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Zoe Thatcher, a sophomore for Mason High School, competes in the 200-yard Freestyle on Feb. 11. Thatcher won Saturday night’s 200 freestyle race in 1:50.03.

Marc Hardin reports:

Mason’s Zoe Thatcher set a meet record in the 500-yard freestyle event Saturday night during the swimming session of the Southwest District Division I girls’ meet at Miami University. Thatcher, a sophomore, bolted to a finishing time of 4 minutes and 50.72 seconds, breaking the record of 4:51.97 set in 2010 by Turpin’s Molly Hazelbaker.

Other updates from Saturday’s big-school girls’ meet:

Thatcher also won Saturday night’s 200 freestyle race in 1:50.03. She is part of a Comet contingent heading to next week’s state meet in Canton. Mason finished second to Ursuline Academy in the final team standings in Oxford.

Ursuline received a big win from sophomore Temarie Tomley, who took the 100 freestyle in 51.49. The Lions also got a lift from their winning 200 freestyle relay team, which finished in 1:36.38 with Tomley swimming the first leg.

Ursuline did not clinch first place at the meet until Bridget Blood touched the wall as the Lions’ last swimmer in the meet-concluding 400 freestyle relay. Ursuline received 40 points for the win; third-place Mason was awarded 32.

The Comets trailed Ursuline by 12 points entering the 400 free relay, but the Lions were more than three seconds faster than Mason in the event. Mason led the Lions by 10 points after 10 events, but Ursuline picked up 34 points in Event 11, the 100 breaststroke, while the Comets earned 12.

“It was very close, almost too close,” Ursuline coach Brad Isham said. “I’m happy for the girls because this is a big goal for them.”

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: canton, comets, freestyle, mason, mason high school, miami university, record, southwest district division i girls' meet, swimming, ursuline academy, zoe thatcher

Zoe Thatcher, a sophomore for Mason High School, competes in the 200-yard Freestyle. Thatcher's time of 1:54.14 put her in first place and an automatic qualifier for the District Championships next week.

Mason senior Brad Lebling was named the GMC Swimmer of the Year on Feb. 3. The Enquirer/Liz Dufour

The Comets finished in a close second at the Division I Section swim meet at Mason on Saturday.

Ursuline Academy won the day’s sectional over host Mason with a victory in the final event — the 400 freestyle relay.

The top 32 times in each race from across the four southwest sectional meets and the top two finishers in each race automatically qualify for the District meet Saturday at Miami University.

Mason sophomore Zoe Thatcher took first place in the 200 freestyle (1:54.14) and the 500 freestyle (5:01.60), making her an automatic qualifier for the District Championships next week.

In other swimming news, Thatcher was named female Swimmer of the Year at  the Greater Miami Conference Championships held at Mason on Feb. 3.  Teammate Brad Lebling, a senior, was named the male Swimmer of the Year.

Mason’s Megan Helwagen and Sean Sarget were both named Outstanding Divers for the meet.

Mason girls took home the GMC title in that competition.  The boys finished second to Sycamore.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: brad lebling, comets, district championships, gmc, greater miami conference, mason, mason high school, megal helwagen, outstanding divers, sean sarget, swimmer of the year, swimming, zoe thatcher

JD Sprague

Tom Groeschen reports:

Mason kept alive its hopes for a share of the 2012 Greater Miami Conference boys’ basketball championship Friday night, as the Comets beat visiting Middletown 66-55.

Senior guard J.D. Sprague led Mason with 28 points and six assists, senior forward Darin Harris scored 13, and senior forward Mike Van Kleunen scored 10. Harris had seven rebounds, as did senior guard Tim Reale. Reale also had six assists.

Middletown (14-5, 11-2 GMC) already has clinched at least a share of the league title. For Middletown, it is the program’s first GMC title since the 1994-95 season.

Mason (16-3, 10-3 GMC) squared its season series with the Middies, who won the teams’ first meeting 72-58 at Middletown in December.

Middletown was led by sophomore forward Vincent Edwards with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Geovonie McKnight had 18 points and senior guard Zach Edwards scored 10 for the Middies.

Middletown still can win the GMC title outright when the Middies play at Colerain (8-9 overall entering Friday) in their final regular season game next week. Mason also will be favored in its final regular season game, at Oak Hills (7-10 entering Friday) next week.

Mason entered Friday’s game tied for second (with Lakota West) in the league, two games behind Middletown.

Middletown entered Friday with a five-game winning streak.

The Middies are ranked No. 3 and Mason is No. 4 in The Enquirer Division I area coaches poll.

Middletown played without 6-6 sophomore center Chance Sorrell, who usually starts for the Middies. Sorrell suffered a lower leg injury in Tuesday’s 81-79 win over Princeton.

