Bulldog Scoreboard

SPORTS

Junior Monica Erickson and the YSHS boys and girls swim teams will compete this weekend in the Division I sectionals at Wittenberg. The boys will compete on Friday, Feb. 7, and the girls will swim on Saturday, Feb. 8.

High school swimming—
Hoping to show gains at sectionals
The Division I Springfield sectional will be held this weekend, and the Yellow Springs High School boys and girls swim team will try to punctuate a season of constant improvement with personal bests and, possibly, one or two trips to sectionals.
“We’ve had a great year, almost every swimmer has showed constant improvement, and we’ve had a great time,” coach Dave Wishart said at practice on Monday night, Feb. 3. “And anything can happen at sectionals. We do have a couple of swimmers who could make districts.”
The boys 4x100 relay team probably has the best chance to make the district meet Friday, Feb. 14, at Miami University. Wishart said that the relay team has a reasonable chance of advancing if every swimmer could drop a second from his best split.
Even if the 4x100 team of Spencer Jordan, Michael Hosket, Andy Chen and Aaron Zagory doesn’t make district meet, the swimmers say they will be satisfied if they can accomplish one more goal. “We have to beat Shawnee,” Hosket said. “We beat them once earlier in the year, but they have beaten us twice in a row, and the last time was by just .01 seconds.”
Junior Monica Erickson said that many swimmers still have some hope of advancing. “On the girls side, we have been pretty strong all season in the distance events, and anything could happen,” Erickson said Monday.
Boys win MBC, girls finish 2nd
Both the girls and boys teams competed in the third annual Metro Buckeye Conference League championship meet last Saturday, Feb. 1, at Wittenberg.
The meet is not an official league championship meet since only four schools have swim programs and five are required for championship competition.
But the Bulldog swimmers performed well as the boys won their side of the meet with 107 points ahead of Xenia Christian, Ridgeville Christian and the Miami Valley School. This is the third straight year the boys team has won the meet.
The YSHS girls finished second with 59 points behind Xenia Christian, which scored 111, and ahead of Ridgeville Christian and the Miami Valley School.
In the girls competition, the 200 medley relay team of Julia Swisher, Paia LaPalombara, Erickson and Morgan Laurens placed second with a time of 2:31.10. They also placed second in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:59.7, close to their season best.
In the 200 freestyle, LaPalombara was fourth and Erickson was fifth with times of 2:37.81 and 2:38.59, respectively. These were season bests for both girls. Laurens finished second in the 50 freestyle, swimming the sprint in 30.29 while Amanda Bush placed fifth and Sarah Wolfe, seventh.
Erickson posted one of her better times of the season in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:23.98. Swisher swam to fourth place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:15.86. Elizabeth Dixon placed third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 7:28.19. Bush was second and Swisher was fourth in the 100 backstroke.
Dixon had her best swim of the season in the 100 breaststroke, placing third, and LaPalombara was fourth in the event.
In the boys competition the 200 medley relay of Jordan, Zagory, Hosket, and Jon Bullock placed first with a time of 2:04.31.
The boys had two teams in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Zagory, Chen, Jordan, and Hosket won the swim while the other team, Bullock, Miggy Visbal, Will McCuddy, and Jacob Wishart, placed third.
In individual competition, Wishart was first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:24.00, with McCuddy placing second in 2:34.57, and Kyle McEvoy coming in fourth in 2:54.13.
Jordan fought through a knee injury to finish second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:30.39. Hosket won the 50 freestyle in 25.21, followed by Bullock, who finished in third place and Visbal in sixth.
Hosket continued his domination of the sprint events by winning the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.60. In the 100 backstroke, Jordan was third and Wishart was fourth.
In the 100 breaststroke, Zagory finished first with a season best time of 1:18.00, Chen was second, Visbal was fourth and McEvoy was sixth.

