Second Section 12/16/13

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Preparing for another season See page B-6

Stritch grad takes over

December 16, 2013

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Buckner, Nino led all-star cast of Genoa wrestlers

By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com The Northern Buckeye Conference wrestling coaches picked Genoa to take the tournament crown this season, but thirdyear Comets coach Bob Bergman isn’t taking anything for granted.

Genoa won the NBC title last year and returns two state qualifiers and three others who advanced to the district tournament.

“It will be tight,” Bergman said.

“Otsego has a really good squad, and so does Woodmore. It’s all about what the matchups will be and who knocks off who.

We should be in contention for the NBC. Half of our weight classes have veterans, and we look for the youngsters to rise to the occasion.”

Senior heavyweight Cody Buckner and junior Jay Nino (220 pounds) competed at last year’s Division III state tournament for the Comets, who opened this season on Nov. 30 with a sixth-place finish at the 12team Oak Harbor Duals.

Buckner, a three-year starter, finished 33-11 last season.

“I expect him to be atop the podium this year at state,” Bergman said. “He’s got the potential. He’s one of the top returning heavyweights in the state and is ranked by some in the top five.”

Nino, whose teammates call him Cobra “because he strikes quick,” Bergman said, went 58-6 last year, four wins shy of the school single-season record for wins. He recorded a school-record 35 pins last season and pinned all five opponents at the Oak Harbor Duals.

“He’s top 10 in the state wins-wise for a season (all time),” Bergman said. “He wrestled the Disney Duals down in Florida and in a bunch of freestyle tournaments in the spring. He participated in the Lake Erie program at Clay, and he did a team camp.

He had about as good an offseason as you can get.”

Senior Max Reeder, a state alternate last season who went 55-9 with 33 pins, was a state qualifier as a freshman. Reeder is back at 132 pounds.

“His goal is to be a state champ this year,” Bergman said. “If he’s healthy, I think he can do it. He’s the strongest pound-for-pound wrestler in Genoa history. He is strong, quick and explosive and he’s turned into a real technician. I don’t think anybody can hold him down on the bottom, and he’s great on his feet. That’s a great combo.”

Genoa also returns district qualifiers Damian D’Emilio, a sophomore, at 113, senior Dustin Widmer at 120 and junior Brandon Bates at 132. D’Emilio had a 50-14 record at 106 last year.

“Damian has aspirations of ending the year at 106, but we’ll see,” Bergman said.

“He had a remarkable season last year. He turned a lot of heads. This year he’s even

Senior heavyweight Cody Buckner has an opponent on the mat. (Press photo by Harold Hamilton/HEHphotos.smugmug.com) better. He went 5-0 at Oak Harbor and torched his opponents. He is sound on his feet and even better on top.”

Widmer was 15-15 at 113 pounds last year, and Bates was 42-23 at 126.

“Dustin was a journeyman for us, and he’s like a praying mantis,” Bergman said.

“People ‘shoot’ on him and he stretches out and scores. Brandon is just like an alley cat.

He’s feisty and never out of a match. He’s a brawler and he goes after you. He’s at the right weight class now. At one point he was 6-20 at 138 last year and got down to 126 and marched his way to 30-plus wins. He had a really good freshman year, and last year he really rebounded well.”

Junior Tyler Baird returns at 182 pounds after posting a 25-25 record there a year ago.

“Tyler is real gregarious, and by the same token he can get in that zone,” Bergman said. “He wrestles with Nino every day and they both kind of feed off each other. He went 5-0 at Oak Harbor and he’s looking to turn some heads.”

Senior 145-pounder Nathan Moore had 38 wins as a sophomore but only 20 last season as he battled a shoulder injury.

“He’s our unsung hero,” Bergman said.

“He had a tough bout with injuries at the end of last year, but he’s every bit as ca-

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pable of making a state run this year. He’s healthy and we expect a lot of things from him.”

The rest of Genoa’s lineup consists of freshman Thor Morrison at 106, freshman Adam Bates (126), either freshman Aaron Conley or sophomore Mike Meng at 152, sophomore Zander Brown (160), senior Robert Roginski (170) and either freshman Matt Herrick or sophomore Tyler Stuck at 195.

