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 VARSITY WRESTLING
February 13, 2012 Head Wrestling Coach, Dugan Bentley is in the midst of his fifth season and is very excited to be coaching the number two ranked team in the State of Ohio. “A few weeks ago, the state rankings came out and the Bison were ranked 2nd in the State by wrestling analysis Brian Brakeman. This is the highest ranking in school history. Starting this Friday, the post season begins as the Bison host the Sectional wrestling tournament starting at 6:30pm. The Semi finals start at 11:00am and the finals begin at 6:30pm on Saturday. We have been waiting all season for the State tournament series to begin and our kids are primed for the next three weeks.We are planning to have a lot of fun.
The Bison are led by Sammy Gross (113lbs), Aaron Friedman (120lbs), Ryan Harris (138lbs), Grant Blumenthal (152lbs) and David Shapiro (160lbs). They all have the ability and skills to make and place very high at the state tournament. If everyone stays healthy and in good spirits the sky is the limit for this team. Other top wrestlers include Gordon Hong (145lbs), Andrew Kitay (132lbs), Paully Flowers (145lbs), Trevor Sanshuck (145lbs), Von Jones (195lbs.), Sam Diamond (152lbs), Adam Moses (152lbs), David Slain and Jacob Markovich (106lbs), Last season the wrestling team had three wrestlers qualify for the OHSAA State Championships where his team finished 8th in the State. Alec Jacober and Sammy Gross finished in 3rd Place, while Ryan Harris was 7th in the State. Ryan set the school record for most wins in a season during his Freshman campaign, while current senior, David Shapiro shattered the season pin record. “Aaron Friedman has really stepped it up big this season and has proven to be one of our best guys. He is getting better each week and has all of the tools to make some noise at the State Tournament. I am so proud of the way Aaron has wrestled this season. A tremendous addition to the team is senior transfer, Grant Blumenthal who is currently ranked 3rd in the State. Grant is a great kid with a fantastic work ethic. He has helped improve our wrestling room and made our team a lot tougher. Ryan Harris is ranked 3rd and Sammy Gross is ranked 1st at their respective weight classes. David Shapiro is ranked 4th at 160lbs. “This season, our team is currently ranked 2nd in the State and has four wrestlers ranked in the top four in the State, and Friedman, should exceed his ranking explains Coach Bentley. “This has been a great season so far as we have some very talented wrestlers that are dedicated to being the best in the State. My goal for this team is to bring home the first State Championship in school history. This seasons team moto is "Tenacity and Relentlessness." Beachwood has always had a long and storied tradition of State and National success and we would like to add more names onto this tradition. I am confident that in March our community will be proud of our wrestling team.” In 2010, Coach Bentley crowned his first individual State Champion, Alex Dronzek at 112lbs. “The moments after Alex won the State Championship, ranks as probably my greatest coaching moment. That was one of the greatest experiences that I have ever had and I hope to experience that feeling again in the near future.” Coach Bentley’s assistant coaches’ this season are Mike Arnold in his fifth season, Kevin Lipp in his second season, and Jeffery Pelton in his first season. |
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 GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL
January 16, 2012
First year, Head Girls Varsity Basketball Coach, Darren Jones is truly enjoying his experience leading the Lady Bison. " I have a great group of girls, that work hard and are truly passionate about the game of basketball. I am a firm believer that if you have passion and work hard that success is sure to follow", explains Coach Jones. Currently, the Lady Bison have a record of 6-3 and are in second place in the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division. "I came into a tough situation, as last years team won the conference and a few very good players graduated." However, we have had very strong leadership from Mikah Aldridge (Sophomore), Anisha Hardin (Sophomore), Monique Kaiser (Sophomore), and Terrina Robinson (Junior). These girls have been playing together for about 6 years and work well with each other. They have a great understanding of the game, tremendous chemistry, and have made a lot of progress this season."