Lady ’Dogs split 2 over weekend
The Yellow Springs High School girls basketball team continues to hover around the .500 mark after winning once and losing once last weekend.
The girls defeated Xenia Christian, 78–39, on Friday, Jan. 31, but couldn’t carry any momentum from that game into Saturday’s contest at Troy Christian, losing 47–37.
The split left YSHS with an 8–7 record overall and a 4–6 record in the Metro Buckeye Conference.
In Friday’s game, the Lady Bulldogs played what coach Shirley Cummins called “one of their most complete games of the year.”
The girls shot well while building up a 43–14 first-half lead, and continued their shooting success in the second half, finishing a blistering 66 percent from the field.
“When it all comes together like that, they’re really exciting to watch,” Cummins said.
Unfortunately for the Lady ’Dogs, Saturday’s game was as bad as Friday’s game was good.
YSHS never seemed to be able to match the intensity of the night before, and even though they were down by just 6 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs could not come from behind to beat Troy Christian.
Sophomore Evin Wimberly was the leading scorer in both games, turning in 28 against Xenia Christian and 18 against Troy Christian. Wimberly just missed a rare quadruple-double against Xenia Christian, compiling 10 assists, 12 steals and nine rebounds.
Freshman Megan Burrick and sophomore Tricia McLinden both scored in double figures against Xenia, turning in 14 and 17, respectively.
Sophomore Emily Foubert missed both games with a severe illness, and the Lady ’Dogs dedicated Friday’s win to their absent teammate.

Boys high school basketball—
Bulldogs keep on winning
The Yellow Springs High School boys varsity basketball team extended its school-record win streak to 16 and moved within a game of capturing the Metro Buckeye Conference title with wins over Miami Valley and Ridgeville last week.
On Friday, Jan. 31, the ’Dogs, ranked third in Ohio in Division IV, downed Ridgeville, 77–52, on the road, and ran by Miami Valley, 71–50, on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
The wins raised the Bulldogs season mark to 16–1 and 11–0 in the MBC. By either defeating Jefferson this Friday, Feb. 7, or winning two of their remaining three games, the Bulldogs will clinch their fourth MBC championship in the last five years.
In Friday’s game the Bulldogs continued their season-long trend of setting the tone early, outscoring the Lions 29–5 in the first quarter of Ridgeville’s senior night. YSHS senior guard Brent Robinson had 12 first-half points, and led a defensive attack that had the game out of reach at halftime with the Bulldogs up by 28.
Robinson finished as the game’s leading scorer with 17. He also added six steals and seven assists. According to coach Brad Newsome, Robinson’s effort was good enough to earn him the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week this week.
Juniors Jordan Skinner and Dustin Rudegeair added 16 and 13, respectively, and senior Andrew Richlen chipped in 8. Richlen led the ’Dogs in rebounding with 12, and Skinner and Rudegeair each grabbed 10.
The loss dropped Ridgeville to 6–10 overall and 4–6 in the MBC.
In last Tuesday night’s contest, the Bulldogs once again used a full-court press and transition offense to down Miami Valley. The ’Dogs also had one of their best outside shooting games of the year, sinking eight from behind the three-point line.
Robinson, Rudegeair and Skinner each scored 15 for YSHS, and junior Anthony Brandon also scored in double figures, adding 13.
’Dogs chan. 2 team of week
In January, the varsity basketball team won 10 games, 9 of which were conference wins. They ascended to first place in the Dayton Daily News area poll in Division IV and third place in the state in Division IV.
For these accomplishments, the Yellow Springs boys basketball team has been chosen as team of the week for WDTN channel 2’s Operation Basketball. The station will present the team with an award today (Thursday), at noon. The presentation will air during the station’s sports segment during its 6 p.m. broadcast tonight.
JV splits two games
The YSHS boys JV team won one and lost one this week against Ridgeville and Miami Valley.
On Friday, Jan. 31, the ’Dogs beat Ridgeville, 43–33, but lost an overtime game on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to Miami Valley, 51–49.
Against Ridgeville, sophomores Duncan Silvert-Noftle and Cody Johnson led the scoring with 15 and 14, respectively.
In the loss to Miami Valley, Brad Benning had 16 and Jamie Stallworth finished with 12 to lead the ’Dogs.
The split puts the JV team record for the year at 10–7 overall and 6–4 in the MBC.
Freshmen fall to Troy
The YSHS boys freshmen basketball team dropped a Jan. 21 home game to Troy Christian, 46–40.
The Bulldogs were down more than a dozen points early in the fourth quarter, but poor free-throw shooting down the stretch doomed their comeback.
Aaron Willis led the ninth graders with 10 points. Johnny Pamplin, Joe Lawhorn, Nathan Badger, Anthony Gilmore and Justin Love also scored for the ’Dogs.