Genoa’s men of the mat competed in the power-packed Frickers Duals held at George M. Smart Athletic Center at Defiance College on Dec. 6-7, squaring off against the likes of nationally-ranked Michigan power Davison and five-time repeating Michigan state champions Hudson as well as several of Ohio’s finest programs.

Nino lead the maroon and grey to a 5-5 team finish by wrestling to a perfect 10-0 record while defeating returning state placer and No. 1 ranked wrestler in Division III, 220 pound weight class Ryan Weber of Loudonville, 3-2.

Also running the table for the Comets was Buckner, who finished with a perfect 8-0 record. Other notable finishes include Tyler Baird, 9-1, Damian D’Emilio, 8-2, Max Reeder, 5-1, and Brandon Bates at 4-2.

Genoa started NBC competition Tuesday in

a triangular with Otsego and Fostoria.

At the 12-team Oak Harbor Duals Nino led the way by pinning all five of his opponents to bring home first team all tournament honors. Joining Nino was D’Emilio, Baird, and Bates. As a team the Comets finished 2-3.

Buckner finished with a 4-1 record while Dustin Widmer, Adam Bates and Thor Morrison each finished with 3-2 records. As a team, the maroon and grey accumulated 20 pins on the day.

Genoa opened up NBC competition Tuesday night by winning both of their duals. To kick things off, the maroon and grey narrowly defeated a tough Otsego squad by a score of 35-33.

The crowd erupted late in the heated dual as freshman 132 pounder Adam Bates went the distance and denied the Knights critical bonus points in a key match against returning NBC champion Buddy Limes.

Next, the Comets edged Fostoria, 4735. Undefeated wrestlers were Damian D’Emilio, Dustin Widmer, Max Reeder, Tyler Baird, Jay Nino, and Cody Buckner.

Next Tuesday the Comets will be at it again as they face Elmwood and Eastwood at Otsego. Action gets underway at 5:30.

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THE PRESS

DECEMBER 16, 2013

Young Eastwood wrestlers will get varsity test early

By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Eastwood wrestling coach Joe Wyant said wrestling practice heading into the Eagles’ season-opening tournament at the Gibsonburg Invitational has been “really fun so far.”

Fun must turn into results, as the Eagles won the 12-team 36th Annual Gibsonburg tournament over, scoring 268 points to defeat second place Perkins (257), third place Willard (210), and defending Ohio Wrestling League champion and host Gibsonburg (196), which finished fourth.

It should, indeed, be an interesting season for the Eagles and their fifth-year coach. Eastwood graduated six seniors off last year’s team — with a combined 224 wins between them — and has no juniors on this year’s squad. This is, to put it mildly, a very young team.

“I have five sophomores and all are starting, and four of them started last year as freshmen,” said Wyant, whose team took second behind Genoa at last year’s Northern Buckeye Conference tournament.

“I have 13 freshmen and five of them have never wrestled before.”

Eastwood has no returning state qualifiers or district qualifiers from a year ago.

Wyant said he and his wrestlers are taking things day by day, one step at a time. It will be a long process, he said, adding that “in two years we’re going to be really good.”

“The sophomores I have are good wrestlers,” the coach said. “Half of the freshmen I’ve got can be pretty good, too. Out of the 18 freshmen and sophomores, I think 12 of them could be pretty good wrestlers. I’m really happy with the turnout this year. We’re going to take our lumps, but by the end of the season I think we’ll be OK. “We can be competitive; we’re going to get better. These kids work really hard.

They probably work as hard as any team

Eastwood wrestler Andrew Caris, here throwing an opponent onto the mat, went 2715 and won the conference title at 126 pounds last year, but has moved up to 145 this season. (Press file photo by Lee Welch/FamilyPhotoGroup.com) I’ve ever had. They want to learn, and it’s been fun with them so far.”

The Eagles will have freshmen at 106 pounds (Josh Bierley), 126 (Nick Radabaugh or Tyler Fry), 170 (Austin Meece), 182 (Jason Ernsthausen), 195 (Zane Zientek) and 220 (Tyler Tudor).

Sophomore Eli Brown moves up to 120 from 113 pounds, where he was right around .500 in 2012-13.

“Eli’s a hard worker,” Wyant said. “He does lot of camps in the offseason, and I think he’ll be much better than he was last year.”

