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Between Lakota East and Lakota West, 10 players and one coach were honored when the Greater Miami Conference announced its All-Conference teams this month.

On the boys’ side, Lakota East head coach Wally Vickers was named GMC Coach of the Year. Vickers led the Thunderhawks to their first outright GMC title and to their first district championship. As a team, Lakota East finished the year with a 23-2 overall record and a 13-1 mark within the GMC.

Four of Vickers’ seniors were also honored by the GMC. Michael Boyd (12.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game) was named the GMC Athlete of the Year. Teammate R.J. Leppert (7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game) joined Boyd on the GMC All-Conference First Team. Fellow seniors Jalen Goodwin (8.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game) and Cameron Lee (9.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game) were named to the GMC All-Conference Second Team.

From Lakota West, sophomore Monty Boykins (13.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game) was named to the GMC All-Conference First Team and senior Phillip Cook (10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game) was named to the GMC All-Conference Second Team.

On the girls’ side, Lakota East had three players honored: Junior Alyssa Grevenkamp (9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) and junior Whitney Wyckoff (12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds) were named to the GMC All-Conference First Team, while junior Molly Blomer (10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds) was named to the GMC All-Conference Second Team.

From Lakota West, senior Ronni Grandison, who will play basketball at the University of Massachusetts, was named to the GMC All-Conference Second Team.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alyssa Grevenkamp, basketball, boys' basketball, Cameron Lee, girls' basketball, Jalen Goodwin, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Michael Boyd, Molly Blomer, Monty Boykins, Phil Cook, Phillip Cook, R.J. Leppert, Ronni Grandison, Wally Vickers, Walter Vickers, Whitney Wyckoff

After Lakota West jumped out to a 14-2 start, Ursuline stormed back and eliminated the Firebirds from postseason play with a 68-45 win last night, Feb. 17, in the first round of the Division I sectional tournament at Lakota East High School. It was the first time in Lakota West’s 14-year history that it lost its opening-round playoff game.

With the loss, Lakota West finishes the 2010-2011 season with a 10-11 overall record. It is the Firebirds’ first losing record since the 1999-2000 season. In those 10 seasons in between, the program won 188 games and lost 54. In the 2007-2008 season, the Firebirds were the state runner-ups and in the 2008-2009 season the team advanced to the state’s final four.

>>>PHOTOS OF LAKOTA WEST VS. URSULINE<<<

Lakota West senior Ronni Grandison, who will play basketball at the University of Massachusetts, went on an 8-0 run early in the game and aided the Firebirds to a 14-2 advantage. Grandison (photo – click to enlarge) would finish with a career-high 21 points in the loss.

The Firebirds led at halftime, by the score of 28-24, before Ursuline scored the first 12 points of the third quarter. According to Cincinnati.com, much of the Lions’ second-half offense was generated by the full-court press.

Senior Morgan Donovan led Ursuline with 19 points. Senior teammate Ellie Greiner added 12 points in the win.

No. 15 seed St. Ursula (12-8 overall, 8-2 in the Girls Greater Cincinnati League) will play No. 6 seed Ursuline (15-6 overall, 7-3 in the GGCL) in the second round of the sectional playoffs this Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Lakota East High School.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Ellie Greiner, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Morgan Donovan, Ronni Grandison, sectional playoffs, sectional tournament, Ursuline

The Lakota West girls’ basketball program (10-10 overall, 6-8 in the Greater Miami Conference) will begin its postseason tonight, Feb. 17, against Ursuline (14-6 overall, 7-3 in the Girls Greater Cincinnati League) at 6 p.m. at Lakota East High School. The Firebirds enter the contest with the No. 14 seed in the region against Ursuline, who is the No. 6 seed.

No. 15 seed St. Ursula (12-8 overall, 8-2 in GGCL) awaits the winner for a game this Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. The winner of the St. Ursula matchup will play either No. 10 seed Anderson (15-5 overall, 14-2 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference) or No. 13 seed Hughes (15-5 overall, 11-1 in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference) in the district semifinals.

Overall it has been a difficult year for Lakota West, which had its worst regular season conference record since the 1998-1999 season. The team also heads into the postseason after losing seven of their last nine games.

Prior to that nine-game stretch, the Firebirds went on a seven-game winning streak that lasted from mid-December to mid-January.

Senior Ronni Grandison, who will play basketball at the University of Massachusetts, leads Lakota West. This season, Grandison is averging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Grandison’s junior teammates Summer Reeves (9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds per game), Adrianna McNeal (6.3 points, 5.8 rebounds per game), Shabazz Reeves (4.2 points, 1.6 steals per game) and Bari Schwartz (4.0 points, 3.0 assists per game) also play big roles for the Firebirds.

