Mustangs cast eye toward tourney
Boys basketball squad looking to score some upsets
Strongsville senior Brandon Kagan and his teammates will hope to make some noise in the postseason. Photo by BRUCE BILLOW
Though his team lost its first seven starts with talented transfer Omari Peek in the lineup, Strongsville boys basketball coach Darren Collins makes no bones about the fact the Mustangs have had their eye on the postseason. The hope is the team will have developed plenty of chemistry over the second half of the season, with Peek in the fold, to make a run in March.
“All year, you gear yourself in preparation for the tournament,” Collins said. “You use these games, and we play a really tough schedule. That helps. But you’d also like to win and get some confidence as well.
“That’s been our focus and once Omari came back, it was just like, ‘Let’s just get better every day, every practice, every game.’ Then once the tournament comes around I think we could be a tough out.”
The Mustangs are seeded ninth in the Elyria Catholic Division I District and will take on No. 10 seed Midview in a first-round game. That game, which will take place March 1 at 7 p.m. at Strongsville, will prove whether or not the Mustangs were worthy of the tie-breaking votes after the teams initially tied for the No. 9 spot.
The winner will play on March 4 at No. 2 Elyria. The Mustangs lost to the Pioneers on Feb. 3 in Strongsville and were set to face them again in Elyria on Feb. 14. So the teams if nothing else will be familiar with each other.
That winner will move on to a 7 p.m. March 7 district semifinal, with No. 3 Olmsted Falls, No. 5 Avon Lake and No. 7 Westlake as the possible opponents. The district final is March 11 at 7 at Elyria Catholic. No. 1 seed Lorain is a heavy favorite to emerge from the bottom half of the bracket.
With Strongsville serving as host to another Division I sectional, the Mustangs wind up in Elyria. On one hand, they get to avoid the likes of St. Ignatius and St. Edward. Still, Elyria and Lorain are no picnic.
“I like our chances based upon who we play night in and night out,” Collins said. “Every team we play in the Greater Cleveland Conference, every night is a challenge. I think that in itself prepares us for the tournament.”
Girls swimming
Led by junior Julia Newbould, one of a handful of four-event district qualifiers, the Mustangs dominated the Cleveland State Division I Sectional last weekend, sending a good portion of their roster to the Bowling Green District this weekend. Strongsville won the sectional title for the 12th consecutive year with 349 points, easily outpacing runner-up Rocky River’s 259.
Newbould earned a pair of automatic district berths by winning the 100-yard freestyle and finishing second in the 50 free. She was also part of one winning relay and another runner-up relay for two more automatic qualifications, which go to the top two finishers in each event. Other district qualifiers are determined by times across all sectionals.
Others headed to Bowling Green include senior Shaunna Jones (third, 200 free; fourth 100 butterfly); senior Lauren Stajcar (fourth, 200 individual medley; sixth 100 breaststroke); senior Megan Pederson (fifth, 100 fly; eighth, 100 back); junior Hannah Ogrean (fifth, 500 free; seventh 100 breaststroke); junior Rachel Potter (seventh, 200 IM; 11th, 100 breaststroke); junior Jordyn Spencer (10th, 100 free; ninth, 100 back); junior Emily Kahn (11th, 200 free; 12th, 100 fly); senior Serena Stout (12th, 200 free; 13th, 100 free); junior Autumn Kiecksbusch (13th, 200 free; 15th, 500 free); senior Katie Doyle (13th, 100 breaststroke); freshman Shaelyn Gadd (14th, 200 IM; 13th, 100 fly); junior Maddie Skupnik (17th, 200 free); freshman Emily Strawser (18th, 200 IM); junior Phoebe Rohrbach (18th, 50 free) and junior Bri Jones (18th, 500 free).
Also moving on in 1-meter diving were junior Ryle Phillips and Libby Lambert.
Newbould, Stout, Jones and Kahn combined to win the 200 free relay and finish second in the 400 free relay, giving Newbould four automatic bids. The 200 medley relay team of Spencer, Ogrean, Stajcar and Pederson teamed on a third-place finish to advance.
Boys swimming
The Mustangs finished as sectional runner-up with 284 points, trailing only St. Ignatius, which scored 413. That finish was up from sixth last year, when Strongsville was led by All-American DJ Arslanian. Leading the charge was junior Garrett Green, runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke for the team’s lone automatic bid. He also placed fifth in the 100 freestyle.
Others on the Bowling Green bus included sophomore Michael Whitehead (fourth, 100 butterfly; fifth, 200 free); junior Sal Hargis (fifth, 100 breaststroke; seventh, 200 individual medley); sophomore Max Hoffman (sixth, 500 free; 14th, 200 IM); junior Kyle Mattson (seventh, 50 free; eighth, 100 free); senior Jaret Reimer (seventh, 100 back; 12th, 100 fly); senior Johnny Lipowski (eighth, 500 free); sophomore Chris Pichette (ninth, 100 fly; 10th, 200 free); sophomore Ian Cox (10th, 50 and 100 free); sophomore Leon Brandon (12th, 100 back); junior George Kinney (13th, 100 fly); senior Michael Begany (13th, 500 free; 19th, 100 back); senior Johnny Lopowski (13th, 50 free) and junior George Kinney (18th, 200 IM).
