Buckeye girls bowling team wins sectional

Buckeye’s girls bowling team headed into district play Feb. 23, just after press time, as sectional champions in Division I. The Bucks won the Akron Sectional at Spins Bowl on Feb. 16 with a total of 3,443, edging Akron Hoban by 199 pins.

The Bucks were led by senior Aubrey Reuter, who rolled a 630 series that included a 269 game. Freshman Riley Onyx had a 205 game in a 513 series. Senior Leah Kascmarski rolled a 500 series with three games between 164 and 170. The Bucks had the highest Baker total at 992, 70 better than Hoban.

Highland junior Gracie Dunne, state runner-up last year, took the first step toward a return trip to state by finishing eighth in the sectional with a three-game total of 482 to earn the second of five individual district berths.

Medina’s boys finished 20th out of 21 teams, more than 600 pins shy of one of the five state berths at Rebman Lanes in Lorain. Sophomore Jimmy Green led Medina with a 577 series. Senior Matt Paffumi was close behind with a 573.

Buckeye’s boys finished 13th, 351 pins behind the last qualifying score. Senior Kevin Miller finished 10th among 104 bowlers who completed three games. His 649 series was 26 pins short of one of five individual state berths.

Boys swimming

Four Highland swimmers qualified for state in four events after a strong showing at the Division I district meet in Bowling Green. Freshman Jack Clark won the district title in the 500-yard freestyle and also qualified in the 200 freestyle and as part of the 200 freestyle relay team.

Junior Aaron Moore joined Clark in the 500 freestyle and the relay, which also includes freshman Zachary Onopko – an individual qualifier in the 100 butterfly – and sophomore Braden Studd.

Medina senior Brady Ryba advanced in the 200 individual medley as the 14th seed among 14 qualifiers. He also qualified in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Manny Heming advanced in the 500 freestyle.

Ryba finished as district runner-up in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 back. Heming, who placed third in the district in the 500 freestyle, finished 16th in the 200 freestyle.

Sophomore William Carlson placed 10th in the 200 IM and 13th in the 100 breaststroke. Medina’s 400 freestyle relay team placed seventh, and the 200 freestyle relay team finished eighth.

Highland finished fifth among 29 scoring teams with 146 points. Medina placed seventh with 110.5. St. Ignatius won with 386 points. The state swimming and diving competition is Feb. 26-28 at Branin Natatorium in Canton.

Girls swimming

Highland freshman Elisabeth Lutzko won the Bowling Green district diving championship with a score of 427.20, 20 points ahead of Brunswick senior Alexandra Burns.

Freshman Sophia Koval placed fifth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.46, about a half-second short of qualifying for state. She also placed ninth in the 500 freestyle. Freshman Sasha Koval finished sixth in the 100 backstroke in 1:01.27, less than two seconds shy of qualifying.

Highland’s 200 freestyle relay team placed fourth, and the 400 freestyle relay team finished seventh. Freshman Kayleigh Scholtz placed 11th in the 100 butterfly but did not advance.

For Medina, junior Caitlyn Oehlers placed 13th in diving, two spots ahead of senior Hailey Hofmann. Junior Eve Lindon was the Bees’ top finisher in a race, placing 19th in the 500 freestyle.

Highland totaled 127 points to finish seventh among 29 teams that scored at least one point. Medina placed 23rd with 26 points. Brunswick won with 271.

Wrestling

With wrestling sectionals now using a seeding system similar to other sports, area teams are spread across multiple sites for the postseason.

In Division I, Medina is the top seed in the Austintown Fitch Sectional and seventh overall among 72 Northeast Ohio teams across seven sectionals. Highland is No. 4 overall and the top seed in the Avon Lake Sectional.

In Division II, Buckeye is the No. 1 overall seed and leads the Kenston Sectional, where No. 40 Cloverleaf also will compete.

In girls sectionals, which feature one division, Highland is No. 30 overall and seventh out of nine teams at Avon Lake. Cloverleaf is No. 9 overall and third among nine teams at Euclid. A total of 35 teams with seven or more wrestlers are seeded, while about 80 other schools, including Medina, have up to six individuals competing.