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SMALL BUT MIGHTY: HISTORIC SUCCESS FOR ATHLETIC PROGRAM
Small but Mighty
496 Upper School students.
That’s how many were enrolled this year. Girls and boys. Roughly 250 to field girls’ teams and 250 to field boys’ teams that compete against schools sometimes three times the size. Yet, the Lancer athletic teams have people talking all around the state as this little school from Gates Mills keeps showing up in the final rounds of the state tournaments.
How do they do it? There are a variety of factors, one of which is that our kids are often multi-sport athletes. In fact, eight - Nathan Flaherty ’22 (golf and basketball), Mary Lombardo ’22 (cross country and indoor track), Mia Polisena ’22 (cross country and indoor track), Jack Popovich ’22 (golf and hockey), Harry Rogers ’22 (golf and hockey), Gia Rosko ’24 (cross country and indoor track), Clare Valenza ’23 (cross country and indoor track) and Amy Webrecht ’24 (cross country and indoor track) - competed on two of the seven statequalifying teams this year.
If you ask the coaches, another factor in the strength of their programs is the leadership of their players. Head cross country coach Matt Lindley ’89 said that, on his team, that foundation is built by the upperclassmen, whose leadership demonstrates to younger runners what it means to be a good teammate. Varsity volleyball coach Dan Coughlin concurred, saying his program has been built through a conscious effort on the part of his seniors, who model the traditions and culture they want to ensure are passed down after they leave.
Undoubtedly, another key to our teams’ success has been the resources available to the students off the court or field to address mind, body and spirit. Our strength and conditioning program, led by Coach Lawrence Wynn, is secondto-none and our athletes can be found getting workouts in before school, after school and during Community Block. Kara Santana, a full-time athletic trainer on-site, works with the studentathletes to help both prevent and treat injuries. Our programs have prayer services before games with Fr. John Blazek, C.S.C. ’58 and engage in service projects as teams. And our teams work hand-inhand with our wellness program and have access to mental performance
coaching with Dr. Sam Maniar, a sports psychologist with more than 20 years of experience working with high school, college and professional teams, and doctoral candidate Zac Bruback. They are also provided nutrition training.
Head basketball coach Dan DeCrane reflected, “We are always striving to do what is best for our student-athletes - physically, mentally and spiritually. Having an abundance of resources from all aspects of athletics gives Gilmour teams an advantage on and off the court.” He added, “Our players embrace the idea that success is built in more than the two-hour practice slot that we have. It is making sure our bodies, minds and hearts are in the right place.”
The results have been pretty incredible. Just this year alone, seven teams advanced to the furthest level of competition in their sport:
Girls Cross Country fourth place at Division III state championship Boys Golf state runner-up Division II Girls Volleyball back-to-back Division II state champions Girls Indoor Track OATCCC Division II/III state champions Boys Varsity A Hockey Division I state champions Girls Prep Hockey Mid-Am District champions, where they advanced to the Elite Eight Boys Basketball state runner-up Division II At press time, our spring sports teams were still competing. Stay tuned for those results in the fall issue.
The pages that follow contain highlights of the seven Gilmour teams that finished their seasons in forth place or higher at the state level or advanced to the national level of competition. They are listed chronolocially.
Members of the boys basketball program at the Thanksgiving Food Drive Opposite page L to R in back row: Coach Polak, Harry Rogers '22 and Nathan Flaherty '22 L to R in front row: Eric Anton '22, Jack Popovich '22, Alex Swinarski '22 and Coach Jon Wanders
State Runner-up
Golf
On Saturday, October 16, the Gilmour Academy boys varsity golf team concluded their season as state runner-up at The Ohio State University Golf Club, a 6,567-yard, par-71 course.
Gilmour shot a team score of 312 (+28) on the opening day of the tournament and sat just two shots off the lead, with all five Lancers - Eric Anton '22, Nathan Flaherty '22, Jack Popovich '22, Harry Rogers '22 and Alex Swinarksi '22 finishing at 80 or better on Friday.
The Scarlet Course played much tougher with cooler temperatures present on Saturday, as the average for the field was nearly eight shots higher than in Friday's opening round.
Gilmour was not immune to the tougher conditions as the Lancers shot a 320 (+36) during the final round. That gave the Lancers a two-day total of 632, which was eight shots behind the eventual champion. It was truly a two-team race for the top spot as Gilmour finished 26 shots ahead of the third-place team.
