District Brackets Set, Plybon at Akron, College Signees

The girls and boys basketball brackets are set after today's boys seeding.  It's a great time of year if you're a basketball fan. 

Basketball: Orrville Boys win 6th Straight

The month of December didn't start out so well for the boys basketball team. They dropped a hard-fought game at West Holmes by a 60-56 score. This was on the heels of a 41-40 loss to Coventry in the fist game on their home floor. An 0-2 start...even if both losses were by a combined 5 points, was still an 0-2 start.

Not sure what's changed, but December has been pretty good to the Riders since then as they've reeled off 6 straight wins, including their latest win over an undefeated Norwayne squad by a 62-49 score.

The 6-2 record is their best start since going 7-1 to open the 2009-10 season. That season ended in a state runner-up finish.

Winter Sports Update

A super busy weekend of Red Rider sports is in the books and post-season tournaments are in full swing.  There's plenty to talk about, so let's get right to it.

Closing the Gym
It was great being part of one last night in the gym.  It felt like old times with a packed house and a buzz in the air.  It probably won't hit me until I see a game in the new gym.  It was also great to see players and coaches from some of Orrville's great teams come back to the gym that they helped make so many great memories.  Diane Shanklin and Erica Short represented the volleyball program, Dennis Hochstetler represented the wrestling program, Hannah Plybon and Stacie Howard represented the girls basketball program and Kevin Summers and Marcell Denson represented the boys basketball program.  Here are some pictures courtesy of former basketball player & current track coach Andy Vernon:

Pre-game ceremony

Panorama before National Anthem

The final jump ball

Final points scored by Luke Smith

The final points in the gym were scored by freshman Luke Smith, the grandson of Orrville coaching legend Steve Smith.  Amazing that in a gym Smitty made so famous, his grandson would be the one to close it down with a 3-pointer.

Girls Basketball
The girls breezed their way into the district rounds, notching easy wins over Rittman (72-19) and Loudonville (75-46).  Counting their last regular season game against Clear Fork, the Lady Riders have won their last 3 games by an average of 42 points per game.  Next up is Northwestern this Thursday.  They defeated the Huskies by a 79-38 score just a few weeks ago but tough to beat a team twice in a season.  Guessing they'll try to slow down the pace, but if we're hitting shots like we've been, it may not matter.  That would set up a district final between either Canton Central Catholic or undefeated Smithville on Saturday at 2pm at Triway for a trip to the sweet 16.

Senior Hannah Plybon is sitting at 1,974 points in her career.  She needs just 26 points to be just the 3rd in area history to score 2,000 career points.  That would put in the top 50 all-time in Ohio girls history in points scored.

She also needs just 6 points to top 600 points on the season, something no girl at Orrville has ever done and only 3 boys at OHS have done (Kevin Summers twice, Ron Wachtel and Chris Royer).

The ladies team is now 22-2 on the season, needing 1 more win to tie the record for wins in a season.  The district final could be the game they break that record, and if they win that game, it would be Coach Alberts' 100th win as Orrville girls coach in just his 5th season.  He's never won LESS than 18 games in his 5 years at Orrville...that's pretty impressive.

Boys Basketball
The boys team ended the season with a 5-17 record but will again seek to string together 4 wins and capture a 4th straight district crown.  They dispatched of Black River 53-32 in the sectional opener.  The win was only the 4th win in the last 3 seasons that have been by 20 or more points.  Three of those wins have come in tournament play (2011 & 2012 vs. Chippewa).

The win was the Riders 15th straight tournament win at Wooster High School dating back to 1995 when the school opened.  The Riders have never lost on that floor in a tournament game, but that will be tested this Friday night at they take on #2 seed Oberlin.

The team has played hard all year and seem to be playing some pretty good ball right now.  I'd say don't count them out, but it seems to motivate them when that happens...so continue to count them out I guess.

Wrestling
For the 7th straight year, a Red Rider will travel down I-71 to Columbus for the state wrestling tournament, and this year it's senior Brad Potter at the 152 lb. weight class.  He finished 2nd to Norwayne's Kollin Moore at districts and will seek to become the school's 33rd state placer.  OHS has now had 59 state qualifiers according to AD Kent Smith.  Since 1999 (15 seasons), Orrville has sent at least 1 wrestler to state in 12 of those years.

