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Scherf off and running for Jackets Baldwin-Wallace University 157pound freshman wrestler Trevor Scherf (Oak Harbor) is already off and running for the varsity squad this season. Scherf started 3-2 on the season with one fall, one major decision, seven takedowns and four escapes. Scherf had a decorated wrestling career while at Oak Harbor, earning four varsity letters. He is a two-time sectional champion, district champion, Sandusky Bay Conference champion, and two-time state wrestling qualifier, highlighted by a seventh place state finish in Division III in 2016. Scherf was a team captain for last year’s Rocket wrestling team that finished in the top four in the State Duals Tournament and third overall as a team at the State Wrestling Championship. Trevor is the son of Jenny and Bill Scherf. Bill was a two-time state wrestling placer before graduating from Oak Harbor in 1991. He is a long time assistant wrestling coach at the school. Last week, BW remained undefeated as it won all three of its matches at the annual Waynesburg University Duals. BW (9-0) defeated Penn State Behrend College by a score of 45-3 in its first match. BW then defeated No. 24-nationally ranked Waynesburg by a score of 23-10. BW closed out the duals by defeating The Apprentice School (Va.) by a score of 39-7. Against Penn State Behrend, Scherf, from Graytown, won his match by a 5-3 decision. The two-time defending Ohio Athletic Conference champion and ninth nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace wrestling team has been picked to finish first in the Ohio Athletic Conference coaches preseason poll.
Cage Clinic ‘All-Beef It’ The Western Basin Toledo AAU basketball clinic series has announced its top 10 all-time (1982-2017) All-“BeefIt Shooters,” and former Genoa basketball player Noah Goodrich is on the list, named as “Mr. Three-Point Shooter.” Goodrich now plays for Defiance College and last week hit eight three point shots in one game to earn Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. The camps are run by Coach Arnold Sutter, who partners with Oregon’s Eastern Community YMCA and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The next Western Basin Holiday Basketball Clinic, which focuses on free throws and jump shots, is for grades 5-12 on Dec. 27-28 from 6:30-8 p.m. Clinics are co-ed and four are offered per year. Cost is $25 per child for YMCA members and nonmembers. Contact the Eastern YMCA at 419691-3523 or dcarpenter@ymcatoledo.org.
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December 18, 2017
R E S Sports S
Ashley Timmons a national champion See page B-5
Falcons, Andrea Cecil off to fast start By Yaneek Smith Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com During a player’s sophomore season at the NCAA Division I level, it has been stated that their career trajectory can veer in one of two ways. He or she can continue to grow and become a vital part of the team or their progress can be stunted. Oak Harbor graduate Andrea Cecil has chosen the former. The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team sophomore is averaging 10.6 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Falcons, which opened the season at 7-2. Cecil has joined the starting lineup this year and is contributing with her scoring, rebounding and outside shooting. She is one of two new starters on the team, the other being Jane Uecker (5.9 pts., 3.9 reb.). Carly Santoro (15.1 pts., 10.7 reb.), Sydney Lambert (10.3 pts., 4.1 reb.) and Haley Puk (10 pts, 2.2 reb.) are the other starters. Cecil is shooting 43 percent from the floor, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 86 percent from the charity stripe. “I think this season, we are all about playing for each other,” said Cecil. “Everyone on the team cares a lot about each other and no one wants to let anyone else on the team down. Everyone plays their heart out and does a great job of fulfilling their role on the team, whether it’s defensively, offensively or by bringing energy.” Cecil believes that she has made plenty of progress since arriving on campus. “I think this year I just have more confidence that I did last year, and other than that, nothing has changed,” she said. “I want to do whatever it is I need to do in order for our team to be successful, whether I’m playing the whole game or don’t touch the court. I think the game is slowing down for me, which comes with playing more minutes and having more experience.” The Falcons have had their share of convincing victories — Eastern Kentucky (77-60), Norfolk State (59-50), Florida Atlantic (66-55) and