Popovich led the Lancers in the final round by shooting 75 (+4). He posted four birdies in the round, including three on the opening nine. Popovich finished in fifth place individually with a two-day total of 154. Swinarski used nine pars and nine bogeys on Saturday to finish with an 80 (+9). His tournament total of 155 put him in a tie for sixth place.
Rogers had nine pars and shot an 82, Anton posted an 83 and Flaherty added an 85 on the final day of the tournament.
Rogers (162), Anton (163) and Flaherty (163) all finished inside the Top 20 in the tournament.
This was Gilmour's third consecutive and 26th all-time appearance at the OHSAA State Tournament.
The Lancers won three tournaments during the regular season and also claimed OHSAA Sectional and District Championship titles during the 2021 season.
LANCER NATION
GOLF
After the state tournament, five members of the team and head coach, Jamey Polak, received postseason awards:
Jack Popovich ’22 - placed fifth at state tournament, placed second at sectionals, All-Ohio First Team, News-Herald First Team All-Star
Alex Swinarski ’22 - tied for sixth at state tournament, district champion, All-Ohio Second Team (second consecutive year as All-Ohio honoree), News-Herald Co-Player of the Year Harry Rogers ’22 - placed in Top 20 at state tournament, NewsHerald First Team All-Star
Eric Anton ’22 - placed in Top 20 at state tournament, NewsHerald Second Team All-Star
Nathan Flaherty ’22 - placed in Top 20 at state tournament, News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Coach Jamey Polak - NewsHerald Coach of the Year.
Gilmour golf’s success this season was made all the more special due to the fact that each of the five Lancers that competed at the state tournament have been friends and classmates at GA since their Lower School days.
LANCER NATION
CROSS COUNTRY
As is always the case with cross country, it was a team effort and required excellent runs from the top seven runners, earning them postseason accolades as well:
Amy Weybrecht ’24 - placed 16th at the state meet (19:00.2), finished in Top 10 at regionals, placed 2nd at districts, All-Ohio honors (for second year), News-Herald First Team All-Star
Clare Valenza ’23 (first year competing in cross country!) - placed 17th at the state meet (19:00.3), finished in Top 10 at regionals, placed third at districts, All-Ohio honors, News-Herald First Team All-Star
Fourth in state
Girls Cross Country
The Gilmour Academy girls cross country team finished in fourth place at the Division III OHSAA State Championship on a chilly Saturday - November 6 - at Fortress Obetz in suburban Columbus.
While Gilmour's success on the course this season was impressive, the team's achievements in the classroom were also notable.
For the first time in program history, all seven runners from Gilmour's state-competing team were named Academic All-Ohio. Honorees must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 on an unweighted scale and compete at the OHSAA state championship. This was the 17th appearance in the state championship in Gilmour girls cross country history, all of which have occurred since 2001.
Members of the team celebrate their seniors before heading to the state meet. Mary Lombardo '22, Ava Moe '22 and Mia Polisena '22 will graduate this spring, but the remaining Lancers will look to make a repeat run to the state championship next fall.
Mary Lombardo ’22 - placed 66th at the state meet (20:12.3), finished 15th at regionals, placed fifth at districts, News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Gia Rosko ’24 - placed 99th at the state meet (20:43.7) Mia Polisena ’22 - placed 110th at the state meet (20:59.3), finished in Top 40 at regionals, finished in Top 15 at districts, News-Herald Honor Roll Kaitlin Rulison ’23 - finished 124th at state meet (21:17.4), finished in Top 40 at regionals, finished in Top 15 at districts, News-Herald Honor Roll Anna Grossner ’24 - finished 131st at state meet (21:31.2) Coach Matt Lindley ’89 - NewsHerald Coach of the Year
Back to Back State Champs
Volleyball
After defeating Lake Catholic 3-1 in the state semifinals on Friday, November 12, Gilmour won the state championship the next day, with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Roger Bacon High School at Wright State University's Nutter Center. The championship was the third in program history (2015, 2020, 2021) and the 2020 and 2021 GA volleyball teams became the first Lancer teams to repeat as state champions, in any sport, since the girls track and field team achieved the feat in 2006-2007.
Captain Kathryn Randorf ’22 may have saved her best for last. In her final performance as a Lancer, Randorf's heroic effort, just shy of a triple-double, helped secure GA's second-straight state title. Randorf posted a match- high 33 kills, exactly half of GA's team total of 66, along with 17 digs and a match-high eight blocks in the championship match.
Ella Jackson ’25 set up the vast majority of those kills and finished with a double-double. She posted a match-high 54 assists along with 14 digs. Sabrina Gremm ’22 added a double-double in her final GA match and was second on the team with 12 kills and tallied 16 digs.