Potter is 42-5 on the season and will take on Tyler Williamson of Cin. Madiera in the first round of the Division 3, 152 lb. bracket.  The full list of brackets for Division 3 is here.  Basically it takes 4 wins to place in the top 8...and 4 straight wins to finish as state champ.

What is interesting about this year is that a wrestler from Dalton will also be making the trip with the Orrville contingent.  Dalton senior Drew Everett qualified for state at the 145 lb. weight class.  Dalton's wrestling program was disbanded earlier this year due to low numbers so Drew became sort of an adopted son of the Orrville program, practicing and traveling with the Orrville team.  He will still represent Dalton High School, but will have the support of Red Rider Nation behind him....even spawning these t-shirts from downtown Orrville business Expert T's.


Sports Hall of Fame Applications Due
Only a few days left to get your nomination in for the OHS Sports Hall of Fame.  Induction will be this September.  Here's a link to the application.  Once filled out, they can be mailed to the high school to the attention of the Athletic Office.

Just get the nomination form in...doesn't have to be pages and pages.

Last but not least, be sure to check out Rod Dilyard's pictures for purchase.  He does great work and puts in a lot of hours and miles providing this service.  Some really great shots of the final game in the gym.

Go Riders!!!

History Lesson: Orrville's Twelve District Basketball Titles

Thought it might be fun, on the heels of another district title to revisit each.  I'm relying heavily on others memory for the ones in the early to late 80's.  Thanks to the OhioChatter gang of Orrville posters (they know who they are) for helping out with this.

Before I get to the detail of each, I think it's pretty impressive that we can boast 12 district titles and 5 regional titles, in addition to our state runner-up finish in 2010 and our 3 state titles in 1992, 1995 & 1996.  And that's just boys basketball.  I sure hope when this new gym gets built there's a plan to have banners for each sport like they do in Wooster.

It would be neat to have a banner per sport, like this...and then a banner (or two) listing all the team state championships we've won...like this. With a new gym, it's the perfect "blank template" to do this right.  Keeping them in the gym also keeps them out of the elements, so they'll age well.

If I'm getting greedy, I'd love to see the state title banners lit at all times, even when the gym is dark and not in use.  Like this. Sort of gives an "aura" of greatness.

Ok, enough dreaming (I haven't done that in a while so you'll have to forgive me).  On to the district titles...

District Champs Again. Fieldhouse Bound!!

Thanks to Mike Guster for the picture.  Great work, Mike.

Well, here we are again. District Champs for the 3rd straight year after a 61-51 win over the Wellington Dukes.

The Riders advance to play the Burton Berkshire Badgers in a regional semifinal game at the famed Canton Memorial Fieldhouse this coming Wednesday at 8:00pm.

If you can believe it...the Red Riders are one win away from playing for a return trip to Columbus.  I'd say it defies logic, but we've seen this exact same scenario for 3 years in a row...and the last 2 years have seen the Riders finish the regular season with an identical 7-13 record only to prove that scheduling matters...a lot...and fight their way through districts.

Let's talk about how we got here, and look ahead to what's next.

Great weekend to be a Red Rider!!

Some great accomplishments for Red Rider athletes & Red Rider alums over the weekend. It's tournament time, and that's apparently when Red Riders shine their brightest.

Swimming
Orrville junior Madison Monheim turned in two All-Ohio performances in her 2nd consecutive trip to the state finals in Canton.  She placed 10th in the 200yd. freestyle in a personal best time of 1:55.37.  I noticed that 6 of the 9 swimmers who finished ahead of her were seniors, so I'd like to think her chances of finishing in the top 5 next year are excellent.

She also finished 12th in the 500yd. freestyle event, also in a personal best time of 5:11.46.

Congrats Madison.  Now a 3-time All-Ohioan.  I hope she's getting some attention from colleges.

