WestChesterBuzz.com

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Beckett Park opens its west side after $2 million upgrade – The west side portion of Beckett Park officially reopened June 29 after a $2.09 million upgrade that included the construction of a new shelter, a “natural” playground, a small pond that can used as an ice skating rink in the winter and a 1.25-mile trail that loops around two newly enlarged lakes. Beckett Park is 150 acres and straddles Beckett Road near the Union Centre Boulevard intersection. WestChesterBuzz.com got its first look at the upgrade to the park last week.

Brad Lovell. Photo provided.

Lakota names four new principals- Lakota officials recently announced that the school district will be adding new principals to four different schools following approval by the board of education. New principals include Brad Lovell (Creekside Early Childhood), Christina French (Hopewell Elementary), Stacy Millburg (Lakota East Freshman – associate principal) and Jason Jackson (Lakota West Freshman – associate principal).

AK Steel to cut 2013 pension contribution – Bloomberg News reported last week that West Chester-based AK Steel Holding Corp., will cut its estimated 2013 pension expense by one-third, or $100 million, after passage of a transportation bill extension lowered some required contributions. The bill stabilizes the minimum annual contributions to fund defined-benefit pension plans, while raising premiums paid to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., AK said.

Brennan Ryan. Photo provided.

Lakota West hires Brennan Ryan to lead wrestling program- The Lakota school district’s high school athletic department announced last Monday that it hired Brennan Ryan as its new head coach of the Lakota West wrestling program. Ryan, who has experience as a wrestling head coach at Roger Bacon and Madeira high schools, was hired to replace Tim Kessler.

Battelle for Kids honors 18 Lakota teachers – A total of 18 Lakota educators were recognized in late June for teaching excellence at the Ohio Educators Connect for Success Conference in Columbus, Lakota officials announced last Wednesday. Battelle for Kids honored the local educators as part of its “Celebrate Teaching” initiative that is used to find out what makes a teacher highly effective and how to best learn from their practices.

VOA Museum. Tony Jones/photo.

National VOA Museum gears up for tours – With the recent completion of some significant construction work, the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting announced that it will open for tours on the third Saturday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. starting July 21.

West Chester Library breaks checkout record – The West Chester location of the MidPointe Library System broke its previous record for checkouts in a month this past June. The local library announced last week that it had 136,512 items checked out last month, trumping its old record set in July of 2008 by more than 4,000 checkouts.

List: Reach Out Lakota back-to-school supply needs – Reach Out Lakota released its supply list for its annual Back to School program last Wednesday. Currently, only a small percent of the needed supplies have been donated for the more than 450 registered children in the Lakota school district.

Jay Bruce. Adam Kiefaber/photo.

Photos: Jay Bruce signing in West Chester – Less than a week from the Major League All-Star game, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce took time for an autograph session at the Sports Gallery in West Chester Sunday. Hundreds of fans packed the local sports memorabilia shop to get a glimpse and have their photo taken with the two-time MLB All-Star.

Photos: Crazy Cardboard Boat Regatta in West Chester – Tony Jones of The Cincinnati Enquirer photographed one of West Chester Township’s largest outdoor events this past weekend. Additional photos from the community will be posted on WestChesterBuzz.com later this week.

Posted in: Board of Education, Business, Events, Government, News, Schools, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: AK Steel, AK Steel West Chester, Beckett Park, Beckett Park project, Beckett Park West Chester, Brad Lovell, Brennan Ryan, Christina French, Cincinnati Reds player signings, Crazy Cardboard Regatta, Crazy Cardboard Regatta photos, Crazy Cardboard Regatta West Chester, Creekside Early Childhood School, Hopewell Elementary School, Jason Jackson, Jay Bruce, Jay Bruce Cincinnati Reds, Jay Bruce photos, Jay Bruce signing, Lakota, Lakota East Freshman Campus, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota schools, Lakota West, Lakota West Brennan Ryan, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Stacy Millburg, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum, West Chester business news, West Chester photos

The Lakota school district’s high school athletic department announced Monday that it hired Brennan Ryan as its new head coach of the Lakota West wrestling program.

Brennan Ryan. Photo provided.

Kessler left the program in order to spend more time with his family, according to 2011-2012 Lakota West athletic director Gerry Weisgerber. Kessler had been the head coach since 2009 and a member of the Lakota West coaching staff since 1997. He and his wife have four children.

Ryan’s experience includes seven seasons from 2000-2001 to 2006-2007 as the head coach at Roger Bacon, four seasons from 2007-2008 to 2010-2011 as an assistant at The College of Mount St. Joseph and one season in 2011-2012 as the head coach at Madeira.