Meanwhile, seniors Morgan Donovan (11.2 points, 3.3 steals per game) and Ellie Greiner (9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 blocks per game) lead Ursuline.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Adrianna McNeal, Bari Schwartz, basketball, Ellie Greiner, girls' basketball, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Morgan Donovan, playoffs, postseason, Ronni Grandison, sectional playoffs, sectional tournament, Shabazz Reeves, Summer Reeves, tournament, Ursuline

It is officially postseason time for the Lakota West girls’ basketball program. The Firebirds wrapped up its regular season with a 42-37 overtime loss to Colerain Feb. 12. Their final regular season record is 10-10 overall and 6-8 in the Greater Miami Conference.

The postseason will begin with a game against Ursuline (14-6 overall, 7-3 in Girls Greater Cincinnati League) this Thursday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. at Lakota East.

Colerain juniors Shelly Harper and Sheaira Jones each scored 14 points.

Lakota West junior Rachel Huxhold scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds. Senior Ronni Grandison added nine points and five rebounds.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Colerain, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Rachel Huxhold, Ronni Grandison, Sheaira Jones, Shelly Harper

Many of the nation’s top high school football recruits made their decision and signed with their college of their choice today, on Signing Day, Feb. 2.

At 7 a.m. this morning, three players from the Lakota West football program gathered in the high school’s community room to participate in a Signing Day event.

One of the most notable signees, 6-foot-5 285-pound offensive lineman Ryan Kelly, officially signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Alabama. Kelly committed to Alabama and head coach Nick Saban this past July. At the time, Alabama was coming off a season where it won its 17th national championship.

Kelly, who had offers from Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Cincinnati and many others, joins Alabama, who ESPN.com currently considers to have the No. 3 recruiting class in the country.

ESPN.com also ranks Kelly as the No. 4 offensive center in the country. Other recruiting services, Rivals.com (No. 6 center) and Scout.com (No. 2 center) also have Kelly ranked as one of the top offensive line recruits in the entire nation.

Meanwhile, Kelly’s teammates, defensive lineman Matt Fox (6’4” 230 lbs.) and OL Phil Brinkman (6’4” 260 lbs.) also signed with schools on Signing Day.

Fox, who had been trying to decide between Princeton and Air Force, received a late offer from Ball State just days before Signing Day. The First-Team All-GMC selection has decided to sign with Ball State.

Brinkman, who was a Second-Team All-GMC selection, signed with Indianapolis. Brinkman was also considering Georgetown (Ky.) and St. Francis (Ind.), but committed to Indy about a week ago.

“We were in the market for some quality offensive linemen and Phil fit that bill,” University of Indianapolis head coach Bob Bartolomeo said. “He is a tough, hard-nosed player. I have watched a lot of tape of him and we are getting a guy who can move and can play multiple spots on the offensive line.”

Also signing today, but not participating in the Signing Day event were Lakota West girls’ soccer players Alex Azeez (Purdue), Devyn Ciotti (Louisville) and Megan Cravenor (Cincinnati).

In November, the following Lakota West athletes signed:

Yasmine Battle, softball, Mississippi Valley State; Alex Caudill, softball, Northern Kentucky; Lexi Dannemiller, volleyball, Michigan; Ty Davis, wrestling, Central Michigan; Ronni Grandison (photo), basketball, Massachusetts; Jaymee Heineke, lacrosse, Cincinnati; Ashley Jeffers, golf, Western Illinois; Kaitlin Jennings, lacrosse, St. Bonaventure; Liz McMahon, volleyball, Illinois; Korey Ward, golf, Xavier; and Taylor Wogenstahl, golf, Northern Kentucky.

Soccer and football players had to wait until Feb. 2 and could not sign during Signing Day in November.

WestChesterBuzz.com will also cover the Lakota East Signing Day event, which was rescheduled due to the weather, Friday, Feb. 4, at 7:45 a.m. at the high school.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alabama, Alex Azeez, Alex Caudill, Ashley Jeffers, Ball State, Devyn Ciottie, Jaymee Heineke, Kaitlin Jennings, Korey Ward, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lexi Dannemiller, Liz McMahon, Matt Fox, Megan Cravenor, National Signing Day, Phil Brinkman, Ronni Grandison, Ryan Kelly, Signing Day, Taylor Wogenstahl, Yasmine Battle

The Lakota West Firebirds could only muster up two points in the final quarter in a 54-30 loss to Mason last night, Jan. 26. The Comets defeated Lakota West earlier this season 52-42.

Mason senior point guard Sarah Hunter, who is committed to Wright State, scored eight points, had five assists and four steals in last night’s victory.

Her teammate, junior Briana Glover scored 16 points. Glover, recently, narrowed her list of college choices to the following five schools: Kentucky, Xavier, Dayton, Louisville and Michigan State, according to Pulse Journal reporter Steven Matthews.

Ronni Grandison, who has committed to the University of Massachusetts, led Lakota West with seven points and six rebounds. She only played 13 minutes in the loss.

With the loss, Lakota West falls to 9-7 overall and 5-5 in the Greater Miami Conference. Mason, meanwhile, improves to 10-4 overall and 7-3 in the GMC.

