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The Lakota East Athletic Department announced Thursday afternoon that it has honored senior Madeline Garda and sophomore Mohamed El Mardi as its athletes of the week.

Garda has averaged 19 digs in two matches this week for the Lakota East volleyball team. With help from Garda, Lakota East won both matches and is currently 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the Greater Miami Conference. Her 185 total digs this season ranks her third in the GMC.

El Mardi helped guide Lakota East to wins against Middletown and Springboro last week. In the 5-0 win against Middletown last Thursday, the sophomore scored three goals. He then added another goal in the 2-1 win against Springboro on Saturday.

* Lakota East names its athletes of the week at the end of the week, while Lakota West names its athletes of the week on Monday

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Lakota athletes of the week

Lakota West quarterback Malik Grove started the season opener against La Salle a game the Firebirds won 46-34. Grove ended up throwing for 103 yards and a touchdown in the win. So far, Grove has helped lead Lakota West to a 4-0 record this fall. Photo taken Aug. 25, 2012 by Joseph Fuqua II.

The Lakota West Athletic Department announced Monday afternoon that it has honored junior quarterback Malik Grove and junior golfer Shannon Jeffers as its athletes of the week.

Grove helped to lead the Firebirds to a 30-13 win against rival Mason this past Friday. In the win, which was the team’s Greater Miami Conference opener, Grove amassed 215 yards – rushing for 52 and throwing for 163 yards. With Grove under center, Lakota West is 4-0 on the season, which is its best start since 2006. He is also second in passing yards in the GMC with 466. Overall, he has thrown four touchdowns and ran for two more in four games this fall.

Jeffers earned medalist honors during a match against Fairfield last Monday when she shot a personal best 1-over-par 36 on the front nine of Farifield Sount Trace G.C. On Wednesday, Jeffers followed that up with a team-best 45 on the red nine at Hamilton Elks. On Thursday, on the same nine holes, Jeffers shot a 48, which was two shots higher than teammate Katie Willis.

* Lakota East will name its athletes of the week at the end of the week

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West golf, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Malik Grove Lakota West, Shannon Jeffers

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Senior Matt Rice and sophomore Abbie VanFossen received the honor at Lakota East, while junior Joe Clear and senior Tori Turner were honored at Lakota West.

Last Saturday, Rice was the individual champion at the Princeton Invitational. His time of 16:49 was the best out of 71 runners and helped lead his team to a first-place finish at the meet. Prior to that event, Rice finished third at the Lebanon Inv., which was the team’s best individual finish. Lakota East, as a team, also won that meet on Sept. 1. Again on Aug. 25, Rice finished third and led the Thunderhawks to a first-place finish at the Brookville Grade Level Challenge.

VanFossen posted a time of 19:14 to take the individual title at last Saturday’s Princeton’s Inv. Her time was the best out of 42 runners and helped East to a second-place finish. Earlier this season, VanFossen posted a time of 19:09 to finish second at the Brookville meet on Aug. 25.

Last week, junior Joe Clear scored his team’s second goal in a 2-1 win at Turpin Sept. 4. Two nights later, Clear scored three goals in Lakota West’s 6-0 win at Colerain. The Firebirds have since followed those two wins with a 6-0 win against Middletown and a 1-0 win at Fairfield. The team is now 7-0-1 and 3-0 within the GMC – and are ranked No. 1 in The Cincinnati Enquirer coaches’ poll.

Turner has been playing in the No. 1 singles slot for the Firebirds this fall and won her last two matches. Overall, according to the Greater Miami Conference website, Turner has an overall 8-2 record at No. 1 singles and is a perfect 6-0 against fellow No. 1 singles within the GMC.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Abbie VanFossen, athletes of the week, Joe Clear, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East cross country, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Matt Rice, Tori Turner

Lakota West junior Mikel Horton rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns on 43 carries in the 46-34 Lakota West win against La Salle late Saturday night in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. Photo taken Aug. 25, 2012 by Joseph Fuqua II.

Lakota West, which releases the names of its athletes of the week on Monday, has already honored junior Alex Thesken, sophomore Gloria Corono-Luna, junior Mikel Horton and freshman Jaquelyn Ly as athletes of the week this fall. Meanwhile, Lakota East named senior Wyatt Frazier and senior Hannah Lee as its first athletes of the week on Friday.

Thesken and Corono-Luna were the most recent student athletes who were honored. Both athletes are on West’s cross country team and both competed in the Lebanon Warrior Invitational this past Saturday. Thesken led Lakota West with a 9th place finish on the boys’ side (out of 167 runners), while Corono-Luna finished 12th out of a field of 147 runners on the girls’ side.

Last week, Lakota West honored Horton and Ly. Horton led Lakota West to its first season-opening win since 2006 when he rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns on 43 carries in a 46-34 win against La Salle. Ly scored the Firebirds only goal in a 1-0 win against Loveland Aug. 23. The win has been the Firebirds (1-2-1) only victory, so far this season.