“I am absolutely thrilled and also greatly surprised to be named head wrestling coach at Lakota West High School,” Ryan said. “It is a little overwhelming to come to a program that has achieved so much success over the years.

“My goal is to come in here and continue those winning ways as soon as possible.”

Last winter, the Lakota West wrestling team finished second in the Greater Miami Conference. From the 2001-2002 season through the 2008-2009 season, the program finished first in the GMC seven times in eight years.

During his tenure at Roger Bacon, Ryan’s teams had a dual record of 86-24 and led teams to two different Cincinnati Enquirer Division II-III coaches poll city titles. At Mount St. Joseph, he was voted NCAA Mid-States Conference Assistant Coach of the Year, according to a release from Lakota.

“My style as a coach is to be aggressive and attack relentlessly for six minutes, and being in better shape than our opponents,” Ryan said. “When a match is over, win or lose, I would like our opponents to know that they just wrestled someone from Lakota West.”

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Brennan Ryan, Lakota West, Lakota West Brennan Ryan, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling

The Lakota West athletic department is currently seeking head coaches in two sports – track and wrestling.

Both coaches are leaving each program in order to spend more time with their families, according to Lakota West athletic director Gerry Weisgerber.

Craig Myers, who has been the track head coach since Lakota West began its operation in the 1997-1998 school year, will continue to coach the cross country team.

This past winter’s wrestling coach, Tim Kessler, had been the head coach since 2009 and a member of the Lakota West coaching staff since 1997. He and his wife have four children.

The school is accepting applications until Friday, June 15. All interested individuals should electronically send a resume, cover letter and related materials to Richard Bryant at Richard.Bryant@lakotaonline.com.

Lakota East does not currently have any head coach openings.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Craig Myers, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lakota West track, Lakota West wrestling, Tim Kessler

Three senior Lakota West student athletes – Nick Bloch, Rachel Mills and Zach Crabtree – signed on to play sports in college Wednesday in the high school’s community room.

Bloch signed on to wrestle at Lake Erie College. He was also considering Northern Illinois, Appalachian State and Shippensburg, At Lakota West, Bloch was a four-time letter winner, two-time state qualifier, two-time sectional champion, Greater Miami Conference champion and was the Firebirds’ Most Valuable Wrestler in 2012.

“The things I liked about Lake Erie were the size, subjects, atmosphere, and the wrestling coach,” said Bloch, who plans on studying biology/pre-med. “Their wrestling program really has a vision for the future.”

Mills, who was honored as an all-academic athlete in the GMC, signed on to play basketball at Alderson Broddus. She was also considering Otterbein, Ursuline and Miami.

“Alderson Broddus has a really good nursing program and the style of basketball they play fit me best,” Mills said. “They also have an excellent job placement for nursing.”

Crabtree signed on to play lacrosse at Wheeling Jesuit. Crabtree, who is the Firebirds team captain, was also considering Otterbein, Thiel College and Hanover College.

“I really like the campus. The players are very close, and the coaching staff is very strong,” said Crabtree, who plans studying business administration. “It is a new and uprising team in a tough D-2 conference and they are doing very well.”

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West boys' lacrosse, Lakota West girls' basketball, Lakota West lacrosse, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, Nick Bloch, Rachel Mills, Zach Crabtree

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

For the fourth consecutive year, the Sycamore boys and the Mason girls won the Greater Miami Conference swimming championship. Meanwhile, the Mason wrestling team won its third GMC title in a row. Both GMC meets took place during the weekend.

In the boys’ portion of the GMC swimming meet, Lakota East finished third and Lakota West finished fifth. Lakota West junior Bryan McNamara was the only school district athlete to win an event, winning the 500-yard freestyle.

In the girls’ portion of the GMC swimming meet, Lakota West finished third and Lakota West finished fourth. Lakota East senior Jessika Hall (photo), who has signed onto to swim at Michigan State, won the 200-yard individual medley at the meet.

• Results of the 2012 Greater Miami Conference swimming meet
• Results of the 2012 Greater Miami Conference wrestling meet

In wrestling, Lakota East finished third and Lakota West finished in eighth out of 10 GMC squads. Lakota East senior Jacob Landers (120 lbs.) was the only school district wrestler to win his weight class at the meet.