Senior Mat Drown returns at 132 pounds after compiling a 27-15 record there last season, while sophomore Hunter Sutton or possibly freshman Michael Burket will compete at 138.

“Mat is strong kid and he goes after

them,” Wyant said. “He’s not afraid of anybody. He should place high (at the NBC tourney). Hunter was a backup last year but did wrestle 31 matches at 138, so he got a lot of experience. He is a hard-nosed kid.

Michael is probably the best freshman coming in. He was really good in junior high.”

Andrew Caris went 27-15 and won the conference title at 126 pounds last year, but has moved up to 145 this season. The sophomore is the younger brother of former Eastwood state placer Randy Caris (170), who is now wrestling at the University of Findlay.

“Andrew is probably the best wrestler I have,” Wyant said. “He was at 126 last year and has gotten a lot bigger. He’s improved quite a bit. He finished really strong last year and had a nice run at the end of the season.”

Sophomore Mitchell Davidson (152) was the NBC runner-up at 160 last season despite weighing in at only 145-150 pounds.

“He’s a really tough kid,” Wyant said, “one of the best, hard-nosed kids we’ve got. He was 30-19 last year wrestling up a weight. I think he should have a big year.”

Senior Michael Glaze (160) and sophomore Trevor Schultz (285) round out the Eagles’ lineup. Glaze had a .500 record at 138 last year.

“He has put a little weight on,” Wyant said. “He was a first-team all-district football player and he’s pretty tough. He’s probably the hardest worker on our team. He wants to really be a leader and I hope he has a good season.”

Wyant said Schultz, who struggled last season, has done a good job of getting into better wrestling shape this year.

“Trevor’s a good kid,” Wyant said. “He lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of experence last year. He’s so much better looking physically than last year, and that is so much better for him. He just works hard. I think he can be a .500 wrestler this year. He struggled last year, but he’s an athlete now.”

Stritch grad takes over Cardinal wrestling program

By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Chris Kamelesky knows Cardinal Stritch wrestling.

The former Cardinals standout, a 2003 graduate, won NWOCSA individual titles at 125 pounds as a junior and senior. He’s also been an assistant coach on staff ever since he graduated, but this is his first season as the team’s head coach.

“We are really young this year,” said Kamelesky, whose nine-man squad includes five sophomores, two freshmen and no seniors. “We have a lot of first-year kids and we’re trying to teach them good, basic wrestling. Hopefully we can build on that as they stick with us over the years. My goal is to teach the younger kids good, solid wrestling and get our numbers up and be a competitive team every year.”

Kamelesky said the Cardinals have four individuals who have the potential to be district qualifers, “and a couple maybe who could be state qualifiers.”

Stritch’s top wrestler is junior James Dobson, a 170-pounder who moved from North Carolina last summer. He qualified for the Division 3A state tournament as a sophomore at 170, but he has

bumped up to 182 this season. Dobson took second place behind four pins at last week’s season-opening Derr Invitational at Northwood.

“I was encouraged,” Kamelesky said.

“We were waiting to see him perform live against other high school kids to see what he could do. We see him in the wrestling room and see him drill, but that doesn’t always tell you what kind of wrestler you’re going to be. We saw him in five or six matches and got a feel of what we need to teach him. He has potential to be a state qualifier this season. He’s real tall and lean, and it’s all lean muscle mass. He looks to go out there and take you down and pin you as fast as he can.”

Freshman Tyler Axtell, a first-year wrestler, is first in the Cardinals’ lineup at 106 pounds along with fellow freshman Caden Jankowski, who competed at 113 at Northwood.

“He comes from Eisenhower (Junior High) and has been wrestling for quite a few years,” Kamelesky said. “Once he gets down to 106 pounds I expect him to be very competitive. I expect him to turn it around and get some wins and do some good things.”

Axtell is picking up things pretty well, according to Kamelesky.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” the coach said. “His dad wrestled in, I believe, Washington. Caden might have talked him into coming out. He came to a couple matches and fell in love with it. It looks like he’s going to stick to it.”

Sophomores Kyle Zapadka and Rick Hrebic will compete at 120 and 145 pounds, respectively. Zapadka and Hrebic both lettered last season.

