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3 cheers for Nortmont gymnasts; hip. hip …
THUNDERBOLTS WIN DISTRICT,
NOW AIMING FOR STATE TITLE
Northmont High School girls gymnastics coach Steve Heinrichs called 2008-09 “a storybook season” for the Thunderbolts.
And it’s not over.
Still basking in the glow of winning the Southwest District Championship by six-tenths of a point over Centerville at Lakota East High School, Northmont looks forward to a second straight trip to the State meet on Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, at Hilliard Darby High School.
Can the ‘Bolts upset heavily-favored Broadmoor School from the Cleveland suburb of Mentor? Maybe. Do they rule southwest Ohio? Definitely.
Fueled by five seniors, four of whom qualified for state as individualists, Northmont piled up 138.275 points to capture the district title. Centerville (137.675), led by district all-around champion Rebekah Norviel, also earned a berth in the state meet.
“The feeling of winning districts is amazing,” Heinrichs said. “We have a great group of 11 gymnasts and an outstanding corps of seniors. They come from two different gyms — Englewood and Tipp City — and they get along great.
“We’ve got a nice depth of skills that if one of the girls is having an off day, we’ll pick it up with the rest of the crew. So we have great depth. That was our advantage this year. You can enter six and four scores count. All six of our girls are strong-willed gymnasts.”
That depth and talent was reflected in the district meet.
Heinrichs’ daughter, Kate, placed sixth in all-around and fifth in floor exercise. Jeannie Borda was fifth in the vault and bars. Allie Pulos took sixth in the bars. And Kasi Turpin was sixth in the beam. The fifth senior gymnast, Bethany Anderson, is also a critical member of the squad.
Heinrichs hit the trifecta. He was named the district’s “coach of the year” by his peers; his daughter qualified for state in two individual events; and his team brought home the district trophy after finishing fourth in 2006, third in ‘07 and second in ‘08.
“We should be able to finish higher than we did last year at state (ninth),” he said. “But wherever we finish, doing what the girls did at districts — to get to state for a second year in a row — is just a great accomplishment for them.”
Finally, Magic for Megan
Alter High School senior forward Megan Schwieterman has endured plenty of heartbreak over the years.
But all the tears were washed away with cheers in victories over Troy Christian on “Senior Night” and Dunbar in the sectional tournament.
Three straight years, three straight seasons wrecked by torn knee ligaments for Schwieterman with the resulting surgery keeping her sidelined.
All that changed in the final home game of the 2008-09 season. Honored during pre-game with her parents, Mark and Mary, Megan took the floor for the opening tip.
In a very cool display of sportsmanship, Troy Christian let Alter win the tip to Megan, who dribbled toward the sideline and passed the ball out of bounds to her dad at the scorer’s table. Megan exited to a standing ovation.
She received another “Standing O” against Dunbar. The Wolverines were issued a pre-game technical foul for a score book violation. Megan got to shoot the technical three throws. She swished both.
Amidst the cheers, her father — Kettering’s city manager — had one thought: “That’s my girl.”
Loud and clear
Chaminade Julienne sent a message in a 70-30 victory over Valley View in the boys Division II sectional tournament.
The Greater Catholic League is stronger than the Southwestern Buckeye League.
Valley View could’ve drawn Bellbrook — a 61-42 winner over Little Miami — but chose CJ instead.
The Tuesday night, March 3, doubleheader at Lebanon High School — CJ vs. Thurgood Marshall at 6; Alter vs. Franklin at 7:30 — should be awesome.
‘Gathering of Champions’
Track athletes should mark their calendars for Saturday, March 14.
The 24th annual “Gathering of Champions Track & Field Clinic” will be conducted at Centervile High School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost ($25) includes a T-shirt or sling bag with pre-registration.
Speakers are Stacy Dragila (pole vault), John Godina (shot put), Hyleas Fountain (high jump), David Payne (hurdles), Lauryn Williams (sprints), Ian Waltz (discus) and Josh McAdams (distance running).
Contact Criss Somerlot at csomerlot@aol.com or 740-881-0749 for information.
Mohawk mania
Middletown Madison boys basketball coach Jeff Smith did an incredible job this season.
Despite losing their career scoring leader to graduation in 2008 — 6-foot-3 Nathanael Harney is now a freshman at Cincinnati Christian University — the Mohawks posted a 17-5 record and 8-4 mark in the SWBL Buckeye Division.
Miller time
Congratulations to Wayne’s Mercedes “Benz” Miller. The 5-foot-9 senior, who averaged 18.3 points a game this season, will continue her basketball career at Ball State.
Where are they now?
Chuck Taylor, a starting guard on Roth High School’s 1981 Class AAA state championship basketball team, serves as the bailiff for Dayton Municipal Court Judge Daniel Gehres.
Taylor, who played football (defensive back) at Howard University in Washington, D.C., founded the Dayton Nets youth basketball program in 1996. The Nets’ team colors are purple and white, just like the fabled Roth Falcons.
Bottom line
No high school athletic director works harder than Coldwater’s Eric Goodwin to promote his student-athletes.
Contact Chick Ludwig at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Gymnastics
Comments
By Mike
March 3, 2009 8:42 AM | Link to this
Just wanted to let everyone know that the Centerville high school hockey team won a pair of games over the weekend to advance to the district final of the OHSAA tournament. The Elks will play Dublin-Coffman in the final on Saturday at 5:00 pm. This is the first time the Elks have made the elite 8 since the 2002-2003 season.By Karen
March 4, 2009 10:43 PM | Link to this
Northmont isn’t the only gymnastics team with a fairy tale ending. Centerville was runner-up at the Southwest Districts. Becky Norviel and Colleen Mescher were 1st and 4th in the all-around placement. Centerville was the only team to have 2 girls qualify in all-around for the State competition.