Other key members of the Varsity basketball team are, Christina Oden (Sophomore), Cameron Leathers-Clayborne (Freshman), Autumn Daniel (Sophomore), and Jada Baskerville (Freshman). "This is a very young team with a high ceiling for greatness. They play hard and do not quit."
Joining Coach Jones' on his staff are Rob Harris (1st year) and Nicki Blade (1st year). "Our goal over the next few years is to build a feeder program and cohesiveness from the youth teams to the high school level. We want our youth coaches and middle school coaches running similar offensives and defenses as we run at the high school. We want the same terminology used at all of these levels. Learning the game of basketball is a process that takes time and commitment. I am not so concerned with the wins and loses at the youth and middle school level. I want these kids to have fun, learn the game, improve their skills and stick with the sport. We will make them into champions at the high school level. It is my coaching staff's goal to foster the educational process and teach the all of the lessons that sports can offer, we want to teach them life skills and
to help prepare them for college. It
is our objective to build a quality program that has many years of success. That’s not an overnight thing.” explains Coach Jones. "I want one of the
highest GPAs in the athletic department. Our order is academics, then
community relationship, then basketball and the bottom line is
to have fun.” “I have an excellent staff that understands our goals and are committed to achieving them. We each offer a different aspect to the game and our personalities compliment one another." I think the biggest challenge that we face this year is that we are all new faces to Beachwood Girls basketball. It is taking the girls some time to buy into our system, learn our personalities, but they are starting to come together as a team. I am very proud of these girls." Prior to arriving at Beachwood Coach Jones, was an assistant coach for Lake Erie College women’s basketball team for the past seven years. Jones also coached at Beachwood as an assistant for the girls team several years ago and is currently an Assistant High School Varsity Softball Coach.
Coach Jones has also coached at Lutheran East, Laurel, and Ursuline College. He is a Cleveland Heights graduate. He resides in Shaker Hts.
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 BOYS & GIRLS VARSITY SWIMMING
Dec. 9, 2011
Brad Burget begins his 2nd season as the Bison Varsity Head Swim Coach. Joining Coach Burget on his staff are John Mertler (2nd season) and Karli Kentner (2nd season). New to the Middle School coaching staff is John Tsironis.
“I am very happy to have such a talented staff working with me and our kids. John Tsironis, Karli Kentner and John Mertler bring a mental and physical mindset to our program which will allow our kids to reach higher limits than they ever expected. Their fun and motivating spirit makes coming to practice enjoyable for everyone.” explains Head Coach, Brad Burget. We have a great group of kids out this season who understand how to work hard in and out of the pool. They excel in the classroom. One year makes a big difference. The team is doing a great job training. This is a fun group of kids that have a positive outlook on the sport and on life. The team chemistry is starting to come together. They are focused and seem to understand what it takes to get Beachwood to the next level of competition. I am excited to see how this year pans out. Last year, was a great first season for me and the coaching staff. The kids bought into our system and our philosophy and trained hard. We left the season on a very positive note as we qualified, Laura Tramer to the OHSAA State Tournament, where she placed 11th in the State and was All-Ohio.. We also had seven District qualifiers last year in which six of them return for the 2011/2012 season. The team is led by Captains, Kei Hitomi (Sr.), Kauner Hooper (Jr.), Elizabeth Morris (Sr.) and Harley Schoen (Jr.). Other returning District qualifiers are Cory Hersh (Jr.) and Wes Darvin (So.). Other top swimmers to watch are Lyndsey Guth (Jr.), who recently moved back to Beachwood from New Albany HS, where she was a District Qualifier, and Aliyah Patterson who is also new to the District. Dean Granot (So.), Zach Davis (So.), Jeffery Murtaugh (Sr.) where big contributors last season and are doing a great job so far this season. A few of the bigger events this season are the Canton Invitational on January 14 the Canton Invite, the Chagrin Valley Conference Meet on January 21st at Hawken HS and the OHSAA State Meet which will begin on February 11th Our team goals this season are to break several team relay and individual records and qualify a boys and girls relay to OHSAA State Tournament. |
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 BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL
December 5, 2011
This week’s Bison “Featured Team of the Week” is the Varsity Boys Basketball team. Head Coach, Jason Pecjak begins his 5th season as our Head Coach and is pumped up about the upcoming season.
