The Akron Touchdown Club Foundation will present its annual Winter Sports Banquet of Champions on Monday at Guy’s Party Centre
Board member Ed Kalail said festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. and more than 130 student-athletes and coaches will be honored. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by calling Dick Rinella at 330-773-4626.
Athletes and coaches will be honored in basketball, wrestling, bowling, gymnastics, swimming and diving.
The following athletes were chosen as players of the year in their sports:
Boys basketball — Stow’s David Walker.
Girls basketball — Ravenna’s DiAndra Gibson (Portage County) and Twinsburg’s Malina Howard (Summit County).
Wrestlers — Wadsworth’s Nick Tavanello (Summit/Medina County), Rootstown’s Garrett Linton, (Portage County) and Garrettsville’s Kevin Strock (Portage County).
Gymnasts — Stow’s Allison Marino and Cloverleaf’s Maddie Brandt.
Boys bowler — Nordonia’s Ryan Liederbach.
Girls bowler — Wadsworth’s Alexandra Shirley.
Boys swimmers — Firestone’s Mark Belanger and Cuyahoga Falls’ Andrew Appleby.
Girls swimmers — Firestone’s Katie Miller and Walsh Jesuit’s Danielle Margheret.
Boys divers — Hudson’s Alex Obendorf and Nordonia’s Stephen Romanik.
Girls divers — Hudson’s Taryn McLaughlin and Hudson’s Rachel Speakman.
The following coaches were chosen as coaches of the year in their sport:
Boys basketball — East’s Ross Fiorello.
Girls basketball — Twinsburg’s Julie Solis (Summit County) and Ravenna’s Sonny Tilden (Portage County).
Wrestling — Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Don Lorence (Summit County) and Rootstown’s Craig Wise (Portage County).
The following state champions will be honored:
Wrestlers — Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Nathan Tomasello (Div. II, 113 pounds), Walsh Jesuit’s Nate Skonieczny (Div. II, 138), Rootstown’s Garrett Linton (Div. III, 195), Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Matt Meadows (Div. II, 220) and Wadsworth’s Nick Tavanello (Div. I, 285).
Boys diver — Hudson’s Alex Obendorf (Div. I).
Girls basketball — Twinsburg (Div. I).
Coon changes coaching job
Copley Athletic Director Jim Borchik announced that Steve Coon will be coaching the boys golf team again at Copley after recently guiding the Indians’ girls basketball program.
Coon served as the girls basketball coach for seven years over two separate stints. He won 100 games and Suburban League championships in 2003 and 2009.
Coon returns to coach the boys golf team he previously led from 1999-2010. Coon’s greatest coaching moment came in 2003, when the Indians won the Division 1 state title.
Copley has begun its search for a girls basketball coach.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