Mason led 36-31 at halftime, as a large Senior Night crowd watched

Mason rushed to an early 10-0 lead and never trailed in the first half, as the Comets’ noisy student section shouted approval. The students, as they always do at Mason games, filled an entire end zone behind one of the baskets.

Middletown did fight back to tie the game on three occasions before halftime, before Mason pulled back out for the five-point halftime lead.

Sprague had 16 first-half points and Harris had 12 for Mason.

For Middletown, Vincent Edwards had 16 points in the first half and McKnight scored eight.

Mason led 47-42 after three quarters. Middletown twice drew within one points in the third quarter but could not forge ahead.

Middletown did not score for almost the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, as Mason extended its lead to 50-42. Mason led 53-44 with 3:26 left, and Middletown could not get closer.

Middletown (14-5, 11-2 GMC) – Z. Edwards 4 1 10, V. Edwards 8 1 20, Marshall 2 0 4, McKnight 6 6 18, Holdbrook 1 0 3. Totals: 21 8 55.

Mason (16-3, 10-3) – Sprague 9 7 28, Reale 2 0 4, Harris 4 1 13, Van Kleunen 4 2 10, McVey 3 1 7, Matula 0 2 2, Niehoff 1 0 2. Totals: 23 13 66.

Halftime: Mason 36-31. 3-pointers: Midd 5 (V. Edwards 3, Z. Edwards, Holdbrook); Mas 7 (Harris 4, Sprague 3).

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: boys basketball, comets, darin harris, geovonie mcknight, gmc, jd sprague, mason, middletown, mike van kleunen, tim reale, varsity basketball, vincent edwards

Adam Kiefaber reports:

Briana Glover

The Mason Comets (14-6 overall, 10-4 in the Greater Miami Conference) defeated a Lakota West (12-8 overall, 7-7 in the GMC) team, who had won six of its last seven games, by the score of 46-27 Saturday afternoon.

Mason senior Briana Glover, who will continue her career at Xavier University, led all players in scoring with 20 points and in rebounds with 10.

Meanwhile, off the bench, senior Ali Zieverink scored 13 points in only nine minutes of playing time for the Firebirds.

The game officially ends the regular season for both teams.

For Lakota West, the postseason will begin Wednesday at 6 p.m. when it will face Loveland (4-16 overall, 3-13 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference) at Harrison High School. Mason, on the other hand, will begin its postseason Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lakota East High School where it will play the winner of a Wednesday night matchup between Mt. Notre Dame (5-15 overall, 2-8 in the Girls Greater Cincinnati League) and Anderson (14-6 overall, 11-5 in the FAVC).

Mason 46, Lakota West 27

Lakota West (12-8, 7-7 in the GMC) – Cannatelli 3 0 7, Mills 1 0 2, Zieverink 6 1 13, Sh. Reeves 2 0 5. Totals: 121 27.

Mason (14-6 overall, 10-4 in the GMC) – Glover 7 5 20, McDowell 2 4 8, Neal 1 4 6, Garner 0 1 1, Herren 1 1 3, Gunn 2 2 6, Ammons 1 0 2. Totals: 14 17 46.

Halftime: Mason 23-8. 3-pointers: L 2 (Cannatelli, Sh. Reeves); M 1 (Glover).

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: ali zieverink, basketball, briana glover, comets, firebirds, girls basketball, gmc, lady comets, lakota firebirds, lakota west, mason, mason high school, varsity basketball

Mark Schmetzer reports:

Mason dive teammates Megan Helwagen and Maddie Sewell believe records are made to be broken – even when they belong to each other.

On her way to winning the Greater Miami Conference championship at Mason last Friday, Helwagen broke the GMC and Mason pool records set by Sewell the previous year.

The case also could be made that Helwagen simply reclaimed the GMC record she’d set two years ago and watched Sewell break last year.

Either way, the two Comets have a spirited, friendly rivalry that could spur them in post-season action, which got under way Wednesday at the Division I sectional diving event at the Miami University Aquatic Center.

New level, same scenario. Helwagen, a senior who finished ninth in the state last season, was leading Sewell by just .15 points in the battle for the top two positions in the Mason sectional after eight rounds, but Sewell came back with her final three dives to win the sectional by 10.5 points and finish second overall with a score of 459.10.

“It doesn’t bother our friendship,” said Sewell, a Mason junior who finished fifth in the state last year and was runnerup to Helwagen at this year’s GMC meet. “It’s more (of a rivalry) during competition.”

St. Ursula senior Emily Mosher broke her own school record, finishing with a 475.75 to earn her second consecutive overall championship in the three-sectional event. Mosher, a University of Florida recruit, went on last season to finish third in the district meet and sixth in the state.

“I’ve learned to take it one dive at a time,” Mosher said. “I always stay focused. If I mess up a dive, I move on. I don’t hang on to mistakes.”