Lakota wrestlers finishing near the top of their weight class included junior Justin Brown (second place, 132 lbs.), senior Eric Sullivan (second place, 145 lbs.), senior Jacob Burton (second place, 195 lbs.), junior Austin Daly (third place, 113 lbs.), Tim Bowman (third place, 285 lbs.) and Corey Howard (fourth place, 145 lbs.) of Lakota East; and sophomore Kevin Leonhardt (third place, 126 lbs.), senior Jamie Keesling (third place, 170 lbs.) and senior John Davis (fourth place, 145 lbs.) of Lakota West.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Greater Miami Conference, Greater Miami Conference swimming meet, Greater Miami Conference wrestling meet, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East swimming, Lakota East wrestling, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lakota West swimming, Lakota West wrestling

The athletic departments at Lakota East and Lakota West high schools recently named their athletes of the week. Junior Emily Neihaus and senior Jamie Keesling received the honor at Lakota West, while senior Taylor Alden and junior Jimmy McCarthy were honored at Lakota East.

Niehaus led or was tied for the team lead in assists and steals the past three games, at Oak Hills last Wednesday, at Sycamore last Saturday and against Lakota West this Wednesday. She also tied a career high with 11 points in the 68-52 loss against Sycamore.

Keesling was the only double winner for Lakota West wrestling last week. Keesling, who competes at 170 pounds, earned a 2-0 decision in last Wednesday’s match against Lakota East. He also added an 11-8 win at Harrison last Saturday.

Alden, according to EastThunderhawks.com, has been among the team leaders in each of the matches. Also, according to the high school sports website: “Her consistency has helped the team keep pace and helped to push all of her teammates. She has been willing to step into whatever position is asked of her in the baker games and has performed well.”

McCarthy, according to EastThunderhawks.com, rolled a 424 series (221, 203) to lead the boys’ team to their first victory of the season over Kings. This was the high series rolled by any of the boys this year and it came at a good time as it led them to a 99-pin victory. McCarthy also had a solid day bowling in the fifth position on the baker team. Despite being a first-year team member, he has consistently been among the team leaders and has shown good improvement, according to the Lakota East athletic website.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Emily Neihaus, Jamie Keesling, Jimmy McCarthy, Lakota East, Lakota East bowling, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, Taylor Alden

It will be an eventful week for Lakota East and Lakota West varsity athletics. On Wednesday, National Signing Day, student athletes from both schools will be recognized for their commitment to play sports in college. Wednesday night, Lakota West will host rival Lakota East in a girls’ basketball game. Then on Saturday, Mason and Oak Hills will host Greater Miami Conference meets in swimming and wrestling.

In the girls’ basketball rivalry, Lakota East (11-5 overall, 8-3 in the GMC) defeated Lakota West (9-7 overall, 5-6 in the GMC) earlier this season by the score of 61-54 Dec. 14. The Firebirds have lost three straight to their school district rival.

See below for the weekly Lakota varsity high school sports schedule:

Monday, Jan. 30

Lakota East – bowling – at Monroe at 3:30 p.m.
Lakota West – bowling (boys) – vs. Mason at 3:45 p.m.
Lakota East and Lakota West – swimming – at Sycamore at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 31

Lakota West – bowling (girls) – vs. McAuley at 3:45 p.m.
Lakota East – academic quiz – at Hamilton at 4 p.m.
Lakota West – academic quiz – vs. Oak Hills at 4 p.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – at Fairfield at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – boys’ basketball – at Oak Hills at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 1 – Signing Day

Lakota East – bowling – vs. Colerain at 3:30 p.m.
Lakota East at Lakota West – girls’ basketball – at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2

Lakota West – bowling – vs. Monroe at 3:45 p.m.
Lakota East – academic quiz – vs. Fairfield at 4 p.m.
Lakota West – academic quiz – at Colerain at 4 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 3

Lakota East and Lakota West – diving – at GMC Meet at Mason at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – at Hamilton at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – boys’ basketball – at Mason at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 4

Lakota East and Lakota West – wrestling – at GMC Meet at Oak Hills at 10 a.m.
Lakota East and Lakota West – gymnastics – at Gymskins Invitational at Anderson at 1 p.m.
Lakota East and Lakota West – swimming – at GMC Meet at Mason at 1:45 p.m.
Lakota East – girls’ basketball – vs. Sycamore at 2 p.m.
Lakota West – girls’ basketball – vs. Hamilton at 2 p.m.
Lakota West – academic quiz – vs. Hamilton at 4 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletic weekly schedule, GMC swimming meet. Greater Miami Conference swimming meet, GMC wrestling meet, Greater Miami Conference wrestling meet, Lakota East, Lakota East athletic schedule, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East bowling, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East wrestling, Lakota West, Lakota West athletic schedule, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West bowling, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, schedule, sports schedule

Lakota East and Lakota West will face off in multiple sports this week including bowling, wrestling, swimming and gymnastics. Next week, on signing day Feb. 1, Lakota East will face rival Lakota West in girls’ basketball.