The Firebirds’ next game will be at home this Saturday, Jan. 29, against Princeton (16-0 overall, 10-0 in GMC) at 2 p.m. Mason faces Lakota East (12-3 overall, 7-3 in GMC) at Mason Middle School at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, Brianna Glover, girls' basketball, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Mason, Ronni Grandison, Sarah Hunter

Lakota West snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Hamilton, by the score of 49-30, last night, Jan. 19, at Lakota West High School. Prior to the two-game losing streak, the Firebirds experienced a seven-game winning streak.

Last night, Lakota West was able to jump out to 11-1 lead in the first quarter. Hamilton, however, erased much of that lead, in the second quarter as it outscored the Firebirds 14-5 in that frame.

With only a 16-15 lead at halftime, Lakota West played well in the second half and outscored the Big Blue 33-15 in the last two quarters.

Junior Rachel Huxhold and senior Mea Williams led Lakota West with 11 points. The scoring total was a career high for both players.

According to westfirebirds.com, senior Ronni Grandison, junior Summer Reeves, and freshman Amanda Gallof were unavailable due to a combination of illness and injury.

With the win, Lakota West improves its record to 9-5 overall and 5-3 within the Greater Miami Conference.

The Firebirds’ next opponent will be Lakota East (10-3 overall and 5-3 in the GMC). That game will take place this Saturday, Jan. 22, at Lakota West High School.

Pictures provided by Mark Ferland/Ferland Fotos. For more photos of other Lakota West athletic events visit ferlandfotos.smugmug.com.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Amanda Gallof, basketball, girls' basketball, Hamilton, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Mea Williams, Rachel Huxhold, Ronni Grandison, Summer Reeves

For the second straight day, Lakota West led at halftime by one point only to lose in the Classic in the Country Challenge in Berlin, Ohio. On Saturday, the Firebirds fell to Col. Northland (Columbus) by the score of 39-29 and on Sunday, they lost to Wadsworth by the score of 52-42.

Wadsworth, which is located a few miles west of Akron, trailed at halftime 21-20, but outscored Lakota West 21-9 in the third quarter. Similarly, Lakota West led 18-17 at halftime against Col. Northland and was outscored by its opponent 13-4 in the third quarter.

In the Wadsworth loss, junior guard Summer Reeves led all scorers with 25 points. Reeves (photo) also finished with five rebounds and three steals. Senior teammate Ronni Grandison led the Firebirds with six rebounds.

With the loss, Lakota West record falls to 8-5 overall and remains 4-3 in the Greater Miami Conference.

Next up for the Firebirds is a home game against Hamilton (3-8 overall, 1-6 in the GMC) Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, Classic in the Country, girls' basketball, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Ronni Grandison, Summer Reeves

After starting out the season 1-3, the Lakota West girls’ basketball team has won six straight games. With its latest win, 44-32 at Oak Hills Jan. 5, the team improves its record to 7-3 overall and 3-3 with in the Greater Miami Conference.

Oak Hils led Lakota West 8-6 in the first quarter, but fell behind when it was outscored by the Firebirds 16-5 in the second quarter.

Junior Shabazz Reeves led Lakota West with career highs in points with 14 and in rebounds with seven. Junior teammate Ronni Grandison added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Summer Reeves contributed eight points and five rebounds. Summer is averaging 10.8 points and 3.7 rebounds this season, mostly off the bench.

Freshman Danni Scholl led Oak Hills with 17 points in the loss. According to the GMC athletic website, Scholl is averaging 18.7 points per game this season.

Next up for the Firebirds is a road contest at Sycamore (9-1 overall, 6-1 in GMC) Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, Oak Hills (1-8 overall, 1-5 in GMC) will visit Lakota East (8-2 overall, 4-2 in GMC) Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Danni Scholl, girls' basketball, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Oak Hills, Ronni Grandison, Shabazz Reeves, Summer Reeves, Sycamore

After overcoming a 15-1 first quarter deficit, the Lakota West girls’ basketball program battled back and eventually rolled to a 56-49 victory over the St. Ursula Bulldogs Jan. 3 at Lakota West High School. The victory extended the Firebirds’ winning streak to five games.

Lakota West closed the gap of St. Ursula’s first quarter lead to three points at halftime by outscoring the Bulldogs 20-9 in the second quarter. Lakota West would also outscore St. Ursula 35-25 in the second half.

The Firebirds received a big game from junior guard Summer Reeves, who recorded career highs in points with 24 and in rebounds with eight. Reeves’ senior teammate Ronni Grandison added 15 points in the win.

Junior guard Mackenzie Loesing, who scored 23 points in the loss, led St. Ursula.

With the win, Lakota West improves to 6-3 overall and remains 2-3 within the Greater Miami Conference. With the loss, St. Ursula falls to 3-5 and remains 2-0 in the Girls Greater Cincinnati League.

Next up for Lakota West is a road game at Oak Hills (1-7 overall, 1-4 in GMC) this Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, girls' basketball, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Mackenzie Loesing, Oak Hills, Ronni Grandison, St. Ursula, Summer Reeves