Advancing in the 400 free relay with a third-place finish were Whitehead, Green, Pichette and Mattson. Moving on in the 200 medley relay are Reimer, Hargis, Cox and Hoffman, who placed sixth. Also placing sixth was the 200 free relay team of Mattson, Green, Whitehead and Cox.
“All year, you gear yourself in preparation for the tournament,” Collins said. “You use these games, and we play a really tough schedule. That helps. But you’d also like to win and get some confidence as well.
“That’s been our focus and once Omari came back, it was just like, ‘Let’s just get better every day, every practice, every game.’ Then once the tournament comes around I think we could be a tough out.”
The Mustangs are seeded ninth in the Elyria Catholic Division I District and will take on No. 10 seed Midview in a first-round game. That game, which will take place March 1 at 7 p.m. at Strongsville, will prove whether or not the Mustangs were worthy of the tie-breaking votes after the teams initially tied for the No. 9 spot.
The winner will play on March 4 at No. 2 Elyria. The Mustangs lost to the Pioneers on Feb. 3 in Strongsville and were set to face them again in Elyria on Feb. 14. So the teams if nothing else will be familiar with each other.
That winner will move on to a 7 p.m. March 7 district semifinal, with No. 3 Olmsted Falls, No. 5 Avon Lake and No. 7 Westlake as the possible opponents. The district final is March 11 at 7 at Elyria Catholic. No. 1 seed Lorain is a heavy favorite to emerge from the bottom half of the bracket.
With Strongsville serving as host to another Division I sectional, the Mustangs wind up in Elyria. On one hand, they get to avoid the likes of St. Ignatius and St. Edward. Still, Elyria and Lorain are no picnic.
“I like our chances based upon who we play night in and night out,” Collins said. “Every team we play in the Greater Cleveland Conference, every night is a challenge. I think that in itself prepares us for the tournament.”
Girls swimming
Led by junior Julia Newbould, one of a handful of four-event district qualifiers, the Mustangs dominated the Cleveland State Division I Sectional last weekend, sending a good portion of their roster to the Bowling Green District this weekend. Strongsville won the sectional title for the 12th consecutive year with 349 points, easily outpacing runner-up Rocky River’s 259.
Newbould earned a pair of automatic district berths by winning the 100-yard freestyle and finishing second in the 50 free. She was also part of one winning relay and another runner-up relay for two more automatic qualifications, which go to the top two finishers in each event. Other district qualifiers are determined by times across all sectionals.
Others headed to Bowling Green include senior Shaunna Jones (third, 200 free; fourth 100 butterfly); senior Lauren Stajcar (fourth, 200 individual medley; sixth 100 breaststroke); senior Megan Pederson (fifth, 100 fly; eighth, 100 back); junior Hannah Ogrean (fifth, 500 free; seventh 100 breaststroke); junior Rachel Potter (seventh, 200 IM; 11th, 100 breaststroke); junior Jordyn Spencer (10th, 100 free; ninth, 100 back); junior Emily Kahn (11th, 200 free; 12th, 100 fly); senior Serena Stout (12th, 200 free; 13th, 100 free); junior Autumn Kiecksbusch (13th, 200 free; 15th, 500 free); senior Katie Doyle (13th, 100 breaststroke); freshman Shaelyn Gadd (14th, 200 IM; 13th, 100 fly); junior Maddie Skupnik (17th, 200 free); freshman Emily Strawser (18th, 200 IM); junior Phoebe Rohrbach (18th, 50 free) and junior Bri Jones (18th, 500 free).
Also moving on in 1-meter diving were junior Ryle Phillips and Libby Lambert.
Newbould, Stout, Jones and Kahn combined to win the 200 free relay and finish second in the 400 free relay, giving Newbould four automatic bids. The 200 medley relay team of Spencer, Ogrean, Stajcar and Pederson teamed on a third-place finish to advance.
Boys swimming
The Mustangs finished as sectional runner-up with 284 points, trailing only St. Ignatius, which scored 413. That finish was up from sixth last year, when Strongsville was led by All-American DJ Arslanian. Leading the charge was junior Garrett Green, runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke for the team’s lone automatic bid. He also placed fifth in the 100 freestyle.
Others on the Bowling Green bus included sophomore Michael Whitehead (fourth, 100 butterfly; fifth, 200 free); junior Sal Hargis (fifth, 100 breaststroke; seventh, 200 individual medley); sophomore Max Hoffman (sixth, 500 free; 14th, 200 IM); junior Kyle Mattson (seventh, 50 free; eighth, 100 free); senior Jaret Reimer (seventh, 100 back; 12th, 100 fly); senior Johnny Lipowski (eighth, 500 free); sophomore Chris Pichette (ninth, 100 fly; 10th, 200 free); sophomore Ian Cox (10th, 50 and 100 free); sophomore Leon Brandon (12th, 100 back); junior George Kinney (13th, 100 fly); senior Michael Begany (13th, 500 free; 19th, 100 back); senior Johnny Lopowski (13th, 50 free) and junior George Kinney (18th, 200 IM).
Advancing in the 400 free relay with a third-place finish were Whitehead, Green, Pichette and Mattson. Moving on in the 200 medley relay are Reimer, Hargis, Cox and Hoffman, who placed sixth. Also placing sixth was the 200 free relay team of Mattson, Green, Whitehead and Cox.