Valparaiso (90-77) — and close calls — Detroit Mercy (85-81) and Robert Morris (64-62). In the win over Eastern Kentucky, Cecil hit two free throws with 18.2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Her best game of the year came in the win over Detroit Mercy when Cecil shot 7-of17 and scored 20 points, including 10 in the second half, while grabbing seven rebounds. Most importantly, she’s been consistent, scoring at least eight points in every game. Her most recent performance saw her score 14 points and grab seven rebounds in a 63-53 win over Xavier. Last year, Cecil made strides during the latter part of the season, averaging five points and 2.9 rebounds while playing in all 31 games. She was named the team’s Most Improved Player. In high school, Cecil rewrote the record books at Oak Harbor and is now the program’s leader in career points (1,823), single-season points (542), single-season scoring average (22.6) and single-game scoring (40). Tom Kontak, who coached Cecil for four years, says she has several qualities
2018
Bowling Green State University sophomore Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor) falls back while shooting a jumper against Seton Hall. (Photo courtesy BGSU Athletics) which make her a special player. “Andrea, very much, is a leader by example. During her high school career, Andrea wasn’t always the loudest player on the court, but she always had the ball in her hands when it mattered most. She made so many big shots for us and had so many huge games during her high school career. What makes her such a special player is she has such a natural ability to play the game and is a very high IQ thinker on the court. Plus, Andrea will do whatever it takes to help her team win. She’s a very unselfish player for sure. We all just followed her lead during those four years. “It was just a matter of time before Andrea earned her starting role and a significant number of minutes to play (at BGSU). She is a winner and always has
been a winner. She’s a 6-1 strong athlete who has always been able to handle the ball anywhere on the court. Andrea is a double threat, both in being able to score from the inside and from the perimeter.” When not playing basketball, Cecil is judiciously using the team’s travel time to focus on school. “I think I’m doing pretty well,” she said. “I’m using the time that we travel to get my studies done.” Cecil comes from a family of athletes. Her brother, A.J., played baseball at the University of Findlay after a stellar career playing basketball, baseball and football at Oak Harbor. His final season with the Oilers saw him go 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA as a relief pitcher. He struck out 23 in 23.1 innings of work.
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DECEMBER 18, 2017
Rodriguez’s goal — change culture to a winning mindset By J. Patrick Eaken Press Sports Editor sports@presspublications.com It’s been a long time since Clay boys basketball opened its season with two wins. To put in bluntly, two wins is pretty much par for the course for an entire season since Clay joined the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. Over those six years, Clay has gone 16113 during the regular season and 4-80 in the TRAC. The last TRAC win came during the final game of the 2014-15 season when the Eagles nipped Whitmer, 64-61. It was Clay’s only win that season. The last winning season was under former coach Joe Guerrero in 2004-05 when Clay finished 14-5 before the tournament hit and 6-5 in the Toledo City League. Even during its final six years in the City League, Clay went 16-49 in conference play. This year, under first year coach Dave Rodriguez, the Eagles opened with a 56-38 win at Tiffin Columbian and 79-60 victory at Maumee. “At Tiffin Columbian, we just wore them out,” Rodriguez said. “When I watched them warm up, I thought, ‘Man, we are going to be in trouble because we don’t have much size.’ But, the pace of our game, by the second half I think it just kind of got to them. It was their first game of the year, and I don’t know if it would happen again like that, but I’ll take it. “Maumee, we were down four at half. We played horrible — no energy. We basically showed up thinking we were going to win the game. We told the guys at halftime, ‘Guys, there is no way we can walk into any gym and just think we are going to be better than anybody.’ Then, in the second half we went on a 10-0 run, we scored 49 in the second half, and we ended up winning by nearly 20. Hey, I just think our pressure worked, and we just started hitting shots.” Then came Lima Senior, two years removed from being Division I state runnerup behind now-University of Michigan star Xavier Simpson. Clay opened by hitting two consecutive three-point shots to grab an early 6-0 lead, then the lid fell off. “They shot so well — 53 percent from the three point line and 48 percent from the field,” Rodriguez said. “We shot 38 percent from the three, which is something you get better at, but I’ll be happy with. “The second time, it will be a lot different. The film from the game before, where they played Anthony Wayne (64-63 Lima Senior win in overtime), did not match the film from what I saw that night. That is a good job by (Lima coach) Quincy (Simpson) — they made a couple adjustments.” Despite a nip and tuck first quarter and good crowd at Harold Potter Field House, Lima Senior prevailed, 75-53. If it’s any consolation to Clay, the 3-1 Spartans routed Middletown the next day, 75-32. Tuesday, the Eagles hung with Whitmer for one half until the Panthers pulled away to win, 76-41. So, what do you do now? Lima Senior and Whitmer sent a message that despite Clay’s first two wins, victories in the TRAC will be hard to come by. Rodriguez ought to know what the league is like — he played at Whitmer under then-coach Bruce Smith, teaming up with the school’s all-time scoring leader in Floyd Campbell when both schools were in the Great Lakes League, graduating in 1997. Two of his assistants either played or
CLAY BOYS BASKETBALL Year League Overall* TOLEDO CITY ATHLETIC LEAGUE 2004-05 6 5 14 5 2005-06 2 9 9 11 2006-07 3 8 9 9 2007-08 4 7 7 11 2008-09 3 8 4 15 2009-10 1 10 3 17 2010-11 3 7 4 16 THREE RIVERS ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 2011-12 2 12 5 15 2012-13 0 14 1 20 2013-14 1 13 3 19 2014-15 1 13 1 21 2015-16 0 14 4 18 2016-17 0 14 2 20 *regular season only
Clay senior guard Dustin Aiton drives against a Lima Senior defender in the conference opener at Harold Potter Field House. (Press photo by Scott Grau) coached at St. John’s Jesuit under Coach Ed Heintschel. “I know exactly what it is like,” Rodriguez said. “They do say this and I agree with it — it’s one of the toughest leagues in the state of Ohio, and you’ve got to do the little things in order to build a program.” First of all, Rodriguez is confident he has the talent and athleticism to get more wins this year, and he sees it every day in practice. It may not be realistic, but he put it to his players that they don’t have to lose
Wanting to win starts at the youth levels By J. Patrick Eaken Press Sports Editor sports@presspublications.com Clay boys basketball coach Dave Rodriguez’s method of preparing his players for Three Rivers Athletic Conference competition is simple — make them want to win. “To be honest, these kids — all they want to do is win,” Rodriguez said. “They work hard, and Kris Oberdick kind of set the tone last year as far as changing the guard. We were in a lot of games last year. We just could not get it together. “So, I basically came in and just let my JV team play. We didn’t even teach too much, just footwork and shooting form and let them fail. We brought them down, shoot, and we ran up and down. And, then Kris decided to step down, and he said if I got the job, he would love to be my assistant and JV coach, and I said, ‘I’d be dumb to say no.’” So, when Rodriguez went to the varsity
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any more games. “We had a good practice yesterday,” Rodriguez said early last week. “They realized it, you know. I just told them, ‘We are not going to go undefeated. We’ve already matched the goal that we looked at — let’s get better than last year, and hey, we are already there.’ I told them before the year started, ‘Hey, if you don’t think we can win at least 10 or 11 games then you don’t need to step into this gym.’ I think the kids have bought in. They are listening well. They are
doing core exercises, and our practices are fun.” The athleticism he has carries over from other sports — six-foot junior guard Trey Reddick was a first team and honorable mention all-state receiver on the football team and junior point guard Reese Wamer was voted the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press first team quarterback. Senior guard Dakota Calkins, an all-league soccer player, is a scrappy player who likes to mix things up. It has been the guards who are doing most of the scoring. Reddick is averaging 12.7 points and three assists through three games, six-foot guard Dustin Alton is averaging 10 points, and Wamer 9.3 points and 4.7 assists. Reddick leads the team with eight steals and Wamer, despite being under six feet tall, leads in rebounds, averaging 7.3.
