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The Lakota West athletic department recently announced a few coaching changes. Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer, announced her retirement, while current fall coaches added spring coaching gigs.

Schafer-Kalkhoff recently completed her 17th season as a head coach in the Lakota district after beginning her career at Lakota High School prior to its split following the 1996 season.

Her career highlights include winning the Ohio Division I state championship in 1999 and amassing 203 career wins with a 70.4 winning percentage. Her career win total is the seventh highest among all current and former girls soccer coaches in Ohio high school history, according westfirebirds.com.

Also retiring is her varsity assistant coach and husband, Mark Kalkhoff, who has also spent the last 17 years as a Lakota coach and 22 years total in high school coaching, including a stint as the head coach at Taylor high school from 1991 to 1995.

The Kalkhoff’s are the parents of an energetic little boy, Connor, who will be four next fall, and say that they expect to continue coaching soccer, just at a somewhat lower level of competition.

Meanwhile, varsity football coach Larry Cox and varsity girls’ tennis coach Bryan Skoog will be taking on more coaching duties at Lakota West.

Cox, who has been the Lakota West football coach since its first season in 1997, will be the head coach of the track and field team, while Skoog, who has coached girls’ tennis at Lakota West for eight years, takes over the boys’ tennis program. Both will take over the programs this spring.

Cox replaces Craig Myers, who has coached track and field since West opened in 1997, and Skoog replaces Dale Hutzelman, who coached the boys’ program for the past three seasons.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Bryan Skoog, Lakota West football, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West track, Larry Cox, Larry Cox Lakota West, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Lakota West seniors Nicole Soutar and Tori Turner defeated Lakota East senior Taylor Holden and sophomore Maddy Mueck, 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-4 in the final of the district tournament at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason Saturday.

Prior to the match, both Lakota doubles teams had already qualified to compete in this upcoming weekend’s state tennis tournament when they advanced to the district semifinals on Thursday.

Turner and Soutar will each be making their first state appearances. According to Kevin Goheen of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Turner hadn’t played for Lakota West since her freshman season, deciding instead to concentrate on USTA junior play.

“I wanted to come back and give it another try because I had so much fun my freshman year,” Turner told The Enquirer.

Meanwhile, this will be the fourth appearance at state for Holden, who competed in the singles bracket last fall.

The first two rounds of the state tournament will take place this Friday starting at 9 a.m. on the Ohio State outdoor varsity tennis courts.

Tournament play will then wrap up Saturday at Hilliard Davidson High School. Tournament play will, again, begin at 9 a.m.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Maddy Mueck, Nicole Soutar, Taylor Holden, Taylor Holden Lakota East, Tori Turner

Kevin Goheen reports:

Lakota East and Lakota West doubles teams have each qualified to compete in next weekend’s state tennis tournament by advancing to the semifinals Thursday at the Division girls’ district tournament at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

On Saturday, juniors Nina Cepeda and Lynn Kelly of Mason, state quarterfinalists last year, will face the Lakota East duo of senior Taylor Holden and sophomore Maddy Mueck in one semifinal.

While, Sycamore freshmen Alexa Abele and Maggie Skwara will play seniors Tori Turner and Nicole Soutar of Lakota West in the other semifinal. Both teams were sectional champions last week.

For Lakota East’s Holden it will be her fourth state tournament appearance. Last fall, she was a quarterfinalist at singles at the state tournament as a junior.

This season, Holden has missed more than three weeks of play because of a fractured hand bone. She got medical clearance to return a week ago.

“The whole team looked to her as the experienced competitor and when she was out the girls knew that,” said Lakota East coach Karen Barnes. “She stepped right in without missing a beat.”

The first two rounds of the state tournament will take place next Friday, Oct. 19, starting at 9 a.m. on the Ohio State outdoor varsity tennis courts. Tournament play will then wrap up next Saturday, Oct. 20, at Hilliard Davidson High School. Again play will begin at 9 a.m.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Maddy Mueck, Nicole Soutar, Taylor Holden, Taylor Holden Lakota East, Tori Turner

Kevin Goheen reports:

Ursuline Academy drew the top seeds in each of the five brackets of Flight A for this year’s Greater Cincinnati Tennis Coaches Association Classic tournament beginning today.