Wrestling
Orrville will again send wrestlers to the state meet in Columbus this coming weekend, as seniors Trevor White (2nd) and Ronnie Lehtomaki (3rd) both punched their tickets by finishing in the top 4 of their weight classes.  Both are making their first appearance at state.  With 3-time state champ Felipe Martinez (Genoa) withdrawing from districts due to a family obligation, the 170 lb. class seems to be wide open.  Ronnie upset the #7 and #8 ranked wrestlers in the 2012 Brakeman Report to punch his ticket to Columbus, and then beat the #14 ranked wrestler for 3rd place just for good measure.

Congrats to both and to Coach Hamsher & his staff.  It's now been 6 straight years that Orrville has sent at least 1 wrestler to state.  Impressive.

In the college ranks, an Orrville grad made some noise over the weekend.  Wabash College junior Jake Strasbaugh competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional that was held at Cleveland State University.  From Wabash's article...

Strausbaugh entered the tournament as the top seed at 149 pounds. He dominated the early rounds, winning 12-3 in his opener followed by a pin at the 1:55 mark in his next match. A 7-3 victory sent him to the finals against Cameryn Brady. Strausbaugh battled throughout the contest, fighting to a 1-1 tie late in the match after trailing 1-0. Brady was able to hold on and score the final point to win 2-1. A 3-1 loss to Olivet's Gage Pederson in the "true second" bout eliminated Strausbaugh from alternate consideration. Strausbaugh finished the year with a record of 45-6. He entered the regional tied for second in the nation in total wins this season, and completes his junior year with a career mark of 131-26, placing him third on the all-time Wabash wins list behind Healy and Rhoads.

Tough way to end for Jake.  That "True Second" match is interesting.  In high school wrestling, the loser of the championship match is automatically awarded 2nd place, but in college, the loser of the championship match must face the winner of the consolation bracket to establish the "true second" finisher.  Gives hope to a wrestler who loses a match that they can still earn 2nd place, but makes it double tough on the loser of the championship match to put that loss behind them and wrestle against an opponent who has won a few matches in a row.

Girls Basketball
The Lady Riders earned a sectional championship by beating Loudonville 62-42 and have advanced to the district semifinals against Dalton on March 1st at 8pm.  That game will follow Smithville/Canton CC.  Both games will be played at Triway HS.

Orrville junior Hannah Plybon ended the season with 396 points, and with 13 in the tourney opener against Tuslaw, has surpassed the 400 point mark for the 2nd straight season.  Her current career points total is 1332 (437 for the season), which puts her in 3rd place all-time, just 36 points behind Rhonda Winters' total of 1368, and just 138 points shy of Stacie Howard's all-time record of 1470.

Boys Basketball
The Riders boys ended the season at 7-13 (for the second straight season) and will open tourney play against Chippewa on 2/29 at 6pm at Wooster High School.  If they win, they would most likely play Loudonville on Saturday night at 7:30pm.

This is a wide open district that any of 5 or 6 teams could win it, so it will come down to which team is playing the best over the next 2 weeks.  We've seen glimpses of what this team is capable of, it's just a matter of going out and executing.

I don't mean to make this a point of bragging, but I don't think an Orrville team has lost a district tournament game on the floor of the new Wooster HS.  The school opened up in 1994, so the first district held there was in 1995, and we won that district on our way to state.  In 1996, we moved up to division 2 and didn't play districts there, and I'm pretty sure we were division 2 ever since, up until 2009-10 when we dropped back down to Division 3, and we've won the last 6 tournament games on that court.

The 1995 district final win over Norwayne was held at the Canton Fieldhouse, so technically only 2 wins that year were at Wooster.  And in 2010, the district final was held at the College of Wooster. So by my count, that's still an 8-0 record in tournament games played at Wooster HS since it first held a district tournament in 1995.

Bolyard shines at UNOH
It wasn't the best season for The University of Nortwestern Ohio men's basketball team, but it was an impressively good season for their leading scorer and Orrville grad, Jake Bolyard.  Just a 7-23 record for the Racers, but Bolyard averaged a school record 22.4 points per game and was recently named 2nd Team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for his efforts.  His scoring average was 3rd best in all of NAIA Division 2, and he ranked in the top 16 of eight different offensive categories among WHAC players.