and Oberdick stepped down to JV after just one year at the helm, it really wasn’t a complete overhaul. More like a systems adjustment. “I don’t know how Kris does it. I don’t know if I’d be able to do that, to be honest,” Rodriguez said. Rodriguez and Oberdick believe that if Clay ever wants to successfully compete in the TRAC, it has to start by reenergizing the youth programs. They’re doing that, plus building on what previous head coach Rob Belegrin did when he started a junior program. “We’re trying to work with our recreation program, and it was a lot for Kris our first year, and once Rob went, it kind of went away. I came in this year with a guy named Scott Woollard, whose son is a point guard with the freshman team, and we created the Oregon Sports Academy,” Rodriguez said. Nathan Quigg, who remained on the staff under former coaches Joe Guerrero,
Belegrin, Oberdick and now Rodriguez, gives credit to Woollard for establishing the youth program, which replaced the Oregon Basketball Club. Woollard started by coaching in the Junior Eagles program under Belegrin. All of a sudden, the numbers in the youth program picked up exponentially, Rodriguez said. “We actually run a pre-K through sixth grade boys and girls program. So, we’re just trying to get kids in the gym, trying to teach them the right fundamentals because realistically, they weren’t getting that in that little bit of a window,” Rodriguez continued. “Basketball hasn’t really been a priority out here because they don’t win. There has been six wins in two years, and one TRAC win in three years, so we kind of took that, and we had 160 kids, which was way over what we thought we’d have. Now, it’s going to be dying down here in January and then every week we are going to host fundamental camps and stuff.”
THE PRESS
DECEMBER 18, 2017
B-3
Sibling rivalries paying off for Eastwood basketball By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Eastwood girls basketball coach Nick Schmeltz knew that his sister, Jamie, was going to be a special player when she was in the third or fourth grade. Jamie, the youngest of James and Tammy Schmeltz’s five children, would play ball against Nick and her other two brothers in the family driveway. “In the fifth and sixth grade, she played on a boys team,” Nick recalls. “She was the only girl and she held her own. It got to the point where with tournaments, they wouldn’t allow our team to go because teams didn’t want to play against a girl. She’s an above-average ball handler and she has quickness – she was a state qualifier in the 4x100 – and she can shoot it. “I like to say she does boys stuff on the basketball court, if that makes sense. She doesn’t play like a girl.” Jamie, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, plays point guard for the Eagles. She averaged 15 points a game as a freshman and was named first-team All-Northern Buckeye Conference and all-district. She has been her team’s primary ball handler since the fifth grade. Before that, she played in the post because, she says, “I was always taller than everyone.” Jamie, 16, is the second sibling to play for their brother at Eastwood. Alexa played for Nick, 26, on the 2015-16 squad. Their brother Jake also played for the Eagles and finished his career with more than 1,000 points “He’s really good,” Jamie says. “We would play in the front yard and he always beat me, but it was still fun. I play Nick sometimes. We go at it. Nick’s good; he’s aggressive. I’m kind of used to it now that he’s coached me the last two years.” And then there’s that. Coaching your sister, or playing for your older brother, can often be … difficult. “It’s like a love-hate relationship,” Jamie says. “That’s the best way to describe it. He pushes me to do my best, but sometimes it’s frustrating because he gets on me too much. I know he’s just trying to make me a better basketball player and trying to
Eastwood sophomore Jamie Schmeltz scores in the Eagles' 67-41 win over visiting nonleague foe Evergreen to open the season. (Photo courtesy Tammy Schmeltz) push me to do my best. He really knows the game and I trust him a lot coaching me. He knows what he’s doing and he’s going to help me become the basketball player I can be.” Nick admits that Jamie’s description of their coach-player relationship “is pretty spot-on.” “I’m a little unfair to her because I push her harder,” he says. “I expect more out of her, definitely. Sometimes we get
on each other’s nerves, and thankfully we have some assistant coaches who can be a buffer sometimes. You don’t want to come off that you’re taking it easy on her. “She is a talented basketball player and I’m going to try to get the best out of her as I can. She’s still just a sophomore and still learning. She makes a ton of plays for us. Sometimes I shake my head and say, ‘how did she make that play?’ ” Jamie is the tallest player on the roster
