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Mason’s Kayla MacDowell attempts a layup during Saturday’s Division I district final game against Fairborn at Harrison High School.

Kevin Kelly reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, firebirds, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, kettering fairmont, mason, mason high school, nutter center, rob matula, sports

Jarrod Ulrey reports:

Crystal Kratzer made the best of a difficult situation the last two months.

During a meet in January, the Mason sophomore broke the big toe on her left foot while competing on the beam, sidelining her for more than a month. When she returned, Kratzer was only able to compete on bars.

That didn’t derail an eventual spot for her on the state podium, however, as she scored 9.225 in her only state event Saturday at Hilliard Bradley to finish third behind Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ Alecia Farina (9.400) and Jessica Matia (9.325).

“I’m pretty proud of it, especially since I had to compete with a broken toe,” Kratzer said. “The bars were the only event I was able to compete in unfortunately. I’m also pretty proud of our team.”

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Tags: Tags: audrey harpen, brooke middleton, comets, crystal kratzer, gabrielle sora, gymnastics, high beams, hilliard bradley, mason, mason high school

Mason gymnastics team / Photo provided

Jarrod Ulrey reports:

After losing five seniors from the team that finished fourth at the state team gymnastics meet a year ago, Mason did its best to compete like veterans Friday at Bradley.

One thing the Comets did to simulate what it would be like to perform on the beam at the same time that Brecksville-Broadview Heights would be competing on the floor exercise to begin the meet was turn up the music to its loudest and have teammates and other onlookers scream during a recent practice.

It helped, as a younger Comets team put together a strong showing in the beam and a fifth-place finish overall that was just .325 points away from duplicating last year’s finish.

“We were on the same routine as Brecksville, and they’re always really loud,” coach Kelly Wones said. “We graduated five from last year, so we have a really young team and for the most part they did well. We turned up the music as loud as it would go (during practice) and it really helped them for sure.”

Mason scored 138.800 to place fifth in the 12-team state meet. Brecksville-Broadview Heights won the championship with 148.325.

The Comets’ top scores came on vault (35.350) and floor (35.050), and it also recorded a 34.425 on beam.

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Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: audrey harpen, beam, bradley, brecksville-broadview heights, brooke middleton, comets, gabrielle sora, gymnastics, kelly wones, maggie fewell, mason high school, nina tavernier, sports

Mason’s Aly Herren (5) and Sarah Ammons (20) watch as a teammate cuts a piece of the basketball net after the Comets’ win against Fairborn in Saturday’s Division I district final at Harrison.

Mark Schmetzer reports:

By the last minute, Kayla McDowell could laugh off missing two free throws.

Mason was that much in control, thanks primarily to the senior and her running mate, junior Jenna Gunn.

McDowell scored 24 points, two short of matching her career high, and Gunn tied her’s with 23 as Mason rolled to a 64-48 win over Fairborn in a Division I district championship game Saturday at Harrison High School.

• Photos: Mason defeats Fairborn

“We always know where each other is,” said the Missouri-bound McDowell, with her piece of the net tied around the district championship medal draped around her neck. “We work well together.”

The two teamed up to give the Comets their biggest lead, with Gunn feeding McDowell with a deft no-look interior pass for a layup and, on the next trip down the floor, McDowell setting up Gunn for a layup that left Mason leading, 60-40, with 3:01 left in the game.

Those were two of the impressive 17 assists Mason racked up on 26 field goals, a ratio that didn’t surprise coach Rob Matula.

“We always do a nice job of being unselfish,” he said. “That’s what makes us a team. We never focus on one person.”

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Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, fairborn, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, mason, mason high school, rob matula, sports

Princeton’s Jasmyn Hardin (22) battles Kings guard Mackenzie Seiter for a rebound on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (Tony Tribble for the Enquirer)

Mike Dyer reports:

Princeton continued a significant streak of sectional titles Monday night as the Vikings defeated Kings 71-35 at Lakota East.