Tied 2-2 going into a fifth game, the teams evenly split the first 12 points in the final set, leaving them tied 6-6. Gilmour responded with a key 6-1 surge, featuring two kills each by Randorf and Anna Rarick ’23. The Spartans kept fighting and were able to cut the lead to 13-12. A kill by Rarick followed to set up a match point for Gilmour.
Kayla Channell ’25 and Gremm then teamed up on a block to clinch the match as the Lancer bench mobbed their teammates on the court in celebration.
Laney Klika ’23 had a team-high 23 digs along with four assists in the win for Gilmour. Brooke Clair ’22 was the fourth Lancer to reach double digits in digs with 10.
Channell contributed nine kills and three blocks in the victory while Rarick finished with seven kills and a team-best three aces.
LANCER NATION
VOLLEYBALL
At the close of the season, a number of players earned special recognition:
Kathryn Randorf ’22 - Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year (for second straight season), USA Today National High School Sports Awards nominee, American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American First Team, Greater Cleveland Sports Awards Female High School Athlete of the Year, All-Ohio Division II First Team, All-District Co-Player of the Year, All-District First Team, News-Herald Player of the Year (for third straight season) Sabrina Gremm ’22 - All-Ohio Division II First Team, All-District Second Team, News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Laney Klika ’23 - All-District First Team, News-Herald First Team All-Star
Ella Jackson ’25 - All-District Second Team, News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Kayla Channell ’25 - All-District Third Team, News-Herald Honor Roll
Anna Rarick ’23 - All-District Third Team, News-Herald Honor Roll
Brooke Clair ’22 - All-District Honorable Mention
Kelsie Thompson ’25 - All-District Honorable Mention
LANCER NATION
State Champions
Indoor Track
On Saturday, March 5, the girls indoor track and field team, led by head coach Jeff Klein and assistant coaches Monroe Hillsman and Sarah Pack, won the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches (OATCCC) Division II/III state championship. Gilmour's 38 points were just enough to fend off runner-up Buchtel High School's total of 35.
Jayla Pleasant '22, Coach Monroe Hillsman and Mikayla Fannin '23 celebrate after Jayla's weight throw INDOOR TRACK
The following members of the team contributed to that 38-point total:
The 4x200m relay (Rielyn Jackson ’25, Kaleigh McNamara ’22, Addie Nemeth ’24 and Mariyah Moore ’24) won the state title in 1:45.55, more than 1.5 seconds ahead of the second- place team in the race. Amy Weybrecht ’24 was the state runner-up in the 1600m (5:07.96). She also placed sixth in the 800m (2:18.67). In the 200m dash, Mariyah Moore finished fifth (26.28) and Rielyn Jackson took seventh (26.80). Both were personal records. Karah Henderson ’22 finished fifth in the 60m hurdles (9.12). The 4x400m relay team (Kaleigh McNamara, Addie Nemeth, Mary Lombardo ’22 and Amy Weybrecht) officially secured the state title for Gilmour when they finished fifth in the meet's final event (4:16.12). The 4x800m relay team (Clare Valenza ’23, Mary Lombardo, Gia Rosko ’24 and Mia Polisena ’22) placed seventh (10:19.05). Jayla Pleasant ’22 scored for Gilmour in the weight throw with a personalbest toss of 41’ 10”.
Indoor Track State Champions
State Champions
Hockey
After starting the season 6-10-1 through December 30, Gilmour’s Varsity A team went 20-3, and earned a berth in the OHSAA Frozen Four for the fourth time in program history (and the second time in the last three years). In the state semifinal game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the team defeated a tough St. Ed’s team 2-0 to advance to the state title game against defending state champ St. Francis de Sales School out of Toledo.
In the state championship game on Saturday, March 12, Gilmour found themselves down 1-0 until the third period, when Justin Wen ’23 tied the score with just under six minutes to play. The game went to three overtime periods before Matthew Bauman ’23 snuck a shot into the top part of the net for the game winner and he and his teammates rushed over to the Lancer student section to celebrate the historic moment.
Ian Anderson ’22 had a 29-save performance in goal, including 10 saves during overtime with the title directly on the line. This was on the heels of a 32-save shutout against St. Ed’s.
The state title, the first in Gilmour hockey history, was a fitting way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the hockey program!