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this season and has helped Eastwood get off to a solid start. The Eagles were 4-2 and 2-1 in the NBC after Tuesday night’s 66-63 loss at Elmwood, which has two six-foot starters. “It was heartbreaking,” Nick says of the loss. “We did everything except win the game. We literally led the whole game, until the last minute and a half. We’re still pretty young. We start three sophomores and we play two juniors and another sophomore. We only have two seniors and we’re still learning how to win and close out games.” Jamie scored 21 points and had eight rebounds and three steals against the Royals (4-1, 3-0), but it wasn’t enough. The Eagles had a big lead at halftime and came out flat in the third quarter, according to Jamie. “They kept clawing away and they had the advantage of having two six-foot girls,” she says. “We learned you just can’t take any plays off. Keep going at it all game long and keep your foot on the gas pedal. (Opponents) aren’t going to feel sorry for themselves, and we just have to keep playing our game.” Eastwood averages 65 points a game with a style that has changed since last season. “We get up and down the court a lot more and we try to attain 85 possessions,” Nick says. “We want to shoot 70 field-goal attempts and try to make nine 3-pointers a game.” Jamie leads the team in scoring at 21.2 points per game, and she averages five rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She’s shooting 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range. “I like how this year we’ve changed the speed of the game,” Jamie says. “We’re starting to press the ball a lot and push the ball up and down the court. That makes teams uncomfortable, because we wear them down and they’re just not used to running the floor like that.” Jamie added that her primary goal this season is to lead the Eagles to the NBC title. “We have good shot at it,” Jamie says. “There are a lot of good teams in our league. We have a really good chance of getting that title with our style of play this year. It would be cool to see us bring back a league championship to Eastwood.”
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Clay hockey opens season winning 11 straight games By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Clay hockey coach Randy Menchaca has no complaints, really, on how the Eagles have played this season. After all, his squad was 11-0 and 2-0 in the Northwest Hockey Conference White Division heading into Friday’s game against Fremont Ross at the Toledo Ice House. Then again, it’s a long season and the Eagles haven’t won anything just yet. “The biggest thing I like so far is, these guys have played together since they were young,” Menchaca said. “When they play together, it’s amazing to watch what they can do as a unit on the ice. The most impressive part is when we start to move the puck — the way we can move the puck -— you can tell they know where each other is at, and they move the puck effectively.” The Eagles are looking to reclaim the White Division title they lost last season, when they fell to Anthony Wayne during the regular season and again in the playoffs to finish second behind the Generals. Through 11 games this season, the Eagles have outscored their 11 opponents by a 64-13 margin. Clay returned all but two players off last year’s 29-5 team, including leading scorer Cameron Menchaca, and went 4-0 at the Frozen Creek Thanksgiving Tournament in Dayton. Menchaca, a 5-foot-6, 155-pound junior forward/defenseman, leads the Eagles with 10 goals and seven assists. “Cameron is really, truly my utility guy,” coach Menchaca said. “I can throw him in at any position, other than between the pipes, and he produces for us through goal scoring or assists or being a physical presence. He is very important to our lineup. He has the ability to set the tone right away on his first shift.” Senior forward Jeff Schenkel has eight goals and six assists, while 220-pound senior forward Jake Frederitz has six goals and six assists. “We run a different combination (of lineups),” coach Menchaca said. “We may start a certain way, but we might move some guys around to get guys in the lineup.
Clay goalie Alec Jacuillard (30) and forwards Jarod VanHersett and Jeff Schenkel talk strategy in their win over Maumee. (Press photo by Russ Lytle/Facebook.com/RussLytle/RHP) My top five forwards are Jarod VanHersett, (captain) Andrew Surgo, Jeff Schenkel, Ryan Juhasz and Jake Fredritz. I can pretty much move them to any forward position, as far as center or out on the wings. They are a group of guys who are close off the ice, and that translates to the play on the ice.” Seniors Simon Pappas and Caleb Heck are Clay’s top two defensemen. “Caleb has been a surprise back on defense this year, with the improvement on his shot,” coach Menchaca said. “He has added accuracy and power to his shot from the blue line. Simon is continuing to be steady for us. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman but he has the ability to rush the puck. He brings consistency to about every shift.