New to Coach Pecjak's staff are former High School and College standouts, Larry Holmes (St. Ed's/John Carroll University) and Rudy Kirbus (St. Ignatius/John Carroll University), and returning for his 7th season is John Kane, who is serving as the Junior Varsity Assistant Coach. "I am very happy to have such a talented staff. Larry and Rudy bring a cool, tough (mentally and physically) mindset to our program and have a great demeanor with our kids. They are excellent coaches and I am thrilled that they are on our staff." explains Coach Pecjak.
Last year we finished with a record of 14-8 and 10-5 in conference play. We finished runner-up in CVC Metro and lost in the Division II District Quarter Final game. Our goals this year are to win the Chagrin Valley Conference and be crowned District Champions. These are attainable goals if everyone works hard, smart, and stays healthy. This is one of the best teams that I have had a Beachwood. I love their attitude and intensity and they have a ton of potential.
Returning starters from last years team are Ellis Cohen (Sr./Captain), who was 2nd Team All League and John Davis (So.) who was Honorable Mention All League. John is regarded as one of the top point guards in Ohio and was recently recognized by the Plain Dealers as one of the top players in NE Ohio. Other players to watch are Anthony Valentine(Sr./Captain), Jon Tramer(Jr.), Jordan Richardson (Jr.), Jared Moss (Sr./Captain), Julio Stevens(So.), Sterling Sanders (So.), and Alex Hohl (Sr.). This is a great group of kids that work hard on and off the court. They have a lot of talent, toughness, and a great mental attitude. This is a positive team that communicates well with one another and treat each other like family. We have big games against Richmond Heights (12/17 & 2/10),VASJ (2/11) and Lake Catholic (2/21).
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 BOYS VARSITY GOLF
October 3, 2011
This week’s Bison “Featured Team of the Week” is the
Beachwood Varsity Golf team. Last week the Bison competed in the OHSAA Sectional Golf
Tournament at Quail Hollow Country Club where the team advanced to the District
Tournament. The top four teams from each Sectional across the State advance to
the Districts. If your team finishes in the top four at Districts then you
advance to the State Tournament which is held in Columbus. At Sectionals, Beachwood
finished in 3rd place where Sophomore Brett Dubin lead the team with a 78 and
Santipab “Ben” Sirisakkamol shot a 79. This has been an outstanding season for
the kids explains, Head Coach, Will Cumpstone (16th year as Head Coach). Last
season we had a very young team and it showed in our record of 6 wins and 7
losses. We finished fifth in the Chagrin Valley Conference and one of the highlights
was when , then Freshman, Josh Blaustein qualified for the District tournament. The team was very close to qualifying
for Districts in 2010 (the team finished 5th Place). However, that team lacked
the experience, maturity and confidence. This year the boys came back ready to
compete and win. They had an excellent off season and matured a lot mentally
and physically in one year. This is a team that has the confidence and skills
to beat anyone in the State. This is one of the best Beachwood golf team I have
ever coached and their potential in incredible.The team is led by returning letter winners Santipab “Ben”
Sirisakkamol (Sr./Captain), Jon Tramer (Jr./Captain), Elliott Small (Soph),
Josh Blaustein (Soph), and Brett Dubin (Soph). This season the team finished in
3rd Place in the CVC, 3rd at Sectionals and won the Redskin Invitational and
placed 2nd at the Skipper Invitational and currently have a record of 11-5. The District tournament begins on Tuesday, October 4th at
Windwill Lakes.
