Ranger Fall Sports Roundup
Most of the Lakewood High School fall sports wrapped up their seasons over the past week. Here is a rundown:
Girls Tennis finished a solid season at the district tournament. The team finished 9-7 overall with a 5-4 conference record. The team placed overall 5th in the Southwest conference and both first (Ally Latham and Gabby Eisel) and second (Sarah Yonkers and Molly Roche) doubles placed fourth in the conference. Second doubles overcame adversity as one player (Haley Stanitis) was sick and a JV player (Molly Roche) stepped in and performed very well. “I'm looking forward for all girls to continue playing throughout the year and looking forward to next season to a better, stronger team,” said Head Coach Lucy Finnegan.
Volleyball defeated Parma 3-0 in their first round OHSAA tournament game at Strongsville High School. It was a total team effort, with senior Gabby Wine leading the way with numerous kills. Seniors Amelia Richardson, Hannah Marek and Courtney Moran had a strong match, as did junior Tori Donegan, who served the Rangers to a big comeback in set one. The Rangers trailed the first set 24-18 after a sluggish start, but rattled off seven consecutive points to take the lead and eventually the set. They then took the second and third sets handily to finish the sweep.
Girls Soccer fell to St. Joseph Academy in a hard-fought overtime tournament loss at St. Ignatius High School. The Jaguars scored the “Golden Goal” early in the first overtime to take a 2-1 win. Senior Halle Krebs, the team’s leading scorer, made the team’s goal in the second half to tie the game. Krebs missed most of the season due to a serious injury, but battled back to play in this game. Her Lakewood career is now over, but she has committed to play Division I college soccer next year at Belmont University. Krebs was one of many Rangers that missed multiple games due to injuries this season.
Girls Cross Country The Rangers finished seventh at the Southwest Conference Championships on October 15th. Junior Leonie Klein led the team at the Championship, finishing tenth overall. Senior Olivia Rodriguez finished 34th, followed closely by junior Jing Feng (37th), junior Abby LaForm (38th) and senior Rachel Lowell (39th). Freshman Kate Dyke and Sophomore Sofi Dunay also ran, gaining valuable experience.
Mike Deneen
Mike Deneen has extensive experience covering sports and community stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mike has been a Senior Industry Analyst for the Freedonia Group in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1998. He has appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell, NPR’s MarketPlace and has been quoted multiple times in The Wall Street Journal. He has made multiple guest appearances on ESPN Cleveland radio. Mike also writes for Inside Northwestern, a website that covers Northwestern Wildcat Athletics. You can reach him on Twitter at @MikeDeneen1