Clay 5-foot-6, 152 pound junior forward/defenseman Cameron Menchaca controls the puck in their win over Maumee. (Press photo by Russ Lytle/Facebook.com/RussLytle/RHP)
It’s very rare when Simon makes a mistake out there.” Evan Cote, a 5-3, 135-pound sophomore, played forward last season but has moved to defense this year. “He’s producing for us,” coach Menchaca said. “He makes a few mistakes, but he’s learning the position and he’s a coachable kid. I’ll take 10 of those kids over one kid who is not coachable. He has talent coming out of his ears.” The Eagles’ goalies are junior J.J. Utter and senior Alec Jaquillard. Utter is 6-0 this season and Jaquillard is 5-0. “The only thing that has really surprised me right now has been Alec, our senior goaltender,” coach Menchaca said. “It seems like he’s matured a little bit and he
seems focused this year on what he wants and what he expects from himself and from the team as well. Everybody else has pretty much brought to the table what they’re capable of bringing.” The coach added that the main goal he’s set for this group since they were young is to “move the puck and shoot the puck with purpose.” “We want to adopt three characteristics of a good team,” Menchaca said. “We want to play unselfish, play together and play hard. When we play selfish, the game kind of drags. We have had those moments. When we play hard and unselfish, it’s unbelievable what we get done. Regardless of who we’re playing, their talent level or whatever, we never gear down. We always gear up.”
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DECEMBER 18, 2017
B-5
Cougars’ Timmons major player in national title run By Bruce Hefflinger Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Ashley Timmons was unable to be part of Spring Arbor University’s run to a national women’s soccer championship two years ago due to a knee injury. The senior from Lake High School nearly missed out on another title this season. “In September I went to drills and they told us we were going to mobilize to Florida (after Hurricane Irma hit),” explained Timmons, a member of the National Guard. “They didn’t give official orders, but I told the team I was not going to be able to finish my senior season. But on the day we were going to roll out they said they didn’t need our unit.” It was a relief for both Timmons as well as the Spring Arbor coaching staff when the potential search-and-rescue mission was called off for her group. “When she left we thought for sure she was going to be gone the rest of the season,” noted Spring Arbor goalie coach Kevin Bristol. “She’s definitely an asset in the back and gives the team a lot of confidence.” Just a few matches into the season, head coach Jason Crist admitted to some concern. “It was an unexpected turn of events,” said Crist. “We’re fortunate to have three good goalkeepers, but it’s tough to lose your number one who has logged the most minutes. When she came back it was a blessing.” One that eventually ended in a 2-0 victory over Benedictine College (Kansas) in the NAIA title game on Dec. 2. “It was so cool to see something we had talked about since day one actually happen,” Timmons said. It capped an amazing year in which Spring Arbor set a school record for wins in a season during a 24-1-1 campaign. With Timmons playing a huge role, the Cougars permitted just nine goals all season long, recording 19 shutouts including four in five postseason contests. “Ashley’s a good athlete and a good shot stopper,” explained Crist, who this season became just the third active NAIA women’s coach to reach 300 career coaching wins. “The biggest thing she brings to the table is mental toughness. Mistakes don’t get her down. She’s earned the confidence of the players in front of her.” It is a position Timmons has excelled at since her days learning to play the sport while growing up in Northwest Ohio. “I became a goalie in sixth or seventh grade because our goalie got hurt and nobody else wanted to play it,” noted Simmons. “I’ve been one ever since.” Only a few years prior, Simmons took up the game of soccer. “I brought home a paper to play rec ball when I was age eight,” Timmons reflected. “I fell in love with hanging out with everybody and I got better as a player.” She then drew an affection for the position of goalkeeper. “In a weird way I love how much pressure gets put on the goalie,” Timmons explained. “The forwards can make mistakes with someone behind them, but for goalies there’s a thin line for mistakes. I love that pressure.” That love turned into a passion for both the goalie position as well as the sport of soccer. “I’ve met some of my best friends and made my family