Brunswick, Medina and Highland High School teams wrap up successful winter seasons

Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 1:24 PM     Updated: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 1:33 PM

By John Blake, Sun News
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A strong group of area wrestlers highlighted the 2010-11 winter sports season for Brunswick, Medina and Highland high schools.
Between the three schools, a total of 10 individuals made it to the state tournament in Columbus. Six of them placed, including all four Medina grapplers — 152-pound senior Teddy Hammer, 103-pound junior Ryan Hornack, 135-pound senior Mike Griffith and 140-pound junior Matt Hammer — and Highland 135-pound senior Dan Mirman and 152-pound senior Tyler Bloniak.
Brunswick’s Caleb Curtis was the only Blue Devil representative, going 1-2 on the weekend in the 189-pound weight class. It was the first Medina team in history to place in the top 10 at the state tournament.
On the hardwood, all teams had their share of ups and downs. Medina’s girls basketball squad had a stellar regular season with a 17-3 overall record, 9-1 in its division of the Northeast Ohio Conference.
The Queen Bees, who received a first-round bye in the Division I postseason tournament, defeated Stow, 65-55, in the sectional finals before losing to Wadsworth, 57-37, in the district semifinals at Ellet High School. Taylor Burke and Dev King were the team’s top scoring leaders throughout the season.
Medina’s boys finished the season at 10-12, battling some inconsistency throughout the year. They lost to Lorain, 53-51, in the sectional finals after beating Elyria, 45-41, in the opening round.
The Battling Bees, who lost their head coach at the end of the season, were led by 6-8 junior and Michigan State recruit Kenny Kaminski, who scored close to 15 point per game.
The Brunswick boys had another successful and winning regular season before heartbreak reared its ugly head in the tournament. The Blue Devils (15-8) reached the district semifinals before losing to Berea, 47-44, in overtime.
A game prior against North Ridgeville, star post player and West Virginia University recruit Pat Forsythe suffered a broken bone in his ankle, ending his season. Forsythe finished the season averaging over 22 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots per contest. Senior Matt Dunning scored close to nine points per game.
Brunswick’s girls, led by first-year head coach Halle Lengal, made a strong run through the postseason before falling to Westlake, 50-47, in the district finals at Westlake High School.
The Lady Blue Devils (13-11) earlier defeated Avon Lake, Wooster and Lorain in the district tournament.
Highland’s girls, 2-19 overall and 2-12 in the league, earned a first round bye in the Division I tournament before falling to Westlake, 74-33.
Highland’s boys finished 7-14 overall and 4-10 in the Suburban League and lost to Normandy, 52-38, in the first round of the Division I sectional tournament. The leaders in the scoring column were Chad Sedio, John Alexander and Austin Adams.
In the pool, Medina’s Aidan Dorman qualified for the state swimming meet in the boys 100-yard breaststroke.
Top 10 finishers in Division I district meet were Dorman in the 200 individual medley (2:00.35; sixth place) and 100 breaststroke (59.75; seventh) and Medina’s Dan Cahalan in the 200 individual medley (2:00.82; 10th).
Others scoring points in Division I boys action were Medina’s 200 medley relay team of Justin Ridings, Dorman, Cahalan and Tim Varrelmann (1:42.83; 14th) and Medina’s 400 free relay team of Cahalan, Ridings, Dorman and Varrelmann (3:23.05; 16th).
Scoring points for the girls were Brunswick’s 200 medley relay team of Elizabeth Zenczak, Maddie Goots, Selena Pasadyn and Lizzy Gehlmann (1:54.68; 12th), Medina’s 200 medley relay team of Kristin Schubert, Jacqueline Yurkoski, Sami Petruzzi and Carolyn Yurkoski (1:55.22; 14th), Brunswick’s 200 free relay team of Pasadyn, Hannah McCulloch, Gehlmann and Goots (1:42.75; 13th), Jacqueline Yurkoski in the 100 breast (1:10.63; 12th), Goots in the 100 breast (1:10.99; 13th) and Medina’s 400 free relay team of Maddie Miller, Schubert, Petruzzi and Carolyn Yurkoski (3:49.61; 15th).