Makes you wonder what a guy has to do to make the first team?  Congrats Jake!!
College Riders
I mentioned to of our alumni excelling in college, but I'm always interested in hearing about others.  Please check out my "College Riders" section and let me know if I've left anyone out.  I just reviewed the list and had some new additions and removed some too.

Bob Knight Special
If you missed the premiere of the full 30 minute special of Coach Bob Knight coming back to Orrville, be sure to catch it.  Excellently done.  It will re-air Monday 2/27 at 6:30pm and Wednesday 2/29 at 6pm on ESPNU.

Winter Sports Tournament Update

Boys Basketball
Division 3 Wooster Bracket - Canton Region Bracket - Division 3 - All Divisions

The Orrville boys team drew the 6 seed in what appears to be a wide open district.  Orrville opens with Chippewa on 2/29 (leap day) at 6pm and if they're able to win that game, it's possible they may not face another Wayne County team the entire tournament. 

Number one seed Norwayne was just defeated by Wellington (Lorain County) in regular season play, who according to OhioBasketball.net is 17-2 on the season.  Any team from out of the area will be an unknown to area fans, but 17 wins is 17 wins.

It's also possible that no Wayne County teams will meet in the finals...something that hasn't happened since Loudonville (Ashland County) beat Manchester (Summit County) in 2004.  The only legit district finalist possibilities from Wayne County are Norwayne and Orrville.  No disrespect to Smithville, but I don't see them stringing together 3 wins over Clearview, then Hillsdale, and then probably Orrville or Loudonville to get there.

Elyria Catholic and Orrville play the toughest schedules in the district, and both will come in with losing records.  Will those tough schedules pay off?

Should be a great tournament as always, but something will be missing with Triway moving up to Division 2 and playing their district at the Fieldhouse over in Canton.

Girls Basketball
Division 3 Triway Bracket - Cuyahoga Falls Region Bracket - Division 3 - All Divisions

The Lady Riders ended the regular season 15-5 but lost 2 of their final 3.  Their 5 losses were all to good teams (twice each to West Holmes and Wooster, and once to Canton Central Catholic) so no shame in those, but somewhere along the tournament trail, they're going to meet good teams and they have to figure out how to win those games.

They open tourney play on Weds. 2/22 at 7:45 vs. Chippewa and then play Loudonville on the 25th.  I think they win both of those games handily and their first real test will be against (assuming) Dalton in the district semifinals.

The winner of the CCC/Smithville game will most likely be waiting in the district finals and the Riders would love a chance to defend their district title.

Wrestling
Garfield Heights District Pairings (Orrville Wrestlers in 106, 152, 170 & 285 weight classes).
Four Orrville wrestlers will look to advance to the state tournament this weekend in Garfield Heights.  Alex Tschiegg (106), Brad Potter (152), Trevor White (170) and Ronnie Lehtomaki (285) will all be looking to secure the 6th straight berth in the state tournament by a Rider grappler.

Results should be posted here starting Friday.

Swimming
Last but not least, OHS junior Madison Monheim made it back-to-back appearances in the state swimming meet as she qualified for the 200 yd. freestyle by finishing 4th at districts and also the 500 yd. freestyle where she finished 6th at districts.

She is seeded 12th in the 200 and 16th in the 500.  She will swim in Canton's Branin Natatorium this Thursday at 5pm (prelims) and in the finals on Friday also at 5pm.  Keep an eye on my Twitter page Thursday and Friday for results as I get them.

This is the 4th straight year that Orrville has sent at least 1 swimmer to the state meet.  Quite an accomplishment.

District Champs....Back to Back.

(Thanks to Rod Dilyard for the excellent photo and great work all season.  Check out his pictures from last night and from all season)

Talk about a fun night.  Beating Triway (again) on Wooster's home court for a district title (again).  Doesn't get much better than that does it?

Wooster District : Championship Game - Orrville vs. Triway

"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

No, this isn't a post from 2010....believe it or not, both Orrville and Triway, each owners of 7-13 records a week and a half ago, have proven that it's not how you start, but how you finish that counts, and will face off in this Friday's district title game at Wooster High School.

