach Todd Auvil emphasizing that he could be a college athlete.

"That’s what he talks about every time I see him he’d say, ‘We’re going to get you into a college,’" Thomas said. "So that definitely helped a lot."

courtesy of Sports@MorningJournal.com

COLUMBUS — There’s a reason Chase Farris has been sporting an ear-to-ear smile all week — and it has nothing to do with getting two days of school off this week because of a brutal ice storm.

Not only did the standout defensive end from Elyria sign a national letter of intent on Wednesday to play football at Ohio State, but he also spent Thursday being introduced at a luncheon in Columbus as a member of the North Team that will play in the Ohio North-South all-star game in April.

Farris is set to enroll for summer quarter classes in June. But first he will get to play one last high school football game against Ohio’s best seniors on April 22 in Ohio Stadium.

Which is where Farris will play his home games the next four years.

"To be chosen for this game is an amazing feeling," Farris said on Thursday at the Columbus Hilton at Easton Place prior to the luncheon. "It’s a true honor."

The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder got the true all-star treatment at the luncheon. Almost as soon as he entered the lobby, he was swarmed by a large group of media members who cover Ohio State, wanting to talk to him and other members of the Buckeyes’ recruiting class, each of whom signed their letters of intent on Wednesday.

"When I got the phone call (telling him he was selected to play in the game), I had my dad stop the car and everything," Farris said. "I was down visiting with him in North Carolina and he was in the car with me. I told him, ‘I just got picked for the North-South game and I think I really want to play in it.’"

Farris’ North Team is being coached by Howland coach Dick Angle. Other Ohio State signees on the North are DerJuan Gambrell (Toledo Rogers), Doran Grant (St. Vincent-St. Mary), Steve Miller (Canton McKinley) and Devin Smith (Massillon).
To think this is going to be a run-of-the-mill, laid back game might be a misnomer.

"Of course it matters who wins," Farris said. "Everyone goes out there to win. That’s the fun part of the game."

courtesy of John Kampf

Avon’s Devon Saini and Cody Schroeder signed their letters of intent to continue their sports careers in college on Thursday in the Avon High School Auditorium.

Saini, a soccer standout, will continue her soccer career at Eastern Kentucky University (Division I).

Schroeder will continue his football career at California University of Pennsylvania (Division II).

courtesy of Sports@MorningJournal.com

Clearview quarterback Davon Daniels will be continuing his football career and education at Lake Erie College next season.

Daniels, who passed for 610 yards and eight touchdowns for the Clippers in 2010, was recruited as an athlete and will most likely play on the defensive side of the ball for the Storm.

"I liked the fact that it’s a Division-II school, and I liked all the coaches and the whole environment over there," said Daniels, who will study sports management. Education is the most important thing — and they were able to help out financially."

Other schools Daniels looked into were Ashland, Notre Dame College and Heidelberg.

Daniels played defensive end and linebacker for Clearview and was the team’s starting quarterback for his senior season.

"Davon turned out to be a great leader for us," Clearview head coach Mike Collier said. "He was a quiet kid that became a vocal leader as a senior. He’s a flexible player and was always doing the right thing both on and off the field."

Daniels was a part of the Clearview team, seeing time mostly as a defensive end, that went 10-0 in 2008 and went to the playoffs. He was behind Zach Anderson, a three-year starter at quarterback, before becoming the starter in his last year with the team.
This season, the Clippers went 7-3.

"Being able to be the starting quarterback my senior year and take the field with the other 10 guys was great" said Daniels of his time at Clearview. "I’m looking forward to having fun, winning some games, getting an education and that college life experience."

The football program at Lake Erie, located in Painesville, began in 2008. The Storm went 7-4 this year.

courtesy of Cory Schuett

COLUMBUS — No one said it was going to be easy.

Ohio State’s men’s basketball team on Thursday went to the locker room at halftime on the downside of the score for only the fourth time this season.

The Buckeyes at one point went six minutes without a field goal. They were an extremely mediocre 15 of 25 from the free throw line.

But through it all, the top-ranked team in the nation survived a 62-53 victory over visiting Michigan for its 23rd consecutive win of the season in front of a sellout crowd of 18,809 in Value City Arena.