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 GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER
September 26, 2011
This week’s Bison “Featured Team of the Week” is the Beachwood Varsity Girls Soccer team. Second year Head Coach, Art Skupniewicz is extremely proud of his young team as their current record is 6-5. “We graduated a fantastic group of seniors last season. When you graduate six standout seniors you have to consider the next season a “Rebuild”. Last year the team we finished with a 8-5-4 record and finish 3rd in the Chagrin Valley Conference with a 3-1-2 record. With only five returning starters from the 2010/2011 team things have been going extremely well and a lot of progress had been made this season. We have some young players that have stepped up and matured quickly. This is going to be great team in the next two years.
We have ten returning letter winners on our squad from last season. The team is led by Senior Captain Amy Eisenberg, who has been the backbone of our defense has done a really good job as our team leader. Amy has helped build chemistry and a winning attitude among our younger players. Other seniors include, Rachel Zimmerman (Sr. /Midfielder), and Emily Danzig (Sr./Defender). We have a strong group of returning juniors letter winners in Gabby Perryman (Jr./Fullback), Sydney Ross (Jr./Fullback) Julia Winkeler (Jr. /Midfielder), and Heather Wieder (Jr./Fullback). Gila Katz (So/ Mid/Forward), Tionne Little (So./Defense), Brittany Penn (So. Mid/Def.); Alex Somogyi (So./Defense) have developed their skills from their Freshman year to their sophomore year and have been significant contributors this season.
I am highly impressed with our Freshman as they have a lot of talent, a great work ethic and a positive attitude. Leading the team in goals scored is Lexi Stovsky (Freshman) with 16 goals (tied for 16th in the State), followed by Jamie Rotsky (Freshman) with 8 goals and Hannah Firestone (Freshman) has 5 goals. Our freshman goalie, Alex Mintz has done everything asked of her in the goal and has shown a lot of maturity and leadership. She currently has 77 saves which ranks 20th in the State.
Our teams chemistry has progressed much faster than expected. This is a team with a very bright future and can expect to experience a lot of success. Also, joining Coach Skupniewicz on his staff are Kelly Debeljak (2nd season) and Jeremy Sussel (3rd season).
This week the Bison take on Gilmour this Tuesday at Gilmour. Games to watch include the October, 4 game v. Orange at home and Senior Night on October, 13 v. Berkshire at home. |
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 GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
September 19, 2011
This week’s Bison Featured Team of the Week is the Beachwood Varsity Volleyball team. Bison Head Coach, Doug Mekinda returns to Beachwood after serving as the Varsity Head Coach at Mentor High School for two seasons. Coach Mekinda served as the Head Coach for the Bison from 2006 to 2008. Joining his staff are assistant coaches Sylvia Wallace, who was the head coach for 10 seasons at Warrensville Heights, and Kate Kubiak, who has extensive experience as a Junior Olympics coach and was the head varsity coach at Mentor Christian High School. Also, joining their staff at the Middle School is Lauren Colangelo and Abby Gavanditti.
Last year the Bison finished with a 4-6 record in the Chagrin Valley Conference and an 8-12 record overall. Monique Kaiser and Logan Jones earned All Chagrin Valley Conference Honorable Mention honors. Returning varsity letter-winners include Ena Jones (Sr./Captain/Setter/Outside Hitter), Olivia Mayfield (Sr./Outside Hitter), Logan Jones (Sr./Captain/Middle Blocker), Traci Milliner (Sr./Captain/Outside Hitter), Elana Gloger (Jr./Outside Hitter), Sammie Jacobs (Jr./Setter), Cindy Gray (Sr./Outside Hitter), Haley Marblestone (Sr./Setter) and Monique Kaiser (So/Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter).
“This team has been working very hard on their volleyball skills, as well as their communication skills and we are making a lot of progress this season," explains head coach Doug Mekinda. "Everyday we get better and I am very pleased with the direction of our program. This season should show constant improvement both on the court, and in the classroom. Our Junior Varsity team looks tremendous and have really come together this season.”