closer playing soccer,” said Timmons, whose father Mike is mayor of Millbury. “There were so many experiences with the sport I wouldn’t have otherwise had.” No experience was more difficult than sitting out the 2015 campaign with a torn ACL and two meniscus tears, an injury that happened a week before the season. “I grew to realize how much I took for granted,” noted Timmons, who was unable to be on the sidelines for Spring Arbor’s national champion win that year. “I drove down to the tournament to watch, just to be part of the group,” Timmons said. “But at the same point I was a little jealous. I wanted to be on the sidelines.” A year later Timmons was in goal when the Cougars lost to UNOH in the NAIA championship game, a defeat avenged this season with a 2-0 victory over the Racers in the national semifinals. “She matured and really stepped up to be a leader,” Bristol said of Timmons. “This was my fourth year with her and her work ethic is what stands out.” Timmons’ drive to get better culminated with a shutout in the national champi-
onship match. “Ashley’s journey was a long one,” Crist said of the fifth-year senior. “She came in behind a three-time All-American goalie and was an understudy for a couple years. Then she was not able to be on the team when we won a title. But she used that as motivation and took her game to another level. She took over once the other goalie graduated and the transition was seamless. It took a lot of mental fortitude and patience.” But the journey almost had a turn in the road. “When I was told I might miss my senior season it was devastation for me,” admitted Timmons, who is 2½ years into a six-year commitment to the National Guard, which involves training and classwork once a month. “In a selfish way I was upset. It took me two days to realize maybe there was a bigger purpose out there than playing soccer with my best friends.” However, the potential detour never materialized and Timmons was soon back on the road to be part of a journey that would eventually end with a national title. “My senior year was better than I ever thought it would be,” said Timmons, who earned second-team All-American honors after recording 59 saves while allowing just eight goals in more than 1,600 minutes of action. “I learned to appreciate every game, knowing that each one could be my last.”
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Spring Arbor University goalkeeper Ashley Timmons (Lake). (Photo courtesy SAU Athletics)
B-6
THE PRESS
DECEMBER 18, 2017
Isbell’s connection with Dominican continues By J. Patrick Eaken Press Sports Editor sports@presspublications.com
Garry Isbell
Total Sports Complex baseball supervisor Garry Isbell has an opportunity to send a youth baseball team to the Dominican Republic again this summer, only with new frills attached. Last August, Isbell coached an American all-star youth baseball team that traveled to the Dominican Republic to play baseball against some of the best youth players Latin America had to offer. “I was asked to bring another team over this year. While I was there, I got to meet Luis Polonia — he was pretty impressed with some of the things we were doing, and he found out we have a facility, and their ticket over there is to get the kids over here and get exposure for Major League baseball, and get them college opportunities,� Isbell said. “So, what he ended up doing is he asked me if I would take on 15 of his top players and train them over here for six months to a year and let them be part of our teams over here. We’re working that out right now — we’ve got to get a hold of foreign
exchange student services for host families and get them enrolled in schools around here, and Major League Baseball is going to be working with us as well, to fund it. “We’re in the process of getting those 15 Dominican kids over here. Luis Polonia is the man who runs the top academy over there and he’s the one who asked if I would take those kids for a year and give them a better chance of getting out of the Dominican and getting to go to college and play professional baseball.� The whole process started when Isbell was a partner in the Strike Zone baseball facility formerly at Great Eastern Shopping Center in Northwood. Former Eastern Michigan University head coach Jay Alexander connected Isbell with the proper authorities. After Strike Zone closed, Isbell took over at Total Sports in Rossford. “This whole thing transpired with me when I ran Strike Zone with Karl (Knierim) and Rod (Achter) at Great Eastern. I became part of the United States Baseball Network and I was the Michigan state director and the Northwest Ohio district director,� Isbell said.