Helwagen finished second in the Mason sectional scoring with a 448.6. Mt. Notre Dame senior Mary-kate Mullinger, who finished 15th in the state last season, finished second in the Keating sectional with a 404.30.

Wednesday’s session determined two qualifiers from each of the Mason, Keating and Centerville sectional meets, plus an additional 18 at-large qualifiers for next Wednesday’s district diving meet, also at Miami.

Division I and II boys and girls sectional sectional swimming is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Mason and Keating Natatorium on the St. Xavier High School campus.

The state meet is scheduled for Feb. 22-25 at the C.T. Branim Natatorium in Canton.

While Helwagen and Sewell try to outdo each other, they also help each other, Sewell said.

“She helps me calm down and relax, and I do the same for her,” Sewell said.

Sewell figured that kind of therapy will come in handy during the post-season.

“I don’t know about Megan, but I’m nervous,” she said before last night’s event. “I’m confident I’ll do well. I’ve been training all season for this.”

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, girls diving, greater miami conference, maddie sewell, mason high school, megan helwagen, miami university aquatic center, sectionals division i

Brian Butts reports:

Enquirer Media is excited to announce the release of Enquirer Varsity, a new High School Sports app for both the iPhone and Android.

Varsity contains all of the latest headlines from the Enquirer and Community Press and Recorder, recruiting news, game photos, video, live scores and schedules for high school sports in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

To download the free app, search for “Enquirer Varsity” in either the iTunes app store or the Android Marketplace, or scan this QR code:

Help us continue to improve our apps! Submit your feedback here.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: android, app, cincinnati, comets, high school sports, iphone, mason, mason high school, qr code, scores, sports

In more women’s soccer news today, Mason High School senior Gabrielle Whitt committed this week to Tusculum College.

The soccer standout helped the Lady Comets win conference, sectional and district championships and to finish in 2011 as regional runner-up with an 18-3-1 record.

“Gabby sees the field well and distributes the ball, elevating her teammates around her,” said Tusculum head women’s soccer coach Mike Joy. “I am quite please with our 2012 recruiting class.”

The Tusculum Pioneers finished 10-7-2 overall in 2011 and shared a third place finish in the final South Atlantic Conference standings with a 5-4 league record.  The Greeneville, Tenn.-based college is a NCAA Division II school.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, lady comets, mason, mason high school, mike joy, ncaa division ii, pioneers, soccer, tusculum college

Former Mason soccer standout Haley Haffner, right, seen here in 2010, recently signed to play soccer for Western Kentucky University. File photo

A former Mason soccer standout was among five athletes to join the Western Kentucky University Lady Topper soccer team this week.

Haley Haffner, a 5-foot-8-inch midfielder, played three years at Mason High School, where she was credited with helping the team win its first district championship in nearly a decade before moving in her senior year to Noblesville, Indiana.  She was ranked No. 3 in Indiana in 2011.

While in Mason, Haffner was also a part of two Ohio State Cup Championship teams with the Ohio Elite ECNL and competed with the Ohio South ODP team.

“Haley is a very gifted technical player,” said WKU women’s soccer head coach Jason Neidell.  “She is smooth on the ball, has an excellent touch, and is very good in possession. She also has the size and athleticism to become a dominating presence in the midfield.”

WKU finished the 2011 season with a 13-6-3 record, according to its athletic site.  The Lady Toppers competed for the second time in four years in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship, where they defeated Middle Tennessee and North Texas.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, haley haffner, lady comets, lady toppers, mason, mason high school, soccer, western kentucky university

Mason's JD Sprague drives to the basket during the game against Lakota West on Friday, Feb. 3,2012. (Tony Tribble for the Enquirer)

Senior wing Jackson Blue calmly hit two free throws with 45 seconds to play and Lakota West clinging to a three-point lead and the Firebirds held on to upset No. 3 Mason 73-65 Friday night at Mason.

The Firebirds are unranked in the latest Division I Enquirer coaches’ poll.

• Photos: Mason vs. Lakota West

Senior wing Kayuane Ross hit one of two free throws one possession later and junior wing Monty Boykins added two more to ice the game for Lakota West in the closing seconds.

“I’m just trying to relax and go through my normal routine so I can knock it down,” Blue said of his late free throws. “I just did what I do normally and made the shots. It’s just practice. Coach has us shoot a lot of free throws. It’s routine, so I’m used to just stepping up to the line and making a shot.”

Mason furiously trimmed a late 68-58 deficit to three points, led by senior guard JD Sprague who scored six in a 7-0 Mason run that put the Comets in position to tie the game. That set up Blue at the line with less than a minute to play.

“They were playing really well,” Boykins said. “They were trapping us and we had to make a few quick adjustments. I think we handled it pretty well. It was pretty nerve-wracking. It’s just the will to win. We had more heart than them tonight.”

