Sports
Bees Girls, Boys Fall Sports Programs Find Success
Girls win SWC titles in soccer, cross country and golf.
A 1-0 win at Westlake on Saturday gave the girls soccer team the Southwestern Conference championship, an 11-1-2 record and big hopes entering tournament play. The Bees are the No. 1 seed in the Kent District Tournament and will play at home Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of a match between Warren-area schools Howland and Harding on Tuesday.
The girls' good season is just part of a very successful fall sports program, according to athletic director Dan Kalinsky.
"It's going well, even though we had some injuries that led to some disappointment on the football field," Kalinsky said. "The girls' programs have really done well. We're ranked in the top 10 in the state in soccer, the golf team went undefeated, won the league tournament and is headed to state this weekend. The volleyball team is strong again and we hope to get back to the state tournament there, too."
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The girls' cross country team won the SWC meet on Saturday and the tennis team had an outstanding 11-4 record and was second in the SWC Tournament.
Brecksville boys have succeeded, too, though the football and soccer teams have yet to meet expectations. Both highly regarded programs unexpectedly struggled, though the boys' cross country squad came through with a second-place finish in the SWC Tournament on Saturday.
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The football team is 4-4 (3-2 in the SWC) after a tough 17-14 loss at Avon Lake on Friday night. Quarterback Tom Tupa returned from a collarbone injury and alternated with younger brother Tim, who had played in his place the previous few weeks.
"Tim really stepped up in Tom's absence, and so did the offensive line and our running back, Jay Schott," Kalinsky said. "These guys learned a lot about what it takes to overcome adversity. I think what Jay did a few weeks ago was remarkable. He carried 41 times in a driving rainstorm and didn't fumble once. That shows a lot of character."
The Lady Bees dominated the SWC meet Saturday, far outdistancing the field. They placed six runners in the top 18 of the 5K, led by Lauren Greenlee and Jillian Bajaksouzian, who were third and fourth, respectively. Other top finishers were Melissa Rains (7), Leah Tan (10), Veronica Thompson (13), and Erin Beaver (18). The Bees swept the top seven places in the open 5K. Olivia Cole won in a time of 21.55.1, followed by Megan Beaver, Ciara Catalano, Sarah Schlabig, Megan Hamilton, Sydney Dougherty and Brianna Romito.
The boys team placed second to Avon Lake, well ahead of third-place North Olmsted at the SWC meet. David Ryland, Rob Scanlon and Matthew Dietrich finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the 5K run. In the open run, Sam Ritchie was third as the Bees had seven runners in the top 17. Also doing well were Jack Wessel (ninth), Troy Orwin (10), Kyle Turkovich (11), Jakob Nypaver (13), Sal Messina (14) and James Phillips (17).
With wins in their final two games at home Friday against Midpark and Oct. 28 against Westlake, the Bees can finish 6-4. That would be quite an accomplishment for a team that had lofty preseason hopes dashed in the second and third weeks by losing players to injury and being outscored 91-35 in consecutive road losses at Fremont Ross and Hudson.
GOLF
The Lady Bees have qualified for the state tournament in Columbus on Friday and Saturday after completing their second consecutive undefeated season in the Southwestern Conference and going 16-1 overall. They also won four tournaments, including the prestigious invitationals at Twinsburg and North Royalton to open the year, then the SWC event and topped the 18-team field in the Sectional on Oct. 4. They then placed fifth in the District, led by senior Halley Morell, who set a school 18-hole record with a 2-under par 70 to finish second in the field of 96. Coach Greg Roderick has a veteran team to go with Morell, including seniors Emily O'Donnell, Erin Schaffeld, Brynn Schumacher and Emily Zvosec hoping to improve upon last year's 11th place finish, best in school history.
The boys went 7-3, won three tournaments, finished second in the SWC tourney, fourth in the Sectional and tied for sixth in the District. Junior Mark Chrzanowski had the best per-round average at 77.0, just ahead of junior Matt Frey (77.42). The team started strong, winning invitational tournaments at Amherst and Twinsburg along with the SWC preview event. They were 6-0 before dropping three straight away matches.
A 1-0 loss at Hudson on Saturday dropped the boys' record to 5-9-2 for a program with four state titles (1975, '81, '92, '93). Except for Danilo Radjen (seven goals, two assists), the Bees have not been strong offensively with only 17 goals in 16 games. The boys began tournament play Monday night seeded sixth and won at No. 5 Normandy to advance to a second-round match. They will play at No. 2 seed St. Edward on Thursday night.
The Lady Bees won the SWC and have outscored opponents 42-12, led by the trio of Jasmine Waugaman (10 goals, one assist), Sarah Sivic (nine goals, three assists) and Allison Stucky (seven goals, 10 assists).
The Bees went 11-4, including a four-match run when they swept Olmsted Falls, Berea, Akron Firestone, and Amherst by 5-0 scores in September. They finished second in the SWC tournament at Medina. Abby Smith and Connor Majstorovic were fourth at the Medina Sectional.
The Bees are seeded second in the Solon Sectional-District after a 15-7 season, including a second-place finish in the SWC at 11-3. They will open tournament play this Thursday (approximately 7:45, or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the 6 p.m. match) against the winner of a first-round match between fifth seed Normandy (13-7) and No. 7 John Adams (11-7). The Bees have won the past three district crowns at Solon, twice advancing to the state's final four, including last year. Coached by Troy Haught, they concluded the regular season with an exciting match at Wadsworth (18-4) on Saturday, 25-17, 27-29, 20-25, 25-20, 15-7, led by senior Abby Brinkman, junior Victoria Polisena and sophomore Sarah Milczarek. Other seniors hoping for a return trip to Dayton for the state tournament are Hannah Nowacki, Bridgette Odabashian, Sarah Orlandi and Jess Scott.