“I had to get districts up and running in Michigan through this organization that we ran through our facility up there, and Jay Alexander had gotten released at Eastern Michigan, and so his whole staff was released, and he was looking for a job in baseball. He was in contact with the United States Baseball Network looking for a job, and they put him in contact with me, and he ran four of my districts in Michigan. “When he was at Eastern Michigan, they had one good year where they went to the (NCAA) College World Series and he was coach of the year, so they nominated him to coach Team USA in the Pan American Games. So, I got to be real close to Jay, and Jay always knew I’d like to do something like this. So Jay is the one who nominated me to this organization. “That was pretty neat and I’m going to have to come back next year, but I’m going to try and take a 16 and 17U travel team over at Total, and I’m trying to take all of our Total kids to represent the eastern part of the USA over there next year. If we can have all our Total kids, which is just kids from Northwest Ohio — that would be even better,� Isbell continued.
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You wouldn’t have expected Gary Nissen to resign as Genoa’s head baseball coach just when he had the Comets on a roll. Nissen, a 1988 Genoa graduate, coached at the school from 19972003 and compiled a 129-65 record. The Comets won the Suburban Lakes Gary Nissen League title in 1999 and captured sectional titles in 1997, ‘98, ‘99, 2000 and ‘01. They won district titles 1997, ‘99 and 2000. The 1999 team, led by ace pitcher Jeff Keaton, advanced to the Division III state semifinals before losing to Cincinnati Madeira. Nissen was named the D-III coach of the year in 2000 by the Ohio High School State Baseball Coaches Association. The 1999 squad was inducted into the Genoa Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. “My son (Will) was born in 2003,” Nissen said. “I was going through a job change at that time and he was going to be born, and it was family first at that point. It was the type of situation where I wanted to be home for him and my daughter, Aulora (now 19), at the time. She was 6. It was, do I want to be home with them or be off doing the baseball job?” Nissen, who turns 48 on Dec. 20, picked family, but he’s back, 14 years later, as Genoa’s head baseball coach. He was hired in mid-September. “Gary’s proven track record, paired with his commitment to baseball in Genoa as well as the holistic guidance of our student-athletes, made this an easy decision to have him return to lead our baseball program in the right direction,” Genoa Athletic Director Daniel Hartsel said. Nissen has remained close with the Genoa baseball community over the past 14 years. He has coached youth baseball in the area and his brother, Lee, ran the local Little League program and is currently that program’s vice president. “Lee needed a travel baseball coach (years ago), so he said, ‘Why don’t you come down a level you can handle (time-wise),’ ” Gary recalled. “I’ve been doing that ever since then. I’ve coached pretty much all of (the current high school players) at one time or another. I floated around wherever I was needed until Will was old enough to play. He started playing around 8.” Will is now an eighth-grader, so Nissen figured it was time to get back to coaching the Comets. “My son is old enough to understand it and, frankly, he doesn’t want me around much anymore,” Nissen said tongue-incheek. “Personally, I missed the guys and it was the right time for me personally. I missed the guys and the opportunity was there, so I took it.” Since his hiring, Nissen had been getting equipment ready and working on the baseball field. He has been overseeing open gyms, where players can take batting practice, since November, and the players are in the weight room three days a week. “Right now we’re running around 8-10 kids,” Nissen said, “but a lot of my guys play basketball or wrestle in the winter.” Nissen said his expectation this season is “to pick up where we left off in 2003.” “We expect 20 wins, win the district and win the league title,” he said. “It’s killing me saying NBC (Northern Buckeye Conference) instead of Suburban Lakes League. This league is just a little different. Before, it was us and Elmwood and Lake (contending for league titles). The only thing that’s changed is it’s us and Lake and Eastwood. I’m excited. That old itch is back.” Nissen’s assistants are junior varsity coach and Lake grad Joel Mass, jayvee assistant Nick Buhrow, who has roots in the Genoa community, and varsity assistant and 2006 Genoa grad Justin Lau. Genoa finished third in the NBC last year behind co-champions Rossford and Eastwood. Three starters — seniors Gabe Scott and Noah Edwards and sophomore Sam Witt – return from that team along with sophomore Allen Laytart, a returning letterman.
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B-8
THE PRESS
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