McKinney School basketball
The McKinney School seventh-grade boys basketball team improved its record to 7–4 with a 1-point victory over Cincinnati Christian on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Bulldog coach Shirley Martin said she was pleased with the 45–44 win. “I am really proud of the way these young men kept their heads and stayed in the game until the very end,” she said.
Kalin Brown led the Bulldogs with 24. Kyle Buchwalder, Todd Sheets, Peter Lovering and James Butler also scored.
Eighth-grade boys
The McKinney eighth-grade boys also beat Cincinnati Christian on Saturday, using a team effort to squeak out a 46–42 win.
The eighth graders also improved their record to 7–4.
They were led by Ryan Silvert’s 21 points and Jerricho Stubblefield’s 18. Evan Firestone, Mori Rothman and Kevin Malarkey also scored.
Eighth-grade girls
The eighth-grade girls made it a perfect 3 for 3 sweep for McKinney on Saturday when they too defeated Cincinnati Christian at home.
The 24–23 victory improved the eighth graders to 9–4 and extended the Lady Bulldogs’ winning streak to three games. The Lady Panthers came into the game with a 10–1 record and provided tough competition for McKinney.
“It was a great win for us,” coach Phyles Downing said this week.
Carly Bailey led all scorers with 12 and Alyssya Lucas and Alyssya Walker also scored. Niquelle Orr added three rebounds and India Scarver had two steals.

Youth basketball report
6th-grade girls win fifth game
The Yellow Springs sixth-grade girls basketball team used a balanced attack to defeat Blanchester, 36–18, on Saturday, Feb. 1. The team’s record is now 5–1.
Ashanta Robinson led the Lady Bulldogs with 9 points, followed by Tenia Scarver with 7 and Ryder Comstock with 6. Jessica Kellar and Theresa Skinner had 4 points each, while Kaci Yelton, Rachel Trumbull, and Élan Orr each chipped in 2.
The team will host undefeated Clinton-Massie this Saturday, Feb. 8, 4 p.m., at YSHS, in a battle for first place in the Kenton Trace Conference.
6th-grade boys vanquished
The Bulldogs lost their contest with the Blanchester Wildcats, 27–23, Saturday.
Short-handed due to academics and illnesses, the squad of seven boys played hard for the entire game, but their effort just wasn’t enough. The Bulldogs were doomed by inconsistent free-throw shooting, connecting on only 5 of 22.
5th-grade girls lose close game
The fifth-grade girls basketball team lost a tough defensive struggle to Blanchester, 11–6, on Saturday.
Stephanie Scott and Brittany Sheets led the Lady Bulldog scoring. Coach Rich Miller said it was a disappointing loss, but this week the girls will work on ball movement and shooting so they can generate more offensive opportunities.
Most improved players this week were Salome Garcia-Halpin, Marlee Layh and Kelly Miller.
5th-grade boys win in fourth
The fifth-grade boys staged a fourth-quarter comeback to knock off Blanchester, 30–25, on Saturday.
The Wildcats led after three quarters, but the Bulldogs took the lead in the game’s final moments with tough defense and well-executed offense.
Alex Onfroy-Curley led the ’Dogs with 14. Also scoring for Yellow Springs were Ryan Phillips, Ian Wimberly, Jerimiha Stubblefield and David Ingram. Christopher Johnson, Geoffrey Pitts, Conor Stratton, Sam Morrison, Colby Silvert, Ben Clonch and Quinthony Freeman all contributed to the team’s tough defense.