In boys’ basketball, Lakota West has an important home game against Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Firebirds (8-5 overall, 5-2 in the Greater Miami Conference) are currently tied with Fairfield (11-2 overall, 5-2 in the GMC) in the conference standings. Both teams are one game behind Mason (12-1 overall, 6-1 in the GMC) and Middletown (9-4 overall, 6-1 in the GMC).

See below for the weekly Lakota varsity high school sports schedule:

Tuesday, Jan. 24

Lakota East at Lakota West – bowling – at 3:30 p.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – vs. Middletown at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – boys’ basketball – vs. Fairfield at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 25

Lakota East – academic quiz – vs. Mason at 4 p.m.
Lakota East – girls’ basketball – vs. Fairfield at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – girls’ basketball – at Oak Hills at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 26

Lakota West – bowling – vs. Clinton Massie at 3:45 p.m.
Lakota East at Lakota West – wrestling – at 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27

Lakota East and Lakota West – swimming – at Mason at 5 p.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – vs. Princeton at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – boys’ basketball – vs. Colerain at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 28

Lakota East – wrestling – Tri with Moeller/Mason at 9 a.m.
Lakota West at Lakota East – gymnastics – Lakota East Invitational at 9:30 a.m.
Lakota East – girls’ basketball – at Oak Hills at 2 p.m.
Lakota West – girls’ basketball – at Sycamore at 2 p.m.
Lakota West – wrestling – at Harrison at 7 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletic weekly schedule, Classic in the Country, Classic in the Country Challenge, Flyin' to the Hoop, Lakota East, Lakota East athletic schedule, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East bowling, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East wrestling, Lakota West, Lakota West athletic schedule, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West bowling, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, schedule, sports schedule

With the day off from school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, several Lakota East and Lakota West athletes are participating in holiday invitationals.

Both the Lakota East boys’ and girls’ basketball programs will take part in well-known Ohio prep basketball events.

The Lakota East boys (5-6 overall, 2-4 in the Greater Miami Conference) are playing at noon Monday against Vandalia-Butler in the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational, which is held at Trent Arena in Kettering.

Meanwhile, the East girls (7-5 overall, 5-3 in the GMC) will face Rogers (Toledo) at 5 p.m. Monday at the Classic in the Country at Berlin High School.

In gymnastics, both Lakota West and Lakota East are competing in the Troy Invitational Monday.

Later in the week, the Lakota West boys’ basketball team (7-5 overall, 4-2 in the GMC) will host Middletown (9-2 overall, 6-0 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

See below for the weekly Lakota varsity high school sports schedule:

Monday, Jan. 16
Lakota East and Lakota West – gymnastics – Troy Invitational at 10 a.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – vs. Vandalia Buter at Flyin to the Hoop in Kettering at 12 p.m.
Lakota East – girls’ basketball – vs. Rogers (Toledo) at Classic in the Country Challenge at Berlin Hiland High School at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 17

Lakota West – bowling – vs. Badin at Gilmore Lanes at 4 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 18

Lakota East – bowling – vs. Sycamore at 3:30 p.m.
Lakota East – academic quiz – at Sycamore at 4 p.m.
Lakota West – girls’ basketball – at Middletown at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 19

Lakota West – bowling – at Colerain at 3:45 p.m.
Lakota East– swimming – at Tri at Milford (diving only) at 5 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 20

Lakota East– wrestling – vs. Fairfield at 7 p.m.
Lakota East – boys’ basketball – at Colerain at 7:30 p.m.
Lakota West – boys’ basketball – vs. Middletown at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21

Lakota West– wrestling – at Mason’s James Horning Memorial at 9:30 a.m.
Lakota East – girls’ basketball – vs. Middletown at 2 p.m.
Lakota West – girls’ basketball – vs. Fairfield at 2 p.m.
Lakota East– wrestling – vs. Super Tri w Edgewood/Oak Hills/Alliance at 6 p.m.
Lakota East– swimming – at Oak Hills at Keating 6 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletic weekly schedule, Classic in the Country, Classic in the Country Challenge, Flyin' to the Hoop, Lakota East, Lakota East athletic schedule, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East bowling, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East wrestling, Lakota West, Lakota West athletic schedule, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West bowling, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, schedule, sports schedule