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The Lakota East girls’ track team captured the Division I Southwest District track title at Winton Woods High School Friday. The Thunderhawks finished with 121 points, edging McAuley, which had 112 points.

The Lakota East girls' track team won a district title May 18, 2012. Photo provided.

“We knew it was going to be close, but that was huge for us at that point,” Lakota East coach John Lindeman told EastThunderhawks.com. “Winning this thing is huge for us – especially beating McAuley, because they’re one of the class teams in the city. Beating them shows we’re solidifying ourselves and giving us the confidence to go on to regionals next week.”

At districts, the Lakota East girls’ team won the 4×200-meter relay, the 4×100-meter relay, the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, as well as the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

The boys’ team finished in 10th place, but had qualified five athletes for this week’s regional meet at Dayton. Senior Tony O’Connor (1600-meter run, 4×800-meter relay), junior Matt Rice (3200-meter run), sophomore Ben Call (3200-meter run, 4X800-meter relay), junior Jordan Combs (pole vault) sophomore Devon Jackson (4×800-meter relay) and sophomore Jack Beggs (4×800-meter relay) all qualified for the regional meet from the Lakota East boys’ team.

The Lakota East girls’ team qualified six athletes for the regional, but also had a handful of district champions in senior Ariana Cooper (4×200-meter relay), junior Kendra Thomas (4×200-meter relay, 4×100-meter relay), junior Kellsa Mbah (4×200-meter relay, 4×100-meter relay), sophomore Autumn Heath (4×200-meter relay, 4×100-meter relay, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash) and Celeste Bronson (4×100-meter relay, 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles).

Cooper (400-meter dash), Mbah (200-meter dash), Thomas (pole vault) and junior Kelly Burrows (3200-meter run) didn’t finish in first place but also qualified to compete in the regional meet in other events.

Seven Firebirds qualify for state meet

The Lakota West track team had seven members of its track team qualify for this week’s regional meet at Dayton. District champions included senior Will Clevidence (4×800-meter relay, 800-meter run), senior Nathan Haynes (4×800-meter relay), senior Reid Becker (4×800-meter relay), junior Will Wilson (4×800-meter relay) and senior Amanda Shelby (3200-meter run). Not finishing first, but qualifying in other events include Haynes (800-meter run), Wilson (high jump), senior Brady Holmer (1600-meter run) and senior Jerome Hamilton (long jump).

Regional meet

The regional meet is scheduled to take place at Welcome Stadium (University of Dayton) Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Friday at 4 p.m.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: Amanda Shelby, Ariana Cooper, Autumn Heath, Ben Call, Brady Holmer, Celeste Bronson, Devon Jackson, Jack Beggs, Jerome Hamilton, Kellsa Mbah, Kelly Burrows, Kendra Thomas, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East track, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lakota West track, Matt Rice, Nathan Haynes, Ohio track district meet, Reid Becker, Tony O'Connor, Will Clevidence, Will Wilson

Nine Lakota East student athletes were honored during a signing day event at Lakota East High School May 16, 2012. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.

Lakota East High School honored nine student athletes Wednesday during its spring signing day event. Among those recognized include Jacob Landers (Baldwin Wallace College, wrestling), Ivan Thomas (Kentucky Christian University, football), Tyler Overberg (College of Mount St. Joseph, golf), Morgan Weinheimer (University of Mississippi, volleyball), Jeff Mundy Jr. (Kentucky Christian University, football), Tanner Lyons (Centre College, track and field), Aleth Pashi (Otterbein University, basketball), Jacqui Tackett (Mount St. Joseph, lacrosse) and Molly Blomer (Nova Southeastern University, basketball).

“It was awesome. I was excited to see all my friends sign,” said Weinheimer, who was also considering Wright State University and Xavier University, among others. “It’s exciting because I want to see them do big things.”

The 5’4″ Weinheimer, who played the libero position for the Thunderhawks, was a first team All-GMC selection in 2011. She also led the GMC with 5.34 digs per game.