Our most exciting games this season should be against the top third of the conference which include Independence, Cuyahoga Heights, and Hawken. Other games to watch include Western Reserve Academy, Trinity, and of course, the run to state. |
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 GIRLS VARSITY TENNIS
September 12, 2011
The Girls Varsity Tennis team currently has a record of 8-5 as they enter into this week's Chagrin Valley Conference Championships. Head Coach, Sara Crane is in the mists of her 2nd season as the Bison Varsity Head Coach. Last season the team finished with a 6-10 record. New this year to the coaching staff is David Cole who was previously the Head Junior Varsity Coach at Hawken and Hathaway Brown and is the Owner of Camp Robinhood in New Hampshire. Also new to the staff is Cory Meek, who is the Assistant Middle School Coach. Last season, Corey was the Assistant Varsity Boys Coach at NDCL and is currently employed as the Assistant Tennis Pro at The Mayfield Sand Ridge Country Club.
Returning to the squad this season are Varsity Letter winners, Kennedy Muholland, (Jr./1st Singles), Bria Wright, (Sr./2nd Singles/Captain), Eva Muschkin, (Sr./3rd Singles/1st Doubles/Captain) and Lauren Lipsyc, (Sr. 1st/2nd Doubles).
In a recent discussion with Coach Crane she stated that the toughest competition that we will see all season comes from within our conference. We by far have the toughest conference in the State of Ohio as; Chagrin Falls, Hawken, Kenston, Orange are all vying for the State Championships and each school has the ability to do it. We have a great schedule and we are currently winning the matches we should win. It is my hope that we surprise a few of the top teams and come out with some unexpected wins.
A few of my team goals for the season are to win our division of our Northeast Ohio Tennis Association League and further than we did last season in the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association tournament and to pull a few upsets in conference competition and finish the season with a winning record. I am hopeful that we can advance a few of our players to Districts and State. Last season we finished the Fall season with the Highest GPA among all of the High School teams; this is our goal this year as well.
The team will be competing in the Chagrin Valley Conference Championships begin this Wednesday September 14th at 9AM at Kenston High School. On September 30, the Sectional Tournament begins at Brush High School. |
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 BOYS VARSITY SOCCER
September 5, 2011
Brian Greene has been a soccer coach at Beachwood High School since 1989, (23 seasons). As a Bison Alumni, Class of 1985, he has been the boy’s varsity head coach since 1996 when he took over for now Assistant Coach, Joe Burwell. With a career head coaching record of 129-96-30 he heads into the 2011 season with a veteran group of players and coaches and the season looks extremely promising. The varsity assistant coach is former Head coach Joe Burwell. Joe has been a soccer coach at Beachwood for 33 years, and was head coach from 1981-1993. The other assistant coaches are Chris Buchannan, Bison Class of 85’ and Michael Pertz. Michael is new to the Beachwood soccer program, while Chris returns for a sixth season after taking a hiatus for a few years. Mike was a Division I soccer player at the University of Akron, who recently won a Division I Nationals Championship. Most recently, Mike played soccer for a handful of professional teams. The coaching staff is rounded out by Josh Lowe, Beachwood Class of 2000, a volunteer coach in his 10th season and Ben Kushnir, Beachwood Class of 2007 who is beginning his first season.
Last season the Bison Soccer team posted a record of 8-5-4, and finished 2nd in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division, with a league record of 5-0-2. The season ended with a loss in the Sectional final against state power, University School. The Bison have a veteran group of returning letter winners; Seniors – Blake Atherton (Captain), Jared Seidel, Matt Levine (Captain), Kei Hitomi, Kaveh Vaeghai (Captain), David Stern (Captain), Juniors – Brock Hersch, Chris Amaddio, Jonah Firestone, Dillon Krantz and Freshman, Dean Granot.