"We know everybody is going to come after us," said sophomore William Buford, who fought through an upset stomach for 13 points. "We take every team’s best shot."

And still emerge game after game as the victor.

There’s a line of thought out there that the Buckeyes would be best off to lose a game prior to the arrival of March Madness so as to perhaps alleviate a little pressure. Don’t count Coach Thad Matta among that group.

"No, No," Matta said. "I love to win."

Even if things are getting more snug for the Buckeyes, who have won six of their last eight games by five points or fewer.

The game’s big swing occurred early in the second half, courtesy of a 12-2 run by the Buckeyes that turned 34-32 deficit into a 44-36 advantage.

After Michigan’s Jordan Morgan hit a basket, OSU freshman Aaron Craft made a spinning reverse layup. David Lighty added a putback and then Buford hit a smooth triple from the corner for a 43-36 lead.

Lighty split a pair of free throws to complete the run.

While the Wolverines (13-10, 3-7) answered back with a mini run of its own, they never took the lead again.

"In the second half, we just took our intensity to another level," said Sullinger, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds.

It was his 10th double-double of the season.

"We know that it’s Michigan and they were going to give their toughest game," Sullinger continued. "We knew about the rivalry. We just had to take it to another level."

The Wolverines were the team hitting at a higher level in the first half. After the Buckeyes scored the first seven points within the first two minutes of the game, Coach John Beilein’s team regained its composure, but more importantly regained the tempo.

Michigan took a 26-23 lead at the half on a layup by Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Buckeyes shot a miserable 36 percent (9 of 25) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 25 percent (2 of 8) from the 3-point line.

What stood out the most was OSU’s 10 turnovers at intermission.

I told them we can win the game," Beilein said. "’You’re up in the game and you can play with these guys.’"

Until OSU’s big second-half run.

Once again, the Buckeyes struggled from the free throw line; not just down the stretch, but for the entire game. Sullinger, who along with Jon Diebler played the entire game, was 5 of 11 from the free throw line, while Lighty was 5 of 8.
Diebler and Lighty each had 9 points, with Diebler hitting a 3-pointer for the 39th straight game.

Michigan got a 15-point effort from Hardaway Jr., prompting Beilein to say, "for him to score 15 with David Lighty on him, he had a good day."

Darius Morris, who Matta considers the most improved player in the conference, had 12, with Jordan Morgan scoring 10.

Still, the undefeated trek of the Buckeyes churns on, with Opportunity No. 24 coming Sunday at Minnesota.

Ohio State, who is 10-0 in the conference, has not started 11-0 in league play since doing so in both 1960 and 1962 when the Buckeyes won 11 in a row.

"There’s great players (in college basketball) and there’s great coaches," Matta said. "To be sitting here with 23-0 and 10-0 in the Big Ten is something else."

courtesy of John Kampf

CLEVELAND — Now that it’s in the books as a 76-65 victory for Cleveland State, it can be said the Vikings absolutely had to beat Valparaiso in Thursday’s Horizon League showdown at the Wolstein Center.

They needed to prevail to hold on to first place in the league race with six league games remaining.

Mission accomplished in that regard.

With their sixth straight victory, the Vikings improved to 21-3 overall and 10-2 in the league. That gives them a 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Valpo (16-7, 8-3) and a two-game edge on third-place Wright State (15-9, 8-4).

They also needed to beat Valpo not just to avenge last month’s 64-58 loss in Indiana, but also to demonstrate that this year, the road to the Horizon League title runs through Cleveland as the regular season enters its final month.

Consider that point made in emphatic fashion as the Vikings downed the Crusaders with a one-two punch of tenacious defense and clutch scoring.

Junior guard Jeremy Montgomery scored a career-high 26 points for the Vikings, who also got 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals from senior guard Norris Cole.

"We started off well, on an emotional high at the start,’’ Cole said. "To play this game effectively, you have to be intense. We turned the ball over a little too much due to the adrenaline, but once the game settled down, we allowed out defense to work.’’

The Vikings shot 44.9 percent from the field while limiting the Crusaders to 37.7 percent shooting, 10 points below their team average coming into the pivotal contest.

