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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

Kevin Goheen reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, girls basketball, gmc, kayla mcdowell, mason, mason high school, mcauley, mohawks, rob matula, sports

Brandon Kors reports:

The Mason girls bowling team took it upon themselves to receive private instructions in the summer after last season’s loss in districts. So far, the extra practice has resulted in a 10-1 overall record and a 5-0 record in the Greater Miami Conference.

The Comets are ranked number one in the Enquirer area coaches’ poll. The team has made districts the past two years.  Today, the team will compete in the Bearcat High School Classic. The Comets will then gear up for sectionals Feb. 13. Sectionals will be held at Crosstown Lanes or Colerain Bowl.

Mason girls bowling coach Connie Smith said a birth in the state championship is not out of reach. She said she could sense an immediate change in the bowlers from last season, noting that their footwork was significantly better.

“At the beginning of this year I saw every one of the girls bowling technique change significantly and I knew this was going to be a very special team,” Smith said. Senior captain Emily Harrison, who leads the team with an average of 198, has seen a 19 point increase in her average this year.

Smith said she expected a good season and has been very  impressed that the team’s averages have gone up across the board.

“I really did expect a lot this year,” Smith said. “ I wasn’t expecting first placer per se but they have really excelled, the whole team, all their averages have gone up since last year.”

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: bearcat high school classic, bowling, connie smith, emily harrison, girls bowling, gmc, greater miami conference, mason high school, sports

Kevin Goheen reports:

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: boys soccer, comets, firebirds, gmc, jack clark, joshua greenfield, lakota west, mason, mason high school, michael marino, paul reedy, soccer, st. xavier

The Mason High School girls’ varsity golf team. Photo provided

Jarrod Ulrey reports:

To simulate what it might be like at the Division I state girls golf tournament, Mason did a practice round from the back tees at a local course earlier in the week.

For a team that had only one player with previous experience competing on Ohio State’s Gray Course, it was a helpful avenue of preparation heading into the opening round Friday.

The Comets turned in a 323 that leaves them fifth heading into Saturday’s final round.

Massillon Jackson is first with a 309, followed by Medina Highland (311), defending champion Dublin Jerome (313) and Dublin Coffman (318).

Ursuline Academy is sixth after shooting 333.

“We played some rounds from the back tees so that we were used to playing longer,” junior Miranda Dubler said. “It does help. It’s really awesome being at state but it’s nerve-wracking. You feel like with every shot that you didn’t hit it well. But we are a really deep team with a lot of talent.”

Dubler led with a 78 and Tara Liebert, who is the only player remaining from the 2010 state championship team, turned in an 81. Junior Quinn Atkinson (80), senior Macy Hubbard (84) and sophomore Morgan Schaffer (84) also competed.

“It was a steady round,” coach Karen Binzel said. “We would have liked to go lower, but it was not an outlandish score. Quinn was 1-over on the back and there are some really good scores out there, but we’re not completely out of it.”

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Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, girls golf, gmc, golf, gray course, karen binzel, macy hubbard, mason, mason high school, miranda dubler, morgan schaffer, ohio state, quinn atkinson, sports, tara liebert