The Lions, ranked No. 1 in The Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll and No. 4 in the state coaches’ poll, will be joined in Flight A by No. 2 Sycamore, No. 3 Lakota East, No. 4 Mason and No. 5 Lakota West as well as the top three locally ranked Division II teams in Indian Hill, Wyoming and Cincinnati Christian Hills Academy.

Semifinals and finals for all seven flights are scheduled for Saturday morning. A total of 47 schools are participating in this year’s tournament. Flight A will be played at Sycamore and CHCA, Flight B at Mason, Flight C at Anderson and Turpin, Flight D at Summit Country Day and Seven Hills, Flight E at Fairfield, Flight F at Colerain and Northwest and Flight G at Wilmington.

Defending state singles champion Mehvish Safdar is the top seed at No. 1 singles in Flight A. Safdar, an Ursuline junior, is 11-2 this season with both losses coming against Mount Notre Dame senior Sandy Niehaus.

Niehaus was the state singles champ in 2010 and was runner-up to Safdar last year. Safdar won four of six matches against Niehaus last year but the two won’t meet again this season until the postseason.

Sixth-ranked Mount Notre Dame is in Flight B.

“Both matches were battles,” said Ursuline coach Joe Hartkemeyer. “I was hoping they’d get to play again but I guess we’ll wait until sectionals.”

Tori Turner of Lakota West is the second seed at No. 2 singles in Flight A, while Cincinnati Country Day sophomore Danielle Wolf is seeded No. 2 behind Niehaus in Flight B. Wolf placed fourth in Division II state singles last year.

Senior Diana Suarez (12-0) and freshman Jenny Duma (14-0) are the top seeds at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Seniors Kristen Behrens and Grace Kallenberg, state qualifiers last year, are 14-1 at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Lauren Haney and junior Brooke Sabo are 7-0 as a team at No. 2 doubles.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Tori Turner

Football – Lakota West and Lakota East each won their conference openers in convincing fashion last Friday night. The Firebirds improved to 4-0 on the season, which is their best start since 2006, when they defeated Greater Miami Conference rival Mason by the score of 30-13. Meanwhile, Lakota East cruised to a 40-20 win at Oak Hills. In the Firebirds’ win, Mason committed three turnovers plus had one punt blocked and a bad snap on another punt that led directly to 23 points for Lakota West. Leading the Thunderhawks to the win was junior quarterback Eric Eichler, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. This week, No. 5 Lakota West will play at Fairfield (2-2, 0-1 in GMC), while Lakota East (3-1, 1-0 in GMC) will host No. 8 Middletown (2-2, 1-0 in GMC).

Volleyball – The Lakota West girls’ volleyball team won five matches this past week, defeated Beavercreek, Middletown, Fairfield, Mercy and Harrison. Lakota East, on the other hand, defeated Colerain and Middletown. Both teams are tied atop the GMC standings with 3-0 conference records. No. 2 Lakota East is unbeaten at 8-0, while No. 3 Lakota West is 9-1 this fall. This week, Lakota West will host Oak Hills (3-6, 2-1 in GMC) on Tuesday and Sycamore (5-5, 2-1 in GMC) on Thursday. Lakota East will host Fairfield (3-6, 0-3 in GMC) on Tuesday, will play at Oak Hills on Thursday and will host Harrison on Saturday. All of those matches except for the one on Saturday, which begins at noon, are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Boys’ soccer – No. 1 Lakota West remained unbeaten when it bested Middletown at home by the score of 6-0 last Tuesday and Fairfield on the road 1-0 last Thursday. In the win against Middletown, senior David Piotrowski scored the game’s first two goals. Fellow senior Kevin Barbour, who scored the game’s next two goals, added two assists. The win against Fairfield improved Lakota West’s record to 7-0-1 overall and 3-0 in the GMC. The boys’ team at Lakota East also had a good week, defeating Middletown 5-0 and Springboro 2-1, both on the road. The Thunderhawks also tied Colerain. This week, No. 10 Lakota East (3-1-5, 1-0-2 in GMC) will host Fairfield (2-3-2, 1-1-1 in GMC) on Tuesday, will play at Oak Hills (1-6, 1-2 in GMC) on Thursday and at Centerville on Saturday, while Lakota West will host Oak Hills on Tuesday and Sycamore (3-2-3, 1-1-1 in GMC) on Thursday. All matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East cross country, Lakota East football, Lakota East golf, Lakota East High School, Lakota East soccer, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East volleyball, Lakota West, Lakota West cross country, Lakota West football, Lakota West golf, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West volleyball