From Lakota East, Frazier helped his team to a second-place finish in the Middletown Invitational Aug. 25. At that event, Frazier shot a team-leading 77. At the Thunderhawks next event, Frazier shot a 79, as East finished 7th at the La Salle Invitational.

Lee, also a golfer, helped the Lakota East girls’ team to a victory against Sycamore and a tri win against Colerain/Hamilton last week. In the Sycamore match last Tuesday, Lee shot a 39 and then she shot a 44 in the tri on Thursday.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East golf, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West cross country, Lakota West football, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports

Sydney Hill. Photo provided.

According to the Greater Miami Conference website, Lakota East tennis player Connor Fraley is 2-1 this season at No. 2 singles and 6-1 with partner Colin Sasthav at No. 1 doubles.

Tyler Harsch is currently ninth in the GMC in aces and in digs. The sophomore has helped the Thunderhawks boys’ volleyball team get off to a 7-4 start.

Last week, Lakota West tennis player Nick Lang won three of four matches last week at No. 1 singles. This spring, Lang got off to a 4-1 start at the No. 1 spot.

Last Friday, Sydney Hill turned in the best individual placement and highest cumulative point total of any athlete on the Lakota West girls’ track team at the Mt. Healthy Owls Classic. Hill placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and also sixth in the 300-meter hurdles.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Connor Fraley, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East boys' tennis, Lakota East boys' volleyball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East volleyball, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West boys' tennis, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West track, Nick Lang, Sydney Hill, Tyler Harsch

Michael Conrad currently leads the GMC in strikeouts with 44. Photo taken by Tony Tribble.

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Junior Lea Buckenmyer and senior Michael Conrad received the honor at Lakota East, while sophomores Grant Schuermann and Ashley Sharp were honored at Lakota West.

While Buckenmyer and Conrad were the first to be acknowledged this spring at Lakota East, Lakota West has also honored seniors Alex Vohland and Amanda Shelby as athletes of the week this April.

Lea Buckenmyer has been the Thunderhawks go-to pitcher this spring, pitching in 11 games and having a 9-2 record. She also has 48 strikeouts, three shutouts and a 1.28 earned run average in 71 total innings. At the plate, she has also been one of Lakota East’s top hitters – leading the team in runs, doubles, triples, runs batted in and on-base percentage. She also has a batting average of .479. Overall, her team is currently 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the Greater Miami Conference.

Like last season, Michael Conrad has been one of the most dominating pitchers in the region. In four starts, Conrad is 2-1 and has an earned run average of 1.75. He also has 44 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. Conrad, who was honored as The Enquirer’s spring baseball athlete of the year last spring, has signed on to play baseball at the University of Cincinnati.

Grant Schuermann has excelled on the mound and at the plate for the Firebirds this season. According to the GMC website, he leads the team with a .405 batting average and is also 2-0 as a starting pitcher this spring. Schuermann received the honor, however, by pitching two complete games in wins against Princeton (12-1) April 2 and against Kings (5-0) April 7. In addition, he doubled in both contests.

Like Buckenmyer, Ashley Sharp has been go-to pitcher this spring, pitching in 13 games and having a record of 10-2. She also has 68 strikeouts, four shutouts and a 1.32 earned run average in 79.1 innings. At the plate, she is second on the team in hits, doubles and in batting average (.350). She leads the team in runs batted in. She has been a big reason why, Lakota West is currently 11-3 overall and 8-0 in the GMC.

On March 29, Alex Vohland led Lakota West with 17 kills in a win against Centerville. Since then, Lakota West has continued to play well on the court and has an overall record of 9-0 and a 3-0 mark within the GMC. Vohland has been key reason for the strong start, leading the GMC with 130 kills.

Meanwhile, Amanda Shelby took first place in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs at the Fairfield Invitational. This past Wednesday, Shelby finished second in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs at the Ralph Bergdoll Invitational in Miamisburg.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Alex Vohland, Amanda Shelby, Ashley Sharp, Ashley Sharp Lakota West, athletes of the week, Grant Schuermann, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East baseball, Lakota East softball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West baseball, Lakota West boys' volleyball, Lakota West softball, Lakota West sports, Lakota West track, Lea Buckenmyer, Michael Conrad, Michael Conrad Cincinnati, Michael Conrad Lakota East, Mike Conrad

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Seniors Alyssa Grevenkamp and Aleth Pashi received the honor at Lakota East, while senior Nick Bloch and freshman Lauren Martin were honored at Lakota West.

Grevenkamp recently finished her fourth straight year as a starter on the Lakota East girls’ basketball team. This past season, Grevenkamp averaged 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She also made 41.1 percent of her field goals, 70.6 percent of her foul shots and 35.3 percent of her 3-point attempts. Grevenkamp will continue her basketball career at The University of Findlay.