Boykins scored a team high 25 points, junior point guard Ali Barnes scored 17 and Blue added 16 as West avenged a 70-60 loss to the Comets Jan. 6 at Lakota West.

Sprague led all scorers with a season-high 26 points. Mason senior forward Darin Harris added 14 for the Comets.

“It feels great to come in here and steal a win at Mason Arena,” Boykins said. “It’s always been tough for us every time we play here. It’s the first time I’ve ever won here. It was definitely something that motivated us, to get them back.”

Mason had beaten Lakota West in the teams’ three previous meetings. The Firebirds’ last win over Mason was a 59-55 overtime final Jan. 15, 2010 at Mason.

Blue said the Firebirds let a win slip away in the first game this season. This time, the Firebirds didn’t falter.

The Comets led briefly in the third quarter when a layup by Sprague put Mason In front 43-42. But Lakota West surged ahead for good when a free throw by sophomore Tyler Williams made the score 46-45 with 5:55 to play in the third.

“It was a big game for us,” Blue said. “We played them earlier in the season. We were up on them and we let them come back into it. We had a big lead again today and they started to come back. We just wouldn’t let them.”

Lakota West led 42-41 at halftime after leading by as many as 10 points twice in the second quarter. Senior guard Jonathan DeLotell hit a 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer for Mason to give the Comets momentum heading into the locker room. Sprague scored 13 points in the second quarter for Mason.

Lakota West put together a rally of its own in the first quarter after trailing 4-0 early and 8-4 midway through the opening period. Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 3:45 to play in the first to give the Firebirds their first lead of the game at 12-11. Lakota West led 24-19 after the first quarter and never trailed again in the first half.

“We played hard defense, played together and it was a good team win,” Blue said. We can get a lot better.”

Lakota West (11-6, 8-3 GMC): Ross 0 1 1, Blue 4 7 16, Barnes 4 7 17, Stalker 2 1 5, Williams 2 1 7, Boykins 9 3 25, Grove 1 0 2. Totals 22 20 73.

Mason (14-3, 8-3): McVey 1 2 5, Sprague 9 5 26, Niehoff 2 0 4, DeLotell 1 0 3, Reed 1 1 3, Reale 1 0 2, Harris 6 2 14, Van Kleunen 1 6 8. Totals 22 16 65.

3-pointers: LW 9 (Boykins 4, Williams 2, Barnes 2, Blue) M 5 (Sprague 3, McVey, DeLotell).

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, boys basketball, comets, darin harris, firebirds, jd sprague, lakota west, mason, mason high school, timothy reale, todd reed, varsity

Nineteen Mason athletes signed Letters of Intent at Mason's Signing Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Nineteen Mason High School seniors signed letters of intent to play sports for college programs at Mason’s Signing Day event Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday marked the start of the NCAA signing period for football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.

• Photos: Mason athletes celebrate Signing Day with family, coaches

The number of Mason student athletes making commitments is not unusual, said Mason athletic director Scott Stemple.  The school averages between 15 and 20 athletes making commitments at this time each year.

Mason Athletic Director Scott Stemple praises the 19 Mason athletes signing letters of intent at the school's annual Signing Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Stemple also emphasized that not only are Mason’s signees standouts in their sports, but many also boast high GPAs.  The average GPA for all fall teams is 3.45, he said.

“We’re proud of that; it’s something we stress,” he said.  “It’s a compliment to our school and district academically and to our coaching staff and programs.”

Football marked the biggest draw of the day, with five athletes making college gridiron commitments.  But girls’ sports were not to be overshadowed — Lady Comets comprised 12 of the day’s signees.

MasonBuzz will spotlight each of the signees and their accomplishments this week and next.  Below is the list of signees, their sport and intended college program.

Courtney Curtis, Girls Lacrosse, University of Cincinnati

Trista Kuehn, Girls Lacrosse, Coastal Carolina University

Jamie Ellison, Girls Golf, Ohio Dominican University

Anna Carley, Volleyball, Wake Forest University

Briana Glover, Basketball, Xavier University

Adam Court, Track and Field, University of Cincinnati

Taylor Reid, Track and Field, Miami University

Monica Lake, Cross Country/Track, Oklahoma State University

MacKenzie Jensen, Cross Country/track, Western Carolina University

Bridget McElhenny, Cross Country/Track, University of Dayton

Meredith Touby, Cross Country/Track, Taylor University

Breanne Keenan, Swimming, University of Delaware

Morgan Emter, Swimming, University of West Virginia

Erik Dow, Soccer, Cincinnati State University

Joe Spencer, Football, University of Illinois

Josh Dooley, Football, Miami University

Adam Hillen, Football, Tiffin University

Connor Noe, Football, Brigham Young University

Adam Brandt, Football, Capital University

Posted in: Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: athletes, comets, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, lady comets, letters of intent, mason, mason high school, signing day, soccer, track