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Loud & proud: Waynedale girls back at state

• col-aaron-dorksen
• March 9, 2022
• 1179

A few thoughts from the week in sports …

Two words best summed up the Waynedale girls basketball team’s thrilling 44-43 win over Warrensville Heights in the Div. III Cuyahoga Falls regional title game on March 5.

“It was amazing,” Golden Bears coach Rick Geiser said. “And it was loud. After the game us coaches were talking, and all agreed that’s exactly how a high school basketball regional championship game should be.”

Waynedale (28-0) became the first girls basketball team in Wayne County history to earn back-to-back State Final Four trips.

There are two big differences between the regional titles the Bears won on the floor at Cuyahoga Falls.

After graduating 2/3 of its scoring, a new group of girls have led the charge.

And it sounded like the fans were about ready to charge onto the floor this past weekend.

“Last year when we beat South Range (55-41), because of COVID there were a limited number of fans permitted in the gym, and they had to sit in the upper bowl of the gym,” Geiser said. “On Saturday it was really hard to communicate with our players out on the floor because it was so loud.

“Both fan bases were well-represented. The lower stands were just about full, and there were people in the upper bowl too. Our fans showed up loud and proud. It was a game filled with lots of emotions, big ebbs and flows, and I’m just really proud of our girls to be able to get the win. Both teams deserved to win.”

Alyssa Geiser led the Bears with 20 points, helped by four 3-pointers. Brooklyn Yoder (eight points), Alyce Yoder (six points, six rebounds), Cherlyn Miller (six rebounds, four assists) and Mckenna Baney also had big games.

Warrensville Heights had girls who are 6-foot-2 and 6-1 and combined to average 45 points a game. The Bears, whose tallest player was 5-9, held the Div. I college prospects to a combined 16 points.

“We’ve won all year with our defense,” said Geiser, whose team switched between man-to-man and a triangle-and-two defense. “After the final timeout, a couple of our girls said, ‘Let’s go get one more stop.’”

The Bears advanced to the state semifinals at Dayton University’s UD Arena, where they’ll face Worthington Christian on Thursday at 2 p.m.

Playing the first state semifinals game in school history last year, the Bears lost 46-36 against Ottawa-Glandorf. Few expected Waynedale to return to Dayton, but here they are, and it’s a credit to a great coaching staff and hard-working, unselfish group of girls.

“It’s very special to go to the Final Four again,” Geiser said. “A big shout-out goes to our seniors from last year for starting our run and this year’s seniors for leading the way as we’ve continued it. We’ve received tremendous leadership both years.”

Reed steps down as
Dalton coach

Kaleb Reed led an outstanding three-year run as the Dalton boys basketball coach but decided to step down shortly after a season-ending 60-56 loss against Cornerstone Christian in a Div. IV Norton District semifinal on March 1.

Cornerstone Christian then lost in the district final against Richmond Heights in an absolutely loaded district for Div. IV.

The Bulldogs (19-5 in 2021-22) won the WCAL title three straight years, and Reed compiled a 56-15 overall record. Three of the Bulldogs’ losses this season were to Div. I teams: Mentor, Akron Hoban and Cleveland Rhodes.

The 33-year-old Reed, who will remain at Dalton as a teacher, listed several reasons for his decision.

“My wife, Briana, and I are expecting a daughter, whose due date is later this month,” Reed said. “I want to be able to spend as much time with my daughter as possible. Also, coaching can be pretty stressful. It wears on you. I felt this was the right time to step away because there will be a lot of talent coming back for whoever the new coach is.”

The Bulldogs will graduate Jalen Wenger, the area’s second all-time leading scorer, and Jaden Schlabach.

However, Dalton will return a strong group of underclassmen led by starters Braylon Wenger, Kyrie Gaut and Quentin Lehman.

Wenger left his mark

Jalen Wenger will go down as one of Wayne County’s all-time best players.

The 6-foot-4 guard/forward finished his career with 1,947 points, passing Dalton alum Ryan Berg (1,945) for second on the all-time area scoring list.

Northwestern alum Derek Koch, a senior at Ashland University, is this area’s all-time leading scorer (1,967) and rebounder.

Wenger called it a great four years playing at Dalton.

“It was some of the most fun I’ll ever have in my life, and I have no regrets about playing for Dalton,” Wenger said. “I’m thankful I got to spend my time there. I wish we could’ve won a little more in the tournament, but three WCAL championships in a row was a pretty special thing.”

Wenger said he set a goal to become one of Wayne County’s greatest players but never focused on records or statistics.

“I feel as though if you’re worried about setting records, it’ll never work out the way you plan it, and it’ll just put unnecessary pressure on yourself,” he said. “I just tried to play every game to win, and if that means I score a lot, then that’s cool, but if not, then so be it.

“I also couldn’t have put myself in that position without my coaches and teammates believing in me, so they are just as much a part of it as me.”

A number of Div. I and II colleges have shown interest in Wenger, and he has a Div. II offer from Wheeling University.

Parting shots

Best wishes to the area’s state wrestling qualifiers, who will compete at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center March 11-13.

Also, congrats to the Hiland and Norwayne boys basketball teams, who advanced to regional basketball action.

It’s been quite a week for College of Wooster basketball alums Lamont Paris (1996) and Ryan Pedon (2000).

Paris has been the head coach at Chattanooga since 2017, and the Mocs won the SoCon title 64-63 over Furman with a buzzer beater to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Pedon was named the head coach at Illinois State after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant at Ohio State.

According to COW SID Kevin Smith, Paris and Pedon are among a group of five Fighting Scots alums to lead a Div. I men’s program. They join L.W. St. John (Ohio State 1911-19), Reggie Minton (Dartmouth 1983-84 and Air Force 1984-2000) and Larry Shyatt (Wyoming 1997-98 and 2011 and Clemson 1998-2003).

Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AaronDorksen.