Her senior volleyball classmates, Hannah Berling (Tusculum College), Hannah Sigala (Morehead State University), Lauren Beitel (Otterbein) and Emily Bostian (Otterbein) were all honored at a signing day event Feb. 1. In addition to the seniors, junior teammates Ali Lake (Ohio University) and Ashley Evans (Purdue University) have verbally committed to programs.

Joining Weinheimer at Wednesday’s signing were basketball players Aleth Pashi and Molly Blomer. In February, their teammates Alyssa Grevenkamp (University of Findlay) and Whitney Wyckoff (Yale University) were also recognized.

Also on Wednesday, two senior football players, offensive lineman Ivan Thomas and defensive back Jeff Mundy Jr., signed on to play at the same college – Kentucky Christian University.

“They (KCU) are going to receive two good players, two good people and hopefully they will leave the program better than they left it,” Lakota East head football coach Rick Haynes said.

“It is always great to see guys forward their careers and move on to the next level. I think, both of them, as long as they put in the time and effort are going to have success.”

Other Lakota East senior student athletes, who were recognized for continuing their athletic careers in college in February, include Zach Mueck (Xavier, tennis) Michael Conrad (University of Cincinnati, baseball), Alex Corna (Ohio, baseball), Michaela Buczek (Mount St. Joseph, lacrosse), Ainsely Ellison (Hillsdale College, softball), Sofey Fugate (Heidelberg University, tennis), Jessika Hall (Michigan State University, swimming), Tori Meyer (Albright College, lacrosse), Mark Minch (Ohio Dominican University, basketball), Tony O’Connor (Northern Kentucky University, cross country/track) and Joe Postlewait (Walsh University, lacrosse)

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

Tags: Tags: Ainsely Ellison, Aleth Pashi, Alex Corna, Alyssa Grevenkamp, cincyhoops, cincysports, Corri Muha, Emily Bostian, girls' basketball, Hannah Berling, Hannah Sigala, Ivan Thomas, Jacob Landers, Jeff Mundy Jr., Jessika Hall, Lakota East, Lakota East baseball, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota East tennis, Lakota East volleyball, Lauren Beitel, Mark Minch, Michael Conrad, Michael Conrad Lakota East, Michaela Buczek, Molly Blomer, Morgan Weinheimer, National Signing Day, ohio basketball recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, recruiting, Signing Day Lakota East, Sofey Fugate, Tony O'Connor, Tori Meyer, Tyler Overberg, Whitney Wyckoff, Zach Mueck

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. (Stories are listed in order of date)

Rick Santorum wins local Tea Party straw poll: With many of the same participants in last Monday’s poll as the first Liberty Township Tea Party straw poll Feb. 6, Santorum finished with 42 percent of the vote. Overall, there wasn’t much change at the top spot since Santorum netted 41 percent of the vote in February. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, gained significant ground jumping up to 31 percent of the vote last Monday from only 19 percent of the vote in February.

Lakota presents late budget proposal: Lakota officials presented its fifth and final budget reduction proposal last Monday. The proposal, which focused administration, district-wide personnel and supplementals, could eliminate 50 jobs and save the district $3.5 million. The cuts include an assistant superintendent position, two school building administrator positions, deans of students at both high schools, as well as the elimination of 11 licensed school nurses and 13 clinic aides.

West Chester and Liberty Township residents talk Super Tuesday: It turned out to be a late night, as Ohioans chose Mitt Romney over Rick Santorum by one percentage point. Earlier in the day, while the polls were open, many voters in West Chester and Liberty Township shared the reasons why they voted in the Republican presidential primary.

Republicans select Swain for county clerk: For the second time in just over a year, Mary Swain defeated former deputy clerk Jeff Wyrick in a vote to represent the Republican Party as the Butler County Clerk of Courts. Swain received almost 61 percent of the vote, while Wyrick finished with 39 percent on Super Tuesday. In January 2011, after Cindy Carpenter left the clerks position, Swain also narrowly defeated Wyrick in a vote administered by the Butler County Republican Party.

Butler County commission race too close to call: West Chester resident and political newcomer T.C. Rogers has a 24-vote lead over long-time politician Courtney Combs in Super Tuesday’s Republican primary for Butler County commissioner. Official results aren’t expected until March 20 when all provisional and mailed absentee ballots will be counted. There is no question that incumbent Chuck Furman, who has held his seat since 1996, won’t be back next year.