“I expect Kyle to get over that .500 mark this year,” Kamelesky said. “He’s still learning. He’s got a great ‘shot,’ but he doesn’t use it. He probably has one of the best shots on our team. When he shoots, he’s good and can compete with anybody.

Rick was another guy I was looking forward to seeing wrestle this past weekend. He’s a kid who we think, just from the improvement we see in the wrestling room, can be a .500 wrestler or better this season.”

Sophomore Connor Ryan, a transfer from St. Francis de Sales, will compete at 152 pounds. He wrestled one varsity match for the Knights.

“He’s been doing this for a few years,” Kamelesky said. “I have yet to see him on the mat in live competition, so I don’t know what to expect from him. I’m expecting to get some varsity wins out of him.”

Ricky Pratt, at 182 pounds, played bas-

ketball the past two years but decided to come out for wrestling. Kamelesky said he likes what he’s seen from the junior so far.

“He is a naturally good wrestler,” Kamelesky said. “If we would have had him the past two years, we’d be looking to get him qualified to the state tournament.

He’s naturally good at wrestling. Last week he went at 195 and he only weighs 184 pounds. He lost all his matches, but he was close to getting two wins and he competed his butt off for us. He was out there just going after guys. He’s just a tough, hard-nosed kid.”

The rest of Stritch’s lineup consists of sophomores Tommy Nutter at 195 and Josh Kramer at 220. They are both first-year wrestlers.

“He’s (Josh) a kid who is helping us rebuild the program,” Kamelesky said. “He’s a hard worker, he just doesn’t know a lot of wrestling yet. Josh is doing this more, I think, to be a better football player. I told him this is one of the best ways to do that.

He comes in and tries to learn as much as he can every day.”

Kamelesky’s staff includes Stritch grads Josh Reindel and Scott Zapadka, and Joe Mileski, who wrestled at Tiffin Calvert.

“I have one of the best staffs around,” Kamelesky said.

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THE PRESS

DECEMBER 16, 2013

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The Press Box Former Northwood soccer star gets AllAmerican honors The National Soccer Coaches Association of America has voted Owens Community College soccer player Jessica Grindle (Northwood) to their 2013-14 AllAmerican team.

It marks the first time an Owens women’s soccer student-athlete has been named an NSCAA All-American.

Grindle, meanwhile, led the team in scoring with 23 goals and five assists. She capped her two-year career with 29 goals and eight assists.

Jill Burkholder, Grindle and sophomore defender Marissa Ramirez (Northwood) were named to the NSCAA All-Central Region team. It also marks the first time an Owens women’s soccer player has been awarded that honor.

Ramirez, who had one goal and two assists this past year, closed her two-year career with one goal and three assists.

Burkholder, Grindle and Ramirez helped lead the Express to its best season in program history. The Express finished 17-2-2 (a program record for wins in a season), won a program record 15 consecutive matches, captured the program’s first National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XII tournament title, and made the NJCAA D-I National Tournament for the first time, where they nearly made the NJCAA Final Four.

Following the national tournament, Grindle was named to the all-tournament team, while the Express won the Lea Plarski Sportsmanship Award for exhibiting the best sportsmanship of any team at the tournament. (— Nick Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information)

O’Brien-Wescott winners Clay High School honored Jack Nagy and Lindsay Schiavone as the 2013 recipients of the James F. O’Brien and Leta Wescott awards.

Awarded annually since the mid1970’s, these honors have been bestowed upon the outstanding male (O’Brien) and

McCullough advances Eastwood boys soccer wins state tournament

The Eastwood Eagles U-10 boys soccer team achieved first place in the S.A.Y state tournament in Cincinnati, The field consisted of 34 teams who got either first or second in their respective league tournaments. The Eagles held an 18-1-1 record and earned first place in the E.S.S.L before going undefeated in the statewide tournament.

Pictured front : Tyler Wittenmyer, Noah Haar, Connor Genson , Apollo Schacht, and Keagan Herr. Back: David Dunn, Joshua Appelhans, Aaron Brooks, Kyle Newmister, Dylan Hoffman, Bryce Koprowski, Jonah Stephenson, and Coach Carl Newmister. female (Wescott) athletes of the school’s senior class.

