With the fall athletic season just around the corner, the Southwestern Conference is excited to launch its Southwestern Conference Fall Preview. The preview will be a tradition for faithful Southwestern Conference followers and will signal the beginning of the much anticipated 2019 fall athletic seasons and the first step on the pathway to this year’s Southwestern Conference Champions.
Follow along this week as we preview each of the Fall sports as they begin their 2019 campaigns:
Monday Aug 12th – Football
Tuesday Aug 13th – Boys & Girls Golf / Girls Tennis
Wednesday Aug 14th – Boys & Girls Cross Country
Thursday Aug 15th – Volleyball
Friday Aug 16th – Boys & Girls Soccer
Amherst Steele
Head Coach: Brett Thompson
Years at school: 11
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 9-6-3 (4-3-2 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 5
Athletes to Watch: M – Carter Hancock (Sr), D – Anthony LaRosa (Sr), M – Ethan London (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: The Comets have a hard-working, focused, and determined team for 2019. Their strengths lie in our individual leadership and willingness to make our teammates better.
Avon
Head Coach: Chris Dore
Years at school: 13
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 14-3-3 (7-0-2 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 5
Athletes to Watch: D – Logan Brown (So), M – Keegan Dawson (Jr), D – Adam Kalvitz (Sr), GK – Ryan Poling (Jr)
2019 Season Outlook: Despite graduating several starters from 2018, Dore and the Eagles are excited to their Conference and District Titles.
Avon Lake
Head Coach: Pete Klepek
Years at school: 3
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 14-3-1 (7-1-1 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 9
Athletes to Watch: Spencer Chippi (Sr), Drew DelGiudice (Sr), Josh Lawniczak (Sr), Derek Stepak (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: Klepek has the Shoremen focused on accomplishing a 2019 conference title and a deep run in the OHSAA playoffs.
Berea-Midpark
Head Coach: Steve Blatnica
Years at school: 7
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 8-7-2 (5-3-1 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 7
Athletes to Watch: M/F – Joe Matese (Jr), M – Andrew Ruggiero (Jr), GK – Zachary Zeleznik
2019 Season Outlook: The 2019 Titans return several key seniors and juniors who will be expected to lead the Titans for another competitive battle for the top spot in the SWC. The Titans should prove to be a strong defensive unit led by senior goalkeeper Zach Zeleznik. New opportunities will emerge for new players to step into the role of goal scorers within the Titans offense.
Lakewood
Head Coach: Andrew Toth
Years at school: 13
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 11-8-0 (4-5-0 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 8
Athletes to Watch: M – Omar Almutairi (Jr), D – Matthew Hueter (So), M – Julian Kieres (Sr), D – Cameron Levis (Sr), GK – Puspa Monger (So)
2019 Season Outlook: While Lakewood returns eight starters from last year’s team, the Rangers have some youth and will continue to look toward developing their talent in the 2019 season.
Midview
Head Coach: James Igneczi
Years at school: 5
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 1-13-3 (0-8-1 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 6
Athletes to Watch: M – Kaiden Koch (So), M – Mason Kucera (Fr), F – Damond Mathis (Sr), D – Josh Vincent (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: The Middies are looking to keep moving forward and incorporating their young players to gain experience and work through their developmental challenges. Coach Igneczi feels there will be plenty of opportunities to stand out and prove how much his squad can fit into a Team First environment.
North Olmsted
Head Coach: Chris Marsh
Years at school: 26
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 7-9-2 (2-5-2 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 8
Athletes to Watch: Daniel Gebura (Sr), Kyle Matko (So), Owen Reyes (So), Ryan Sanborn (So)
2019 Season Outlook: The Eagles are looking for outstanding senior leadership and great effort from all of the underclassmen to compete in the SWC in 2019.
North Ridgeville
Head Coach: George Panagiotou
Years at school: 4
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 10-6-2 (4-4-1 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 4
Athletes to Watch: M – Shaun Crawford (Sr), GK – Will Jedlicka (Jr), D – Will Smith (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: Coach Panagioutou and the Rangers are excited for the beginning of the 2019 season and want to continue to build on the success they have had in the past few seasons.
Olmsted Falls
Head Coach: Danny Zillich
Years at school: 1
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 3-9-4 (2-5-2 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 8
Athletes to Watch: M – Alex Gibson (Sr), D – Ryan Hurt (Sr), M – Jeremy Sgro (Sr), M – Alister White (Jr), D – Matt Woehrman (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: The Bulldogs are looking to get back to their winning ways lead by the nine seniors within the program. Nick Sweeney plans to take command of the Bulldog defense as the senior will start in net. Seniors Jeremy Sgro and Alex Gibson will be joined on the offensive end by Juniors Alister White and Kevin Allan. The Bulldogs look to play a demanding brand of soccer under new head coach Danny Zillich as the team pushes toward a successful season.
Westlake
Head Coach: Mike Besu
Years at school: 32
Last Year’s Overall Record (Conference Record): 5-8-3 (3-3-4 in SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 3
Athletes to Watch: Patrick Hartup, Levi Swisher, Matthew Toner
2019 Season Outlook: A young squad for 2019, coach Besu will have his Demons competing in every contest this season.
