Wrestling
Beachwood will send five grapplers to the rugged Garfield Heights Division III District Tournament next weekend and three of them will be number one seeds in their weight classes.
Freshman Ryan Harris (125 pounds), senior Alec Jacober (130) and junior David Shapiro (171) all won sectional titles at the Beachwood sectional Saturday. Harris rolled to an 18-0 technical fall over Cody Miller of Pymatuning Valley in the finals, Jacober pinned Logan Hnderson of Berkshire at the 2:54 mark of their championship hbout and Shapiro escaped with a 3-2 decision over Tyler Porter of Chanel.
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Freshman Sammy Gross (112 pounds) and juior Aaron Friedman (119) also advanced to the finals. Gross dropped a tight 2-1 decision to Casey Johns of Cardinal while Friedman was pinned at 5:14 by Zach Campbell of Pymatuning Valley.
Harris (40-4) and Shapiro (38-5) take the team's top won-lost records into the district. Gross is 34-5 overall, Friedman is 23-11 and Jacober, who missed the start of the season due to illness, is 21-1 overall. Shapiro now owns the school records for pins with 28 and if Harris can advance to state he can break the single season record for victories.
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"From this point on the competition really steps up," said Bison head coach Dugan Bentley. "The kids are going to be tested every single match. There is a big difference between our sectional and our district, which is one of the toughest in the state."
Beachwood's qualifiers begin their quest for a berth in the state tournament on Friday afternoon at Garfield Heights.
Boys' Basketball
Beachwood made a run at unbeaten Richmond Heights before coming up short by a 58-52 score against the state-ranked Spartans. The Bison trailed by just three points after three periods of play before falling. Andrew Somogyi led Beachwood with 13 points while John Davis and Isaiah Watts scored 11 points each.
A 30-point, 14-rebound performance by Jeremiah Townes paced the Bison to an 81-57 victory over Hawken as Beachwood improved to 8-5 in CVC Metro Division action and 11-8 overall. Somogyi added 15 points and Davis dished out nine assists in the win.
The Bison begin sectional tournament play at Lakeland Community College Feb. 28 when they take on Ashtabula Edgewood.
Girls' Basketball
The Lady Bison closed out their regular season with a 16-4 overall mark after wins over Independence and Cardinal. Beachwood finished at 9-1 in the Metro Division for a share of first place with Cuyahoga Heights.
Maya Eddie scored a team-high 22 points while Krystal Pearson added 11 in a 60-30 rout of Independence. The Lady Bison dominated Cardinal 75-37 with Monique Kaiser leading the way with 19 points. Eddie (16 points), Pearson (13) and Aneisha Hardin (12) all finished in double figures for the winners.
Beachwood's ladies will play Cardinal in a Division III sectional contest at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Ashtabula Lakeside.
Swimming
Senior Laura Tramer will be making a return to the state championships in Canton this weekend. Tramer turned in a time of 26.23 in the 200 freestyle to gain an at-large bid at Saturday's Northeast Ohio District meet held at Cleveland State University.
The state meet will be held at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton Friday and Saturday.
Gymnastics
Gabby Mitchell became the first gymnast in school history to qualify for the district meet. Mitchell gained the 12th and final qualifying spot on the balance beam with a score of 8.4 during sectional competition at West Geauga Saturday.
Mitchell will compete at the Painesville Riverside district meet on Saturday.