Chosen by the coaches within the athletics program, the O’Brien and Westcott awards are the most prestigious awards senior athletes can earn at Clay.

Nagy earned a total of seven varsity letters while at Clay, three in basketball and four in track. In his senior season, Nagy captained the team and led the Eagles in steals and was second in scoring. In the 2013 track season, he garnered first team All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference honors in the 110 hurdles and in the high jump. He was also a state qualifier in the 110 hurdles.

In addition to his athletic efforts, Jack earned All-Academic TRAC honors a total of six times during his career. He is currently attending the University of Toledo and majoring in nursing.

Schiavone earned a total of six varsity letters during her athletic career at Clay, three in soccer and three in softball. In her senior season, she captained both teams.

Lucas McCullough, 15, a Penta Career Center student (Eastwood), placed first in the 14-15 year old division of the Cleveland Browns NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick and now looks to qualify for the national contest. In 2007, McCullough, then a fourth-grader at Luckey Elementary in the Eastwood District, won the division for 8- to 9-year-olds.

In soccer, Schiavone earned All-TRAC honors twice — second team in 2011-12 and first team in 2012-13. In the 2012-13 season, she also earned second team alldistrict honors. In softball, she earned second team All-TRAC honors.

Academically, Schiavone sported a 4.1 grade point average that earned her six AllAcademic TRAC honors and All-Academic OHIO honors in her senior year. She is currently attending Ohio State University majoring in animal bio-sciences.

Sports announcements Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School is looking for an experienced defensive coordinator for its football team. Prior varsity level (or higher) defensive coordinator experience is a must. Please send a letter of interest, resume, and three references to Coach Brian Wical at bwical@katerischools.org. Must be qualified to pass OHSAA, Diocese of Toledo, and BCI/FBI background checks and certifications.

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Clay honored Jack Nagy and Lindsay Schiavone as the recipients of the James F. O’Brien and Leta Wescott awards.

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THE PRESS

DECEMBER 16, 2013

Andrea Cecil getting off to fast start for the Rockets

By Yaneek Smith Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com After going from 7-14 to 16-8 last season, Oak Harbor girls basketball is hoping to take the next step and establish themselves with the elite teams in Northwest Ohio.

Thus far, Oak Harbor is off to a good start, currently holding a 4-1 record with a 2-0 mark in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

Led by sophomore forward Andrea Cecil, who burst onto the scene last year and was instrumental in leading the Rockets to an upset win over Perkins in the sectional tournament, Oak Harbor has been dominant in its four victories, outscoring opponents by an average of 55.8 to 41.3 points per game.

Cecil, who stands 5-foot-11, is averaging an even 20 points this year, highlighted by her 30-point performance in the team’s opening-season road win over Rossford.

Her versatile game, which allows her to handle the ball, move the ball up and down the court as well as shoot from the perimeter and play in the post, is the reason defenses have such a difficult time guarding her.

Cecil, who plays AAU ball during the offseason, feels more comfortable playing varsity ball with a year of experience to fall back on.

“It’s incredible,” she said of the difference between her freshman and sophomore years. “I feel like I belong. Last year, in the beginning, I was timid.”

Cecil hasn’t done it alone. Freshman guard Emma Barney, a second-team AllOhio selection in soccer, is second on the team in scoring (13.6), followed by freshman forward Maddy Rathbun, who is averaging nine points.

Joining the three of them in the starting lineup is senior guard Amanda Hetrick

Oak Harbor sophomore forward Andrea Cecil. (Press photo by Russ Lytle) and senior post Coral Petersen. Athena Eli (4.4 points), Olivia Rollins, Brandy Lochotzki and Emma Bergman are the primary reserves off the bench. Nikki Weis, who started in the post for the Rockets last season, has dealt with constant injuries to her knees and has seen limited action so far in 2013.

A number of these players have had to step up and replace some of the lost production from last year’s seniors. Four key seniors from last year, Abbie Gezo, Maria Boers, Makayla Carpenter and Erin Bryant, graduated. Gezo and Boers were the club’s

top-two scorers and Carpenter was the starting point guard.

“Emma has replaced some of the scoring and Maddy has done a nice job in the post,” Cecil said. “And Amanda is doing a good job playing the role of point guard.”