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

Football – Trailing 14-6 in the 4th quarter, Lakota East blocked a field goal, scored a touchdown, made a 2-point conversion and made a last second 3-point field goal to defeat Northmont by the score of 17-14 Saturday night. Meanwhile, Lakota West handled Anderson and won by the score of 35-7 Saturday. In the win, junior Mikel Horton rushed for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries. This Friday, Lakota West (3-0) will host Greater Miami Conference rival Mason (2-1) at 7:30 p.m. The Thunderhawks (2-1) will open their GMC schedule at Oak Hills (2-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Volleyball – Last week, the Lakota East and Lakota West varsity squads combined to go 5-0. Lakota East won at Princeton 25-11, 25-9, 25-11 and vs. Centerville 25-13, 25-20, 25-15, while Lakota West won matches at Colerain 25-8, 25-9, 25-9, vs. Newark 25-18, 25-22 and vs. Big Walnut 25-15, 25-11. This week, Lakota East (6-0, 1-0 in GMC) will host Colerain (1-4, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will play at Middletown (3-2, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Thursday. Lakota West (4-1, 1-0 in GMC) will host Beavercreek (3-3) at 7 p.m. Monday, Middletown at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will play at Fairfield (2-3, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Boys’ soccer – Lakota West won both of its matches last week – defeating Turpin 2-1 and Colerain 6-0 – and improved to 5-0-1 (1-0 in GMC) on the season. In those two matches, junior Joe Clear scored a combined 4 goals including 3 in the win against Princeton. This week, the Firebirds will host Middletown (2-4, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and play at Fairfield (1-2-2, 0-0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Lakota East boys’ soccer team lost one match and tied two others last week. The loss, 2-1, came against Loveland and ties were at Princeton 0-0 and at Fairmont 2-2. This week, Lakota East (1-1-4, 0-0-1 in GMC) will host Colerain (1-3-1, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, play at Middletown (2-4, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Thursday and at Springboro (1-3-1) at noon Saturday.

Girls’ soccer – Lakota West lost to Colerain 1-0 and at Mount Notre Dame 2-1 last week. The Firebirds (1-4-1, 0-1 in GMC) will try to get back in the winning column this week when they play at Middletown (4-2-1, 0-1 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and host Fairfield (2-0-3, 1-0 in GMC) at 7 p.m. Thursday. At Lakota East, the girls’ team won its match this past week against Princeton 3-0. Scoring two of those goals was senior Andi Felix. This week, the Thunderhawks (2-2-1, 1-0 in GMC) will play at Colerain (3-2-1, 1-0 in GMC) and will host Middletown. (more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East cross country, Lakota East football, Lakota East golf, Lakota East High School, Lakota East soccer, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East volleyball, Lakota West, Lakota West cross country, Lakota West football, Lakota West golf, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West volleyball

Volleyball – East improves to 4-0, while West falls to Mt. Notre Dame – The Lakota East girls’ volleyball program, tied at No. 4 in The Enquirer’s coaches poll, improved to 4-0 this past week – winning matches against No. 2 Mercy and No. 3 Ursuline. Meanwhile, Lakota West (1-1), also tied at No. 4, defeated No. 6 McAuley and then lost 25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 to No. 1 Mount Notre Dame. This week, East will play at Princeton (2-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m., while West will play at Colerain (1-2) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Football – East falls and West remains unbeaten - Lakota East (1-1) lost its first game of the season, by way of a 25-20 loss at home against Winton Woods. Meanwhile, Lakota West (2-0) shut down Glen Este by the score of 34-0 on Friday. Standouts include Lakota East senior running back Will Mahone, who rushed for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns in the loss, and Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton, who gained a total of 138 yards (77 rushing and 61 receiving). This Friday at 7:30 p.m., Lakota East will play at Northmount (1-1) at Good Samaritan Stadium in Clayton (north of Dayton) and Lakota West will host Anderson (0-2) in its home opener.