The Crusaders got 17 points from Howard Little and 15 points from rangy sophomore forward Ryan Broekhoff.

"You have to congratulate Cleveland State,’’ Valparaiso Homer Drew said. "They are on tip of the conference. They earned it. They deserved it. Cole and Montgomery were sensational.’’

At both ends of the floor, the Vikings made big plays when they needed to be made.
"The difference in the game as their speed taking over,’’ Drew said. "We could not get thm into a half-court game.’’

CSU built leads as large as 11 points in the first half before a 12-2 Valpo run over the final five minutes forced CSU to settled for a 31-30 lead at halftime. The second half was a back-and-forth affair, too, with CSU again taking 11-point leads only to have the Crusaders get back within range every time.

The Vikings repeatedly answered those rallies with scoring run of their own. They drained clutch shots and made life miserable for Valpo’s leading scorers, Brandon Wood and Cory Johnson. Averaging 16.0 and 15.8 points respectively, both were limited to six points.

"We had some breakdowns, but we played hard,’’ CSU coach Gary Waters said. "That’s a very good offensive team.’’

CSU won the rebounding battle, 48-36, and also had seven blocked shots, five by 6-foot-7 sophomore guard-forward Charlie Woods.

"It’s really good.’’ Drew said of CSU’s defense. "They are on-the-ball defenders. You saw the seven blocked shots. We had some point-blank looks that they erased with athleticism and jumping ability.’’

The Vikings swing back into action Saturday, hosting Butler (14-9, 6-5). The Bulldogs are reeling after Thursday’s 62-60 loss at Youngstown State. Tipoff is at noon. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Notes
• CSU is 13-0 at home this season and has a 15-game winning streak at Wolstein Center dating to last season.
• Trey Harmon’s 12 rebounds were a career high. .
• The paid attendance of 4,472 was the third largest of the season.

courtesy of David S. Glasier

Southview graduate Jazzminn Richey-Obey finished fifth overall with 1,189 total pins in six games and the Hampton University bowling team competed in its first tournament of 2011 on Saturday and Sunday, finishing third in the Frederick E. Underwood Lady Bulldogs Classic hosted by Bowie State University.

Richey-Obey averaged 198.0 pins per match. She topped 200 pins three times, including a 230 in the Lady Pirates’ bye.

She also bowled a 219 against Howard and a 203 against Coppin State. On Sunday, the Lady Pirates beat St. Peter’s 4.5-2.5, before falling 2-4 to Morgan State. Hampton closed out Baker match play with a 4-1 win over Saint Peter’s.

The Lady Pirates went a combined 5-3 on the weekend, going 3-2 on Saturday’s 5-person team match action before going 2-1 in Sunday’s Baker match play.

On Saturday, Hampton lost 852-892 to Howard, before recording 1,005 points in a bye. The Lady Pirates then defeated St. Peter’s 898-876 before falling 880-881 to North Carolina A&T. Hampton closed out Saturday’s action by beating Salem International 768-631 and Coppin State 698-630.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

North Ridgeville’s Keene Cockburn, who was a red-shirted freshman last season, is enjoying playing for the No. 1-ranked Division II West Liberty University basketball team. The Hilltoppers just completed its first month as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team in unanimous fashion.

West Liberty (19-0) received all eight first-place votes for the fourth consecutive week when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its weekly NCAA Division II national Top 25 coaches’ poll.

Cockburn is playing nearly 10 minutes a game (9.8) and is averaging nearly six points per game (5.9). He has made6 of 16 from the 3-point arc (nearly 40 percent). He is also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He also has 13 steals in 14 games played.

Rapidly closing in on the first back-to-back West Virginia Conference championships in school history, West Liberty has won its 18 games by an average of nearly 40 points per game and heads into the final month of the regular season scoring at a blistering 120.1 ppg. pace.

West Liberty has posted routs of Davis & Elkins, 129-88; Bluefield State, 100-74, and Concord, 133-82, to remain one of just two unbeaten NCAA Division II teams in the nation. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), which moved up to No. 6 this week, also boasts an 18-0 unblemished mark.

swalker@MorningJournal.com