Besides having several capable scorers, the Rockets have four players in Barney, Hetrick, Cecil and Eli that are capable of running the point. That versatility allows Oak Harbor to utilize their players’ talents in a variety of ways.

Second-year coach Tom Kontak, known to many in the area for his success as the

former coach of both the basketball and softball teams at Genoa, expects his players to play with passion. He also motivates his players to start each game with high intensity and energy by setting a goal for them to be the first team to score eight points.

Cecil says the players understand how vital that is to gaining a mental edge on their opponents.

“Getting to eight points first sets the tone,” Cecil said. “And we know that if we’re not whole-heartedly (invested) in the game, someone else can come in (and replace you).”

This season, Kontak, who was the Alan Miller Jeweler’s All-Press Coach of the Year last year, has added a new element to his practices by bringing in local fitness instructor Tyson Smith to work on speed and conditioning with the girls. Smith, who owns a home-based fitness system called Fully Committed 5150, has been instrumental in helping to improve the team’s stamina and endurance, something that can prove to be critical in the final minutes of a game.

“Last year we didn’t do the conditioning thing,” Cecil said. “It kicks our butts, and it really helps us. We’re in better shape than our opponents (this year).”

Cecil also credits the coaches with helping to run an offseason program that keeps the girls in shape and helps them to develop a rapport with each other. Kontak, who is 107-52 (.637) in his last seven years as a head coach, built a program at Genoa that won two league titles, not to mention a successful softball program that came just short of winning a state title in 2006.

He says that building a strong foundation within the program is the key to sustaining success.

“It’s nice knowing who you’re going to be playing with,” Cecil said, “and getting used to playing with each other. That makes it easier when the season starts.”

Salinas will continue his soccer career at Findlay

By Yaneek Smith Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Eastwood senior midfielder Joey Salinas will continue his soccer career at the University of Findlay.

Salinas, a three-year starter and a four-year letter winner for the Eagles, was named the Northern Buckeye Conference Player of the Year and shared POY honors with Oak Harbor’s Tate Haar on the Alan Miller Jewelers’ All-Press Boys Soccer Team.

Eastwood went 10-7-1, finished second in the NBC and won one game in the Division II sectional tournament before falling to Rossford, the NBC champion, 3-2, in the final.

“As a team, it was a little rough at first,” Salinas said. “We had lost some seniors and we had a lot of freshmen coming in. We didn’t have a lot of returning starters. At first, it was a little tough (because) the freshmen hadn’t been used to playing with guys like that. But at the end of the year, we were playing well.”

He credits first-year coach Joe Montag with instilling a new mentality that helped to strengthen the team.

“This year, with a new coach, (Montag) brought a new mentality,” Salinas said.

Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Co-Player of the Year, Joey Salinas (14), will play at the University of Findlay. (Press photo by Harold Hamilton/HEHphotos.smugmug.com)

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“His quote was ‘All in’. If you’re not going to be 100 percent committed you might as well leave. If you’re going to mess around during practice, you’ll sit. With that kind of mentality, we had a rough start, but it definitely paid off.”

Salinas started the season as a left defender before Montag moved him to left midfielder. It was the first time Salinas had played midfield since he was a freshman, but he made the adjustment smoothly. “(Montag) was more about playing people where they fit best,” said Salinas.

“He wanted people to go where they were best suited. I started the season as a defender and he saw the potential for me to be a midfielder because of the communication and how I got the ball to other people. He moved Steven (Bradley) from midfield to defender and that locked down the left side.”

Despite the fact that the Eagles will be losing three key players, they have the vast majority of the team returning. The program is in good shape, having finished with at least 10 wins each of the last seven years.

“I think it looks really good for them in the future, especially with a bigger freshman class,” Salinas said. “When they get older, they’ll be presented with the same opportunities (and) they’ll do well.”

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DECEMBER 16, 2013

B-5

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THE PRESS

DECEMBER 16, 2013

Chris Bassitt prepares for another pro baseball season

By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com

“

They’re very happy with what’s going on. They said they see me as a big leaguer out of the bullpen.

“

Chris Bassitt knows all about being on the road.