Kelsey Mitchell had 17 points, Chelsea Mitchell added 16 and Carlie Pogue had 15 for the Vikings (18-7).

Princeton advances to play Winton Woods (18-6) in a Division I district final at 5 p.m. Saturday at Harrison.

• Photos: Kings fall to Princeton

Winton Woods, ranked No. 5 in The Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll, has won four consecutive games this month since a 56-49 loss to Princeton on Feb. 6.

“I think they are a tough matchup,” Princeton coach Jill Phillips said.

Princeton, ranked No. 2 in The Enquirer poll, has won eight consecutive games overall. Princeton defeated Hamilton 51-44 in the Division I sectional semifinals Feb. 21.

Kelsey Mitchell, a junior guard, had 13 of her 17 points in the first half Monday night. Mitchell finished with seven assists.

“I thought she did a great job in the first half getting us going offensively and defensively,” Phillips said. “…Her points are sometimes very quiet…but she gives us so much.”

Mitchell was named last week the District 16 Coaches’ Association Division I player of the year despite playing in just seven regular-season games due to injury.

Mitchell returned to the starting lineup from a foot injury Jan. 30 against Hamilton. She injured her foot at Lakota West Dec. 1.

Phillips said Monday night it was good to continue to get Mitchell back in the flow of the game this postseason.

Going into Monday’s game, Mitchell averaged 22.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 steals. Mitchell is ranked the nation’s No. 4 player in the 2014 class by the ESPN.com/HoopGurlz Super 60 rankings and was a preseason All-American by USA Today. She has been the District 16 player of the year three consecutive years.

On Monday, the Vikings started quickly against Kings. Princeton led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and led 38-19 at halftime. Princeton led 58-29 at the end of the third quarter.

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Tags: Tags: basketball, girls basketball, kings, kings high school, knights, princeton, sports, vikings

Mike Dyer reports:

Mason diving coach Lori Rapp described the Division I state girls’ diving field as one of the most competitive and talent-filled in recent memory in Canton.

With a couple of Olympic Trials qualifiers at the meet, Rapp was hoping for the best with her two divers and they didn’t disappoint.

“They did amazing,” Rapp said.

Mason senior Madeline Sewell was third at the state meet in Canton on Thursday. Sewell had 453.20 points and had the only nine in the event on her last dive, Rapp said.

“She dove out of her mind,” Rapp said.

Sewell, who signed with Michigan State in November, had a previous best state finish of fifth as a sophomore.

Mason junior Sydney Carr (408.75) was 13th in her first meet and Rapp said she “competed like a champion.”

“She had a great meet,” Rapp said. “She went and she competed and realized she belonged there.”

Powell Olentangy Liberty’s Olivia Ball won the state title with 461.75 points in the finals. New Albany’s Estee Pryor was second and Worthington Kilbourne’s Rachel Rubadue was fourth. All three were Olympic Trial qualifiers.

Lakota East junior Abby McConnell (439.35) was seventh and Sycamore junior Andrianna DiMasso (411.50) was 12th.

The Division I boys and girls swimming preliminaries begin at 9 a.m. today with the Division II finals at 5 p.m.

The Division I boys diving competition is 9 a.m. Saturday.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, dive, diving, lori rapp, maddie sewell, madeline sewell, mason, mason high school, state girls diving meet, swim, sydney carr

Kayla McDowell / Photo provided

The Enquirer

Senior forward Kayla McDowell scored a game-high 21 points to lead top-ranked Mason against Oak Hills in the Division I sectional semifinal Wednesday.

McDowell rounded out the night with 10 rebounds, six steals and four assists.

Senior guard Alyssa Herren scored 15 and junior guard Jenna Gunn added 11 points for the Comets.

The Comets held a double-digit lead at halftime, and outscored Oak Hills 27-6 in the second half, disallowing any chance of a comeback.

Mason (20-1) advances to the sectional finals, where it will meet Lakota East on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Kings.