Like Grevenkamp, Pashi recently finished her high school basketball career as a four-year varsity letterwinner. This past season, Pashi led Lakota East and was fifth in the Greater Miami Conference in assists with 55 and assists per game with 2.8 per game. She also led Lakota East in assists her sophomore season. She also logged 418 minutes on the floor, fourth highest on her team in 2011-2012.

Bloch recently won the sectional championship in the 138-pound division at Centerville High School. The victory was Bloch’s second consecutive sectional title. According to WestFirebirds.com, he took just 25 seconds to pin his opponent in the championship match. The win raised Bloch’s career win total to 95, which ranks 12th on the Firebird’s all-time win list.

Martin was Lakota West’s only placer in the 17-team Cincinnati City Championship meet last Saturday at Cincinnati Country Day. In that competition, Martin finished 11th in the floor exercise. Earlier last week, Martin finished 3rd on the beam and 8th on floor at the Cincinnati Country Day Invitational. The district meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lakota East High School.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Aleth Pashi, Alyssa Grevenkamp, athletes of the week, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West gymnastics, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, Lauren Martin, Nick Bloch

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Freshman Lauren Cannatelli and junior Bryan McNamara received the honor at Lakota West, while seniors Alissa Bryant and Grant Wall were honored at Lakota East.

Cannatelli has played a big role in Lakota West’s recent hot streak, which has included six wins in the last seven games. During that span, the freshman has scored in double figures three times. Furthermore, against rival Lakota East Feb. 1, she made a three pointer in the final quarter to produce the ninth and final lead change of the contest.

McNamara was the only Firebird to win an individual championship in the Greater Miami Conference meet at Mason last Saturday. He earned all GMC honors in each of the four events he participated in capped by his all GMC first team honor for winning the 500-yard free style event.

Bryant is a senior cheerleader at Lakota East, while Grant Wall is on the Lakota East boys’ basketball team. According to EastThunderhawks.com, Wall is the best on ball defender on the team. He is a great example of understanding his role and being a great teammate. He is also a member of our “Black Shirt Club.”

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East cheerleading, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Lakota West swimming

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Seniors Molly Blomer and Jason Shake were honored at Lakota East, while seniors Jackson Blue and Amanda Horne received the honor at Lakota West.

The Lakota East girls’ basketball team has been dealt numerous injuries this season. Playing a big role in keeping the team on the winning side of the scoreboard has been senior forward Molly Blomer, who leads Lakota East in scoring (14.2 points per game) and in rebounding (5.9 rebounds per game). Blomer tied a career high Monday when she scored 25 points in a 51-44 win against Rogers (Toledo) in the Classic in the Country at Berlin High School.

Jason Shake is a senior member of the Lakota East chess team. According to EastThunderhawks.com, Shake “has a long history of being a reliable player, consistently working hard every week year after year while exhibiting good sportsmanship. He was also more helpful than many, taking the initiative to complete various tasks without being asked to do them.”

Last Friday, Jackson Blue set a Lakota school district record when he blocked 8 shots in a 56-50 loss against Princeton. In that same game, Blue also pulled down 7 rebounds. The previous record was 7 set by Josh Chichester during the 2003-2004 season. Blue has been playing a big role for Firebirds all season, averaging 6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Amanda Horne tied a Lakota West single game record when she bowled a 241 in a match at Middletown last Monday. The high score placed her eighth overall in the Greater Miami Conference this season. The 241 score was also 62 pins higher than any other score recorded by a girls’ Lakota bowler this winter. She also recorded the high series for West in both the match at Middletown and last Wednesday’s match versus Monroe.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Amanda Horne, athletes of the week, Greater Miami Conference, Jackson Blue, Jason Shake, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East chess, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West bowling, Lakota West sports, Molly Blomer

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Junior Bryan McNamara and sophomore Tiffany Howard received the honor at Lakota West, while seniors Emma Lippscomb and Daniel Robbins were honored at Lakota East.

McNamara was honored as male swimmer of the meet at the Milford Invitational last Saturday. During the meet, McNamara finished first in the 500-yard freestyle and placed in the top three in all four of the events he participated in.

Meanwhile, at the same meet at Milford, Howard won the 100-yard backstroke. Howard helped Lakota West finish first out of 13 competing schools. Howard was also part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished first at the Lakota Tri-Meet Tuesday. Lakota West also won that event, finishing ahead of Lakota East and Notre Dame (Ky.).

Lakota East seniors Lippscomb and Robbins are considered leaders on the academic quiz team this winter sports season. According to the Greater Miami Conference (not all of the season score have been reported), the Thunderhawks have complied a 4-2 overall record.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes of the week, Bryan McNamara, Daniel Robbins, Emma Lippscomb, Greater Miami Conference, Lakota athletes of the week, Lakota East, Lakota East athletics, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West sports, Lakota West swimming, Tiffany Howard