Since graduating from Genoa High School in 2007 and then pitching at the University of Akron from 2008-11, the right-hander, 24, has played in Bristol, Va., Winston-Salem, N.C., Kannapolis, N.C., and then back in Winston-Salem before going to Birmingham, Ala. He played in the Arizona Fall League with the Glendale Desert Dogs from late September through mid-November.

Such is the life of a minor league baseball player.

“It’s been different, I’ll tell you that,” said Bassitt, who was drafted out of Akron by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. “I expected it, to a certain extent. The travel might be a little worse than what I thought.

In the higher levels, the travel gets worse.

“In rookie ball the drives aren’t that far, a couple hours. In Double-A, you’re driving 12 to 15 hours to places. You’re getting out of a game at 11 p.m., showering and then you’re on a bus until 8 in the morning.

Then you have to play that day.”

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Bassitt, an All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2011, isn’t complaining. He’s merely doing what thousands of other minor league players have been doing for years – pursuing his dream. By any means necessary.

Bassitt’s current team is the Birmingham Barons, of the Southern League (Double-A). He started eight games for the Barons in 2013 and went 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 47.2 innings, with 37 strikeouts and 17 walks.

“I was with them the second half of the season,” Bassitt said. “The first half I was

Chris Bassitt in Winston-Salem and did pretty well (7-2, 3.46 ERA, 101 strikeouts in 101 innings).

He helped Birmingham win its seventh Southern League championship, starting Game 1 in the five-game semifinal round against the Tennessee Smokies and then starting Game 1 of the five-game series against the Mobile BayBears.

“I did really well,” Bassitt said. “I gave up one run in 13 innings and had 15 or 16 strikeouts. My body was holding up well and I was confident in myself going into it. It’s a matter of showing up and proving what you’ve got.”

After the Barons’ successful season,

Bassitt was assigned to the Arizona Fall League and was on the same Glendale team as former Clay and Michigan State standout pitcher A.J. Achter. Bassitt, who pitched in relief at Akron and in rookie ball and Single-A ball, became a starter the second half of last year and did “OK.” He moved back to relief with the Desert Dogs and pitched 10 innings in 10 games and had a 0.90 ERA,with nine strikeouts and eight walks.

“They (White Sox) decided to make me a starter again and I started all this year, and then my innings (pitched) got too high,” Bassitt said. “They said they wanted

me to be a reliever in the fall league.”

Bassitt is getting some much needed time off over the Christmas holiday. He said he’ll be relaxing at home in Curtice until mid-February, then head to spring training in Glendale, Ariz., with the White Sox. “Pitchers and catchers report for bigleague camp,” Bassitt said. “I don’t know if I’m going to that yet. I should, but I really don’t know. My innings this year were double than ever before. I was tired at the end of this year, so I’m glad to have some time off. I’ll still work out and start throwing pretty soon. You kind of want to stay away from it after six or seven months in a row. The more time you stay away from it (in the offseason), the better you are during the season.”

Bassitt said the two-seam fastball is probably his best pitch. He also throws a four-seam fastball, curve, slider and change-up.

“I throw the two-seam around 91-95 (mph) and I have a lot of movement on it,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to hit.”

Bassitt added that the White Sox have told him they are pleased with his performance.

“They’re very happy with what’s going on,” he said. “They said they see me as bigleaguer out of the bullpen. I’m starting right now because you get more opportunities to develop your pitches. They’ve told me they like what they see and to keep doing what I do. I have full faith in them. I believe in them.”

But again, the daily grind of a minor league ball player can take its toll. Bassitt admitted that he will “reassess what I’m doing after next season.”

“Next year is my ‘protection’ year, when you come off your minor league contract that you sign initially,” he said. “I’ll be 25, and you can only do it for so long before you say, ‘right now I’m spinning my wheels.’”

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Betty Derr, who will soon turn 81, still works the annual Jim Derr Wrestling Invitational, named for her late husband. Jim "Big Daddy" Derr, a 1954 Waite graduate, was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Hall of Fame in the 1990s. He assisted with the formation of the Cardinal Stritch High School youth wrestling program and was very active in the organization of the World Cup Wrestling Tournament. Derr was posthumously inducted into the Waite Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Perrysburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. (Press photo by Doug Karns/KateriSchools.org)

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DECEMBER 16, 2013

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