Minerva round-up

It was a busy week on the mat for Minerva’s wrestlers as their calendar included a dual meet, a duals tournament, and an invitational.

First for the Lions was a dual meet at home Jan. 8 against Eastern Buckeye Conference rival Salem and Minerva dispatched the Quakers 54-24 to improve to 2-0 in the conference.

Four Lions won by falls, and it doesn’t get much quicker than Aiden Reagan at 215. If you were there and you blinked, there’s a chance you would have missed Reagan’s pin in just 17 seconds. Cole Sivy (138), Jason Sivy (157), and Timothy Kirkpatrick (190) also notched first-period pins for the Lions.

Lincoln Wallace (165) and Colton Godsey (150) each rang up tech falls. At 175, Ethan Weaver picked up a 15-4 major decision; meanwhile, Kolton Almasy (132) logged a 14-5 major decision. At 106 and 113 lbs., Alex Wright and Tyler Phillips rounded out the scoring with forfeit wins, respectively. 

Two days later, the Lions took part in the Boardman Duals and went 4-2 to improve to 7-2 overall in duals this season. Six Minerva grapplers won at least five bouts, led by Jason Sivy (157) and Wallace (165), who both logged perfect 6-0 marks. Wright (106), Shawn Weaver (120), Ethan Weaver (175), and Enoch Brodzenski (190) each went 5-1.

If that wasn’t enough wrestling for you, the Minerva girls’ wrestling crew competed at the Pioneer Classic, a massive 65-team invitational hosted by Olentangy Orange High School Jan. 10-11. The Lady Lions placed 42nd with 30 points. Overall, Delaware Hayes was crowned team champions, outpointing runner-up Olentangy Orange by a score of 226-213. 

Leading the way for Minerva was Bailey Hilliard at 110 lbs. who placed fifth overall. Hilliard went 4-2 on the day and took fifth after pinning Hilliard Darby’s Olivia Garcia in 4:05. 

Boys Basketball

After their thrilling win over Malvern a week earlier, the Lions traveled to Alliance Jan. 9 to take on the Aviators in EBC action. Alliance, ranked sixth in Ohio’s Div. III, had just come off two overtime nonconference games against McKinley and Massillon.

Apparently, the Aviators were not interested in another barn-burner as they pulled away in the second half against the Lions for a 72-51 win.

Alliance took a 17-12 lead into the second quarter, but Minerva hung around, trailing only 27-23 at intermission. The Aviators’ offense caught fire in the third and fourth periods, scoring 45 points to break the game open.

Braydon Wood led Minerva (6-5, 2-2) with 13 points while Isaak Morckel added 12. JR Jackson paced Alliance (9-2, 3-1), scoring 18 points.

Bowling

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, bowling takes a bit of a hiatus, so when the sport resumes, it’s understandable that teams may need to shake of some rust.

Not the Minerva boys’ bowling squad, however. The Lions rolled over Sandy Valley in a Jan. 6 match at Minerva Bowl, crushing the Cardinals by 1,000 pins, 2,405-1,405. Owen Frazier (241-218) and Lane Hawk (225-214) rolled series of 459 and 439, while Austin Ailing (189-246) added a 435.

On the girls’ side, the Lady Lions clipped the Cardinals 1,742-1,658. Bailey Wood (172-178) led Minerva with a 350 series, while Rylan Klitz (166-183) added a 349, giving the Lions a 74-pin advantage entering the Baker games.

In the first game, Sandy Valley chopped 17 pins from Minerva’s advantage, but the Lions slammed the door shut in the second game for the victory.

The next day, Minerva hosted rival United at Minerva Bowl. The Golden Eagles are fellow members of the Stark County High School Bowling Conference’s American Division, and when Wood was a scratch, the Lions were short one of their best bowlers.

Klitz rolled a 288 series, and Alexis Gonzalez and Kayden Holcomb each posted 283 series, respectively, to give Minerva a scant two-pin lead entering the Baker games. United seized the lead after winning the first game 144-136. The Lions self-destructed in the second game, only rolling a 112 to United’s 150, so the final score was the Eagles 1,553-1,509.

The Boys did not experience the same letdown as they cruised to victory, 2,224-1,820. Hawk and Frazier only bowled single games as Ailing (405), Parker Eckstein (370), and Kendrik Keister (352) did the heavy lifting. 

Girls Basketball

The Lady Lions will likely not want to see any more Warriors for a while after last week’s events, as Minerva had to face off against the EBC’s top two teams in three days, visiting Carrollton Jan. 7 before hosting West Branch Jan. 10.

Against Carrollton, the Warriors took control early and carried a 24-8 lead into the break en route to a 51-27 win over the Lions. In the loss, Ireland Kirkpatrick led Minerva with six points while Ayvah Morckel added five.

After the loss to Carrollton, West Branch was even more inhospitable, as these Warriors (11-1, 6-0) grabbed an 18-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a 54-8 romp. Kirkpatrick scored four points, grabbed nine rebounds, and registered the only block for Minerva (2-11, 1-5).