Are you ready for some high school basketball, bowling, and wrestling tournament
action, along with a side helping of swimming and gymnastics? Let’s begin with some
congratulations that are in order for regular-season league and conference basketball
champions!
In the Western Ohio Athletic Conference, Tri-Village dominated Preble Shawnee to
finish an undefeated league season in boys hoop action that saw the Patriots win eleven
straight conference games by an AVERAGE 42 points per game. On the girls side, kudos
to Mississinawa Valley’s Lady BlackHawks as they wrapped up a second consecutive
WOAC title.
Waynesville’s girls claimed SWBL Buckeye Division basketball honors while a good
Bellbrook squad finished first in the Southwestern bracket. The boys’ races are still up
for grabs as Waynesville and Oakwood battle in the Buckeye sectio,n while Monroe and
Edgewood are tied in the Southwestern with a week remaining. Want to see a team with
a killer schedule left to play? How about Waynesville’s Spartans who’ll face Monroe,
Oakwood, and Edgewood this week, the last two on the road!
The Shelby County League champions have been determined with the Lady Raiders of
Russia and the Botkins Trojans having outstanding seasons leading to the tournament
trail.
Up north, the St. Henry girls edged Versailles to gather in a Midwest Athletic Conference
Conference trophy while the Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays hold a one-game advantage
over Marion Local as the teams enter the final week of action.
Miami Valley League wrestlers meet in the league tournament this weekend at
Vandalia-Butler, while bowling championships went to Piqua’s boys in the Miami division
and Xenia’s in the Valley division. On the girls’ side of the alleys, Troy’s Lady Trojans
claimed a Miami title as Stebbins and Xenia tied for Valley honors.
Tippecanoe’s girls rolled to a Miami division trophy in Miami Valley League roundball
play, while the Stebbins girls were easy victors in the Valley. Tippecanoe’s Red Devils
were superior to their competition in the Miami this winter with the Pirates of West
Carrollton plundering the Valley division.
In my opinion (take it with a grain or two of salt!) MVL boys hoop play was a little weak
overall this year. Even Tipp, Butler, and West Carrollton, while having outstanding
league marks, struggled in non-conference games. For example, Tipp (17-1 in MVL
action) was 0-4 outside of league play, although they did face talented squads in
Columbus DeSales, Kettering Alter, Bellbrook, and Versailles. Butler (15-2 MVL) is 0-3
and hosts Tri-Village Tuesday, while West Carrollton (14-4) went 2-2. Only Stebbins at 3-1
had a winning non-league record, while Troy, Piqua, Sidney, and Greenville posted 1-3
marks with Xenia at 1-2 and Fairborn at 0-3. Don’t look for more than one or two MVL
squads to make it past the second round as tournament action takes place.
Boys D-III through D-VII tournament draws were held Sunday afternoon, with D-I and DII
pairings to take place next Sunday. District top seeds went to Trotwood-Madison in DIII,
Northridge in D-IV, Waynesville in D-V, Tri-Village in D-VI, and Cedarville in D-VII.
Locally, some seeds of note were Greenville 15th and Piqua 16th in D-III; Versailles a 3rd
and Arcanum a 6th in D-V; Troy Christian 2nd in D-VI; and Franklin-Monroe and
Mississinawa Valley 4th and 5th, respectively, in D-VII. For complete brackets and sites,
dates, and times, go to the OHSAA Southwest District website.
For those who’ve been watching the Winter Olympics from Italy the past week, there
have been a few highlights that caught my attention: a disappointing showing in mens
ice skating as the prohibitive favorite Ilia Malinin of the US, the “Quad God”, fell twice to
finish in eighth place; US speed skater Jordan Stolz set new Olympic records in winning
gold medals in the 500 and 1,000 meter races; and US skier Breezy Johnson claimed two
golds, one for winning the women’s downhill and another for getting engaged following
her final race!
One final thought on the Olympics—how conditioned do Biathlon skiers have to be to
complete the courses of varying distances? Man, not only is the cross-country skiing
rigorous, but the shooting portion of the event at various points is demanding. They
might be the best all-around athletes in the mountains this week!
Finally, this from an article in Sunday’s Dayton Daily News—the countdown to Spring
is on. It’s two weeks to major pussy willow emerging season and the time during which
salamanders mate in the warm rains. As former great Reds announcer Marty Brennaman
used to say, “ain’t love grand”!! Stay healthy and active. For you of Irish descent and
even those who aren’t, Saint Patrick’s Day isn’t far off!
