athletics
athletics WOMEN ’ S VOLLE YBALL
FOOTBALL WJ football looked to restore tradition in 2019. The Warriors improved in all aspects and ended a losing streak by beating NDCL in the Homecoming game. This group of resilient players bought into the new coaching style and began playing new brand of football that future teams will be able to build on. The program’s future is bright with our freshmen team finishing with an 8-2 record and 43 players strong. Coach Alexander is thankful to this senior class for believing in him and leading the change. It started this year, and they left a legacy. The team was led by Senior QB, Cameron Mayes, with a record setting year: 2020 Passing yards - 2nd 142 Completions - 1st 296 yd passing game - 2nd CAREER: 3,361 passing yards - 2nd CAREER: 27 passing TD’s - 2nd
WOMEN ’ S GOLF
MEN ’ S GOLF
The Wj Men’s Golf team met expectations this season. Lead by a blend of experienced upper-classmen and two young sophomores, the Warriors, which graduated 3 of the top 6 from 2018, again qualified for the State Championship finals. The team finished with an impressive 14 (out of 20) Top 5 team finishes throughout the fall including an 8th place finish at the State Championship. The Warriors won titles at the Brunswick Invitational, the NDCL Lion Invite and the Lexington Invite as well as the runner-up at the Gilmour Invite, NCL Championship and State Sectional Championship. A big reason for the great performance, was the offseason advancement and dedication of Junior Ben Cors & seniors Colton Levey & Jay Magyari, who each greatly improved their fitness in preparation of the demanding schedule. Each recognized with AllDistrict honors and each attained career low’s during the season with Ben 69, Jay 73 and Colton 72. Junior Ben Cors received NCL 1st Team All-Conference and Medalist honors with a (69). His regular season scoring average was 72.1, and Cors earning 5 Medalist Titles and 14 Top 3 finishes is one of the best years in Walsh Jesuit golf history.
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Colton and Jay each averaged 78.7 regular season with a medalist title going to Colton with his 72 at Westbrook and Jay a runnerup claim at the Brunswick Invitational (73). Talented multisport athlete Donovan Morris was a great support, lending himself to his teammates’ mental preparation throughout the post season. He and seniors Levey and Magyari will be greatly missed. Josh Weiner, Ethan Shah, Lucas Fall and Jackson Holzapel should step up to success in 2020.
The WJ Women’s Golf team was challenged from the start of the 2019 season. Lead by two seniors and one junior (all two-year starters), the lady Warriors were a team of five total players — which is a tough ask of any varsity high school team. The team still rose to the occasion, finishing with a North Coast League Championship win, a 3rd place finish (NEO Championship) and two 4th place finishes, including the State Sectional qualifier, which advanced them to the District finals. The Lady Warriors collected
individual awards during the season, with senior Gwen Bush and junior Nicolina Valore being named 1st team all-conference in the North Coast League and the NEO Independent Schools League. Bush was a medalist in the championship with a career best of 75 and was also 2nd team All-District. Senior Karis Oziomek, junior Suzette Gissinger and sophomore Grace Bandwen each attained career bests during the season, and each earned All-District Honorable Mention.
2019 Varsity Volleyball began the season with a positive spirit and great hope for the year. While they struggled to succeed, their positive spirit and dedication to the sport never wavered, taking them to the District in the OHSAA tournament.
MEN ’ S CROSS COUNTRY Captains Seth Carr, Karios McCune, and Jason Sagun began
summer by organizing team group runs, and the season culminated with standout sophomore Luke Ondracek representing WJ at the State Cross Country Championship. Luke capped off an outstanding season in 80th place out of 186 runners in the Division 1, running a 16:34 for the 5k race, finishing as a top underclassmen in Ohio.
Throughout the season, the team was comprised of the following runners, sophomore Luke Ondracek, Juniors Gavin McHale, Kunal Jain, Gavin Carr, and Noah Schlueter as well as Senior Karios McCune and Sophomore Luke Lenz. The team improved as the year went on, the Warriors finished higher each meet, and began to compete with the better teams. For instance, at the Stow Bulldog Invitational, which featured several State qualifying teams, the Warriors took 6th out of 17 teams. Then, the Warriors won the North Coast League Championship as a team, which was led the by the League’s Most Valuable Runner, Luke Ondracek, who won the race for the Warriors. At the District Meet, the Varsity ran one of their best team races, but were 12 points from qualifying as a team to Regionals.
Winter 2020
The Warriors have already set their sights on running as a team at the Regional and even the State Meet, and with the right dedication and commitment to both winter and summer training and a strong Track and Field season, the Warriors will seek to reach their goals.
FIELD HOCKE Y
The Field Hockey team had its best season since becoming a varsity sport 3 years ago. The team went 6-7 during regular season, beating teams like Ottawa Hills and Hawken to improve on past records. Besides its record, the team greatly improved in overall. It was an excellent season and looking forward to continuing this success next year.
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3/5/20 1:57 PM
