With the winter athletic season beginning this week, the Southwestern Conference is excited to launch its Southwestern Conference Winter Preview. The preview will be a tradition for faithful Southwestern Conference followers and will signal the beginning of the much anticipated 2019-20 winter 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 Winter sports as they begin their 2019-20 campaigns:
Monday Nov 18 – Bowling & Gymnastics
Tuesday Nov 19 – Swimming/Diving & Hockey
Wednesday Nov 20 – Wrestling
Thursday Nov 21 – Boys Basketball
Friday Nov 22 – Girls Basketball
Amherst Steele
Head Coach: Patrick Bray
Years at school: 5
Last Year’s Overall Record: 4-18 (3-15 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 3
Athletes to Watch: G – Kyle Ferguson (Sr), G – Christian Pfeiffer (Sr), F – Ty Weatherspoon (Jr).
2019 Season Outlook: The Comets look to have an improved season from last year. Coach Bray has depth on this year’s roster, including some size and shooters, but will be counting on a lot of young players in 2019-20.
Avon
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Avon Lake
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Berea-Midpark
Head Coach: Duke Barther
Years at school: 7
Last Year’s Overall Record: 14-10 (10-8 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 3
Athletes to Watch: G – AJ Comer (Jr), G – Jordan Cupach (Sr), G – Dominic DeLaRosa (Sr), G – Josh Finkovich (Sr), G – DJ Johnson (So), F – Alex Kvak (Jr), G – Dominic Loychik (Sr), F – Andrew Petkac (Jr), G – Dominic Zarzycki-Hall (Jr)
2019 Season Outlook: The Titans will need their returning varsity players to step up to fill the void of last year’s senior class. There is a lot of varsity experience on the roster and the Titans hope it will carry them far in 2019-20.
Lakewood
Head Coach: Alex Cammock
Years at school: 5
Last Year’s Overall Record: 17-7 (14-4 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 1
Athletes to Watch: F – Nate Mims (Sr), G – Dante Wahba (Sr).
2019 Season Outlook: The Rangers graduated eight seniors from the 2018-2019 team which leaves senior Nate Mims as the lone returner to have played significant minutes from a year ago. However, the Rangers have a good young core of players and look to work hard to improve throughout the season.
Midview
Head Coach: Jim Brabanec
Years at school: 4
Last Year’s Overall Record: 11-12 (9-9 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 3
Athletes to Watch: G – Tyler Dawson (Jr), F – Aden Gregory (So), F – Jonny Manning (Sr), F – Jahki Owens (Jr), G – Nyco Vidal (Jr), F – Jacob Williams (Sr), G – Marcell Young (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: Midview returns first team all-conference player, Jonny Manning. Marcell Young and Nyco Vidal are returning starters. The Middies return guys with a lot of experience and have added new players to the varsity rotation. Coach Brabanec is excited about the depth and ability to play different styles both offensively and defensively.
North Olmsted
Head Coach: Jason Frolo
Years at school: 7
Last Year’s Overall Record: 2-21 (0-18)
Number of Returning Starters: 1
Athletes to Watch: G – Jared Strong (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: Graduating four starters from last year’s roster, North Olmsted will be young in 2019-20.
The Eagles will be led by returning starter and last year’s leading scorer, Jared Strong (10.5 PPG). Coach Frolo’s team has several underclassmen who will get valuable Varsity experience and will help build for the future. If the other players can develop quickly, along with Strong’s scoring and leadership, there is reason for optimism as the season goes on.
North Ridgeville
Head Coach: Bryan Morgan
Years at school: 8
Last Year’s Overall Record: 12-12 (10-10 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 0
Athletes to Watch: F – Dom Farago (So), F – Caden Masterson (Jr), G – Bryce Neumann (Jr), G – Nate Theus (Jr)
2019 Season Outlook: The Rangers will be extremely young in 2019 but Coach Morgan feels confident that his roster of smart hard working athletes will finish the year strong.
Olmsted Falls
Head Coach: Chris DeLisio
Years at school: 10
Last Year’s Overall Record: 23-3 (16-2 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 0
Athletes to Watch: G – Josh Andrews (Sr), G – Matt Harris (Sr), G – Joe Lippus (Sr), G – Mason Olitsky (Sr), G – Drew Sagerman (Sr)
2019 Season Outlook: After graduating all of their starters form the 2018-19 roster, the Bulldogs have a good amount of depth and should be able to shoot the ball well. Coach DeLisio hopes his team will improve over the course of the season as they try to mesh together as a team as they play a variety of players 9-12 graders.
Westlake
Head Coach: Jeff Huber
Years at school: 1
Last Year’s Overall Record: 10-14 (9-9 SWC)
Number of Returning Starters: 2
Athletes to Watch: F – Dylan Bednar (Jr), F – Justin Garcia (Jr), F – Joe Klessel (Sr), G – Nate Klima (Sr), G – Tyler Kolocouris (Sr), F – Austin Norris (Jr), G – Cal Reghi (Jr), G – Matt Sarsam (Sr), G – Michael Stenger (Jr), G – Charlie Zkiab (Jr).
2019 Season Outlook: The Demons are under a new regime with Coach Huber at the helm. Westlake anticipates a team that plays fast and plays a lot of players. They will need contributions from many players to reach their potential. Coach Huber would expect the Demons to make great strides throughout the season so as to hopefully be peaking by the end of the season.