The Bison soccer players won many individual awards during the 2010 season as Blake Atherton, Goal Keeper was voted to the Greater Cleveland 2nd team and CVC 1st team, while David Stern was voted Greater Cleveland 2nd Team and CVC 2nd team, Kaveh Varghai was CVC 2nd Team, and Matt Levine and Brock Hersch were CVC Honorable Mention. Matt, Brock, and Kei Hitomi were All Greater Cleveland Honorable Mention.
“We are returning a veteran group with Blake Atherton in Goal, David Stern, Kei Hitomi, Chris Amaddio, and Jonah Firestone on Defense, Kaveh Varghai, Dean Granot, Jared Seidel , and Brock Hersch in the midfield and Matt Levine up front at Forward. We have several new members of the varsity squad. With over 50 players in the program, and 3 teams, there was a lot of competition for varsity jerseys this year. The new members of the varsity squad are Freshman, Michael Dreka, Seniors, Tony Sappell, Max Cohen, Tigran Askaryan, Steven Smedley, Val Kovalenko, Juniors Jonah Yulish, Dillon Krantz, and Sophomores – Sam Ducoff, Jeremy Ducoff, and Daniel Rodriguez. We are very excited for the upcoming season and the team has set it sights on another league championship and advancing in the State tournament series. I will be a great season for the Bison states, Head Coach Brian Greene.” |
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 VARSITY FOOTBALL
August 29, 2011
Head Coach Ryan Williams this past weekend, began his fifth season as the Bison Head Football Coach. His record during his tenure is 17-24. His coaching staff consists of Adam Bickel (7th season), Herb Schoen (5th season), Scott Fischer (3rd season), Willie Smith (4th season) and Kyan Johnson (2nd season). The varsity football team added two new assistant coaches this season, Eric Cek and Jack Rotsky. Eric most recently coached at Wickilffe and Richmond Hts and coached one season at Beachwood in 2007. He played football at Richmond Hts and college football at Baldwin-Wallace. Jack Rotsky, who most recently served as the Head Beachwood Middle School coach has moved up to work with the quarterbacks and receivers. Jack has coached at Beachwood for over ten seasons and has been an instrumental member of the coaching staff.
Last season the Bison finished the season with a 5-5 record and was 3rd in the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division. The Bison return nineteen letterwinners: Howard Sobel, Sr, FB/LB, Anthony Valentine, Sr, WR/LB, Jacob Sabroff, Sr, WR/LB, Jordan Lane, Soph, RB/LB, Julio Stevens, Soph, WR/DB, Eric Walker, Sr WR/DB, Chris Lardie, Sr, WR/DB, Ari Sobel, Sr, RB/DB (2nd team all conference 2010), Corey Jones, Jr, RB/DB, David Shapiro, Sr TE/LB, Dean Granot, Soph, K, Brandon Rotsky, Jr, TE/FB/DE, Alex Hohl, Sr, QB/LB (2nd team all conference 2010), Joon Kim, Sr, OL/DL(2nd team all conference 2010), Max Schoen, Sr, OL/DL (Honorable mention all conference 2011), Armani Smith, Jr, OL/DL, Rob Goldberg, Sr, OL/DL, Josh Goode, Soph, OL/DL, Noah Mitchell, Jr, OL/DL (2nd team all conference 2010).
Last season was voted
“We are very optimistic that this is going to be a great season for the Bison Football team, states Head Coach Ryan Williams. We have many returning players, all of which worked hard in the weight room in the off-season and have made tremendous strides. Our Seniors and captains have taken on leadership roles to help prepare the team and to take the team to the next level. Our team will go as far as the seniors take us. The captains of the team are Max Schoen, Sr, Alex Hohl, Sr and David Shapiro, Sr. We expect a lot out of these players and are looking to make a lot of noise in the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division and playoff picture.” The moto for the season is, “The team that makes the big plays will win the big games.” This weekend the Bison play host to neighborhood rival, Orange Lions at 1PM on Saturday, September 3rd. |
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