Mason 63, Oak Hills 26

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: alyssa gunn, basketball, comets, division i semifinal, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, lakota east, mason, mason high school

Mason’s Zoe Thatcher competes in the girls’ 500-yard freestyle on Feb. 9, 2013. File photo

Mark Schmetzer reports:

Zoe Thatcher didn’t realize she’d just broken a Division I girls’ district swim meet record until she was standing on the award-winners’ podium.

She didn’t realize the total magnitude of the accomplishment until she stepped down after receiving her medal.

The Mason junior broke the meet’s longest-standing record, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.59 to just squeeze past the 1:48.00 logged by Finneytown’s Buffy Krieger in 1984.

She didn’t know the record had been set long before she was born until it was mentioned to her minutes later.

“I didn’t even realize I broke the record until they said something while I was getting my medal,” said Thatcher, clutching a stuffed purple-blue “Sulley” character from the Disney movie “Monsters, Inc.” – a tribute to Mason coach Mark Sullivan. “Sometimes I think it’s better if you don’t know until later. Then you can be like, ‘Oh, wow.’

“This is probably the biggest record I’ve ever broken,” she added.

Thatcher also broke the meet’s most recent record, the 500 freestyle mark she set last year. Thatcher, the defending 500 freestyle district and state champion, knocked 3.46 seconds off the previous record, finishing in 4:47.26.

“I’m very happy,” she said. “I just wanted to swim my fastest. The record is a bonus.”

Thatcher helped lead the Comets to what coach Mark Sullivan said is the program’s first district championship. They eased past Centerville, 321-302.5, at Miami’s Corwin M. Nixon Aquatics Center, breaking Ursuline’s two-year hold on the title.

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Tags: Tags: abbey esler, comets, corwin m. nixon aquatics center, district championship, dive, jordan decker, julia volpenehein, mark sullivan, mason, mason high school, maureen sullivan, miami, record, swim team, zoe thatcher

Mason girls’ varsity basketball team. Photo provided

Mike Dyer reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, enquirer poll, girls basketball, mason, mason high school, rob matula, sports

Sectional top seed Mason is coming off its first loss of the season against Princeton. Mason’s Madison Melnick battles for a loose ball against Princeton’s Jasmyn Hardin in the second quarter. The Vikings avenged a Dec.15 loss to the Comets. The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason, Talawanda, Middletown Madison, Summit Country Day and Cincinnati Country Day all earned No. 1 seeds at Sunday’s girls’ basketball sectional draw meeting at Wyoming.

The sectional tournament begins for area teams with games in Division II, III and IV on Feb. 13 while the Division I tournament starts up on Feb. 14.

The Division I sectional is a 32-team “super” draw field in which all teams are seeded and they get to choose one of five brackets that lead to the district tournament.

Mason, coming off its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon against Princeton, 64-55, will open on Feb. 20 against the winner of the game between Oak Hills and Woodward in the Cincinnati 1 bracket at Kings.

The Comets (18-1) are ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer coaches’ poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press state poll. They have one game left in the regular season against Colerain this Saturday. A win would clinch their first Greater Miami Conference title.

Princeton (13-7) is the second seed and will open against Northwest on Feb. 16 in the Cincinnati 3 bracket at Lakota East. The Vikings have been bolstered by junior guard Kelsey Mitchell’s return from a broken left foot that forced her to miss 15 games. Mitchell, regarded as the top-ranked player nationally in her class by multiple recruiting services, scored 30 points in the win against Mason.

Princeton has won three consecutive district titles, while Mason has been to the regional tournament three of the last four seasons. Mason lost to three-time reigning regional champ Kettering Fairmont last season.

Lakota West (16-3), Ursuline (15-4), Mercy (16-4) and Winton Woods (13-4) round out the top six seeds. No teams seeded higher than No. 14 are in Mason or Princeton’s brackets.

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Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, girls basketball, girls' basketball sectional, gmc, kings, mason, mason high school, princeton, vikings, wyoming