LANCER NATION
BOYS VARSITY A HOCKEY
After the season, the following players and head coach John Malloy earned postseason honors:
Ian Anderson ’22 - News-Herald Player of the Year, Great Lakes Hockey League Scholar-Athlete, cleveland.com All-Star
Matthew Bauman ’23 - News-Herald First Team All-Star, All-Great Lakes Hockey League First Team, All-Ohio Third Team
Shea Hofstrom ’22 - News-Herald First Team All-Star, All-Great Lakes Hockey League Second Team, AllOhio Honorable Mention
Connor Underwood ’22 - NewsHerald Second Team All-Star, clevleand.com All-Star
Justin Wen ’23- News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Harry Rogers ’22 - News-Herald Honorable Mention All-Star
Coach John Malloy - News-Herald Coach of the Year, cleveland.com Coach of the Year
LANCER NATION
BASKETBALL
Several players and Coach Dan DeCrane earned the following postseason accolades:
State Runner Up
Basketball
It had been 30 years since the Lancer boys basketball team made it to the state title game and this year’s title game was the first at the Division II level. To get to the Final Four, the team defeated two Associated Press Top 10 teams - No. 7-ranked Akron Buchtel and No. 9-ranked Toledo Central Catholic. The Lancers then
produced one more upset, defeating Waverly High School, ranked eighth in the season’s final Division II poll, 58-43 in the state semifinal at the University of Dayton Arena on March 18. In that game, Brandon Rose ’23 tallied a game- high 23 points while also leading the team with six rebounds. Adisa Molton II ’23 finished with 14 points and five rebounds while Ryan Mueller ’22 added nine points, four rebounds and two blocks. Nathan Flaherty ’22 chipped in with six points and three boards while Dorjan Flowers ’23 had a game-high five assists along with four points.
In the state title game on Sunday, March 20, Gilmour went up against No. 1 St. Vincent- St. Mary High School, the most successful boys basketball program in Ohio history. The Fighting Irish claimed a 63-35 victory over the Lancers. Gilmour trailed just 26-19 early in the third quarter, but a lengthy scoring drought ended GA’s title hopes.
Mueller led Gilmour with nine points and five rebounds in the championship contest while Flowers added seven points, four assists and three rebounds.
While Gilmour came up one win short of the ultimate goal, a second straight deep run in March will certainly continue to draw increased attention to the Lancer program. Gilmour is now one of just two Division II schools in the state, along with St. VincentSt. Mary, to have reached the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.
Ryan Mueller ’22 - Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Division II All-Ohio Second Team, cleveland.com Fab 50 All-Star Honor Roll (across all divisions), Northeast Lakes All-District First Team, News-Herald First Team All-Star
Brandon Rose ’23 - Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Division II All-Ohio Honorable Mention, cleveland.com Fab 50 All-Star Honor Roll (across all divisions), Northeast Lakes All-District Second Team, News-Herald Second Team All-Star
Adisa Molton ’23 - Northeast Lakes All-District Third Team, News-Herald Second Team AllStar
Nathan Flaherty ’22 - Northeast Lakes All-District Honorable Mention, News-Herald Honor Roll Dorjan Flowers ’23 - Northeast Lakes All-District Honorable Mention, News-Herald Honor Roll
Nathan Nootbaar ’22 - NewsHerald Honor Roll
Coach Dan DeCrane - cleveland. com Coach of the Year (across all divisions), OHSBCA (Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association) Division II Coach of the Year
LANCER NATION
Made it to National Elite Eight
Girls Prep Hockey
GIRLS PREP HOCKEY On Saturday, March 5 in Warrendale, Penn., the girls prep hockey team, led by Coach Seanna Conway, won the Mid-American District title, defeating Culver Academy 2-1. With their district title, the Lancers qualified for the USA Hockey National Tournament.
In the championship game, Gilmour killed off two penalties in the opening period to keep the game scoreless before Ziya Damas ’23 opened the scoring in the opening minute of the second period. Culver tied the game with a power-play goal about five minutes later. But, the score wouldn’t remain knotted for long. Ohio State hockey commit Alaina Giampietro ’22 scored fewer than two minutes later to put Gilmour back on top near the midpoint of the second period. Giampietro’s goal, off an assist by Alyssa Kraig ’23, proved to be the game-winner.
Gilmour held on to its lead in the third period, aided by 21 saves from goaltender Maggie Hatch ’22 and, at the final buzzer, the Lancer bench erupted as teammates mobbed one another.
The 2022 USA Hockey Nationals featured 16 teams and took place March 31–April 3 in suburban Pittsburgh. At the tournament, the team advanced to pool play and made it to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. They finished their incredible season 52-20-2 and beat the #1 ranked team in the country, Little Caesars, 2-1 on January 9.