Anti-tax group offers cash to needy Lakota athletes: The Enquirer reported last Tuesday, that a group of anti-school tax activists who campaign against school tax hikes now plan to raise money for needy students. The group has privately funded $10,000 to help students pay for sports fees, which were raised in the spring of 2011. This announcement has caused a stir among residents of the Lakota school district.

Lakota West grad excels at U-of-L Pro Day: University of Louisville tight end Josh Chichester made great strides of accomplishing his “ultimate goal” of playing professional football during the school’s pro day last Wednesday. According to his former high school coach, Lakota West’s Larry Cox, Chichester measured out at 6-foot-6 235 pounds, had a vertical jump that cleared 37 inches and turned in a 40-yard dash time of 4.58 seconds in front of representatives of 20 NFL teams.

Former West Chester cop sent to jail for tipping off dealer: A former West Chester police officer, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in a case where he was accused of alerting a drug dealer to an undercover bust, was sentenced to six months in jail last Thursday. In two prior court appearances, Busemeyer, who claimed to be addicted to steroids and painkillers, requested to complete a court-ordered drug treatment program in exchange of a felony conviction and jail time. Both times, those requests were denied.

Shamrock Shuffle draws thousands of participants: This past Saturday’s Shamrock Shuffle was expected to draw more than 4,000 people and raise more than $10,000 for approximately 50 local charities or causes. Tony O’Connor, 18, of West Chester won the 5K portion of the Shuffle with a time of 16:36. Brady Holmer won the 10K portion with a time of 34:26. O’Connor (Lakota East) and Holmer (Lakota West) are both seniors in the Lakota school district and plan on running at Northern Kentucky University.

Posted in: Events, News, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Brady Holmer, Butler County Board of Elections, Butler County commission race, Butler County Election 2012, Chuck Furmon, Courtney Combs, Jeff Wyrick, Josh Chichester, Josh Chichester football, Josh Chichester Louisville, Josh Chichester NFL Combine, Josh Chichester NFL Draft, Lakota cuts, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota reductions, Lakota school levy, Lakota West, Liberty Township election, Mary Swain, No Lakota, No Lakota levy, NoLakota, NoLakota Levy, Northern Kentucky University track, Northern Kentucky Uuniversity cross country, Ohio election 2012, Rich Hoffman, Shamrock Shuffle, Shamrock Shuffle West Chester, T.C. Rogers, Tony O'Connor, West Chester election

Lakota East and Lakota West finished in the top three at the Greater Miami Conference cross country championships Saturday. Lakota East finished second and Lakota West finished third.

Individually, Lakota West senior Brady Holmer finished first at the conference championships. Senior Tony O’Connor, who finished sixth, led Lakota East.

Holmer, O’Connor, Lakota West senior Nathaniel Haynes, Lakota East junior Matt Rice and Lakota East sophomore Ben Call were named First Team All-GMC.

On the girls’ side, Lakota East finished fourth and Lakota West finished fifth.

Lakota East freshman Abbie VanFossen finished second overall.

VanFossen and Lakota East junior Kelly Burrows were named First Team All-GMC.

Girls’ tennis – District tournament – Lakota East junior Taylor Holden won her first two matches at the Division I Southwest District tennis tournament Thursday, but lost against 2010 state champion junior Sandy Niehaus of Mount Notre Dame in the district semifinals Saturday. Holden has qualified for the state tournament in Columbus Oct. 21-22.

Girls’ soccer – Milford defeats Lakota West – The Lakota West girls’ soccer team lost its regular season finale when it fell to Milford by the score of 4-2. The loss gives Lakota West a 8-3-5 overall record. The Firebirds also finished with a 6-0-3 conference record in the GMC, good for second in the final conference standings. Lakota West will begin the postseason Thursday, Oct. 20, when it will face the winner of the Turpin/Seton game.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Abbie VanFossen, Ben Call, Brady Holmer, Kelly Burrows, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Matt Rice, Nathaniel Haynes, Tony O'Connor