Boys’ soccer – West and East remain unbeaten – The Lakota West boys’ soccer team, No. 1 in The Enquirer coaches’ poll, tied No. 2 St. Xavier by the score of 1-1 Thursday and defeated No. 3 Loveland 3-0 Saturday. Overall, the Firebirds have the best overall record in the Greater Miami Conference at 3-0-1. Meanwhile, No. 9 Lakota East (1-0-2) tied matches, both 1-1, against La Salle and against Walnut Hills. This week, West will play at Turpin (3-2-0) Tuesday at 7 p.m., at Colerain (1-1-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. and at Milford (0-2-2) Saturday at 2 p.m., while East will host Loveland (3-2-0) Tuesday at 7 p.m., will play at Princeton (1-0-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. and at Fairmont (5-0) Saturday at 7 p.m.

Girls’ soccer – West ties No. 2 Ursuline – Lakota West got off to a 1-2 start, but was pleased to tie No. 2 Ursuline by the score of 0-0 on Tuesday. The Firebirds didn’t play another match last week and will host Colerain (2-1-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. and will play at No. 4 Mount Notre Dame (4-0-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Lakota East lost at No. 5 Turpin by the score of 3-1 Thursday. This Thursday, Lakota East (1-2-1) will host Princeton (2-2) at 7 p.m. (more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota East, Lakota East cross country, Lakota East football, Lakota East golf, Lakota East High School, Lakota East soccer, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East volleyball, Lakota West, Lakota West cross country, Lakota West football, Lakota West golf, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West volleyball

The Cincinnati Enquirer released its list of spring all stars in Tuesday’s print edition, honoring 25 Lakota student athletes. The Enquirer named seven Lakota athletes as first teamers in their respected sports and selected 18 others as honorable mentions.

The Enquirer also named Lakota East senior Zach Mueck as its Division I Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year. Mueck finished as the state runner-up for the third consecutive year. Mueck also won his third straight district title and had a 21-1 record this season. Mueck will continue his career at Xavier.

Feel free to congratulate the following athletes below in the comment section or acknowledge the many student athletes who also deserving to make this list.

Division I First Team selections:

• Zak Farmer (Lakota West, baseball) – The senior pitcher was named second-team all-state and first-team all-GMC in 2012. He led the Firebirds in at-bats (107), hits (44), doubles (9) and in batting average (.411). On the mound, he also led the team in innings pitched (59.1), wins (7) and strikeouts (59).
• Michael Conrad (Lakota East, baseball) – The University of Cincinnati signee struck out 100 batters in 61.1 innings of work in 2012. He also complied a 5-2 win-loss record with a 1.83 earned run average. Conrad was also named second-team all-state and first-team all-GMC.
• Lea Buckenmyer (Lakota East, softball) – The junior pitcher was second-team all-state and first-team all-GMC in 2012. On the mound, she posted a 19-7 win-loss record, struck out 133 hitters in 164 innings, had eight shutouts and had a 1.20 ERA. At the plate, Buckenmyer led her team and the GMC in runs batted in with 43. She also led her team in doubles (14), on-base percentage (.481) and batting average (.432).
• Ashley Sharp (Lakota West, softball) – The sophomore was honorable mention all-state and first-team all-GMC in 2012. Sharp led the GMC in wins with 20 (win-loss record was 20-5). She also struck out 178 batters in 173.1 innings – had 11 shutouts and a 1.09 ERA. At the plate, Sharp led Lakota West in home runs (3) and in runs batted in (21).
• Autumn Heath (Lakota East, track) – The sophomore sprinter placed in two events at the 2012 state meet. Heath finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash. She was selected first-team all-GMC for three different events.
• Zack Mueck (Lakota East, tennis) – The senior finished as the state runner-up for the third consecutive year. Mueck also won his third straight district title and had a 21-1 record this season. Mueck will continue his career at Xavier.
• Nick Lang (Lakota West, tennis) – The junior was named second-team all-GCTCA in singles. According to the GMC website, Lang was 7-2 at No.1 singles and 14-3 overall. Finished in first place in his flight in the Greater Cincinnati Tennis Coaches Association Tournament. (more…)

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Enquirer Players of the Year, Enquirer spring all stars, Lakota East, Lakota East baseball, Lakota East softball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East track, Lakota West, Lakota West baseball, Lakota West softball, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West track

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Senior Connor Fraley and sophomore Tyler Harsch received the honor at Lakota East, while junior Nick Lang and freshman Sydney Hill were honored at Lakota West.

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