It's a rematch of the 2010 district title game that Orrville won by a 69-65 score. It's also a rematch from just about a month ago that Orrville won by 12, 67-55.

For Orrville it's their 2nd straight district title appearance and for Triway, their 6th district title game appearance in the last 7 years.  Orrville has won 9 straight Wooster District Tournament games dating back to 1995.

Feels like something's gotta give.

It's Great to be a Red Rider, isn't it?

What a great weekend it was for Orrville sports, and it continued last night with the Riders knocking off the #1 seed Hillsdale Falcons in the Wooster District, by a 51-47 score.

Let's talk wrestling, girls and boys hoops and try to sum up what can only be called one thing...."Red Rider Tradition."

Wooster District : Semifinal Predictions

We're down to just four teams in the Boys Division Three Wooster District Tournament. A week from now, one team will be making travel plans to the Canton Fieldhouse, and three others will be planning post-season banquets.

The tournament thus far has been a tale of two sides of the bracket. The top half has seen both top seeds (#1 Hillsdale and #4 Orrville) advance for probably the most anticipated game of the tournament so far. The bottom half has been (as expected) very unpredictable with #9 seed Wellington knocking off both Smithville and Norwayne and #7 seed Triway pulling the biggest upset of the fortnight (a two week period) with a shocking win over #2 seed Northwestern. The loss not only knocked the Huskies out, but also prevented senior Brennan McKean from becoming the schools all-time leading scorer, finishing his career just shy of Nate Gaubatz's record.

Let's look at each game and make some predictions, but let's first look at how Andrew of OhioBasketball.net and I are stacking up in terms of head to head predictions.

Wooster District Tournament : Round 2 Predictions

It's time to crown sectional champions. Tournament has gone pretty much as expected so far (except for the Smithville loss), so let's jump right into Round 2 predictions.

Not a bad weekend at all...

Going to be quick with this one. Lots going on, and I want to recognize everyone, but I'll spare you the fluff and get right down to details.

Wooster District Preview - Thoughts and Round 1 Predictions

So you've read a snippet about each team, now let's get down to the overall thoughts on this year's district tournament and the matchups for round one.

Once more, here's the tournament bracket full of dates and times.

Boys Basketball: Wooster District Preview

It's that time of year again...tournament time. I know this year hasn't been what any of us in Orrville thought it would be, but hopefully we'll still show up at Wooster High School (and Triway High School for the girls) to support our Red Riders.

It's also time for the 2nd Annual Wooster District Preview, brought to you by this site and Andrew Marcum's OhioBasketball.net. Andrew does a great job in tracking local basketball so we'll once again put our heads together and see if we can provide some sort of roadmap. Call it a fan guide if you will.

Winter Sports Tournament Info/Brackets

Here's all you need for the upcoming Winter Sports tournaments. Please, please, please consider buying tickets presale (when available) as the school keeps a portion, but does not get anything from tickets purchased at the gate.

Girls - Triway District Bracket - Northeast Ohio Regional Bracket - Statewide "Sweet 16" Bracket

Boys - Wooster District Bracket - Northeast Ohio Regional Bracket - Statewide "Sweet 16" Bracket

What a Difference a Week Makes

Not the best week for Orrville sports was it? I guess that will happen from time to time. The girls saw their 11-game win streak snapped by Wooster (yuck!) and the boys dropped two straight.  But fear not, faithful reader. All is not lost.

Let's charge forward with some good news to go along with the not-so-good.

Onward....

Winter Sports Update - Coming down the homestretch

Tournament time for winter sports is right around the corner. Things are looking up for the basketball teams and the wrestling team had a nice showing, individually at least, at the recent Ohio Cardinal Conference championships.

Let's talk about it all...

My Top 10 of 2010 - # 8

This is my Top 10 Red Rider Sports Blog Moments of 2010. See the full list of posts here. 

We're up to #8 on the list, and this one is basketball related.  The 2009-10 Orrville boys basketball team was special for lots of reasons, but their two standout players accomplished very impressive individual milestones mere weeks apart from each other.

Next Stop: Regionals!!! (Updated with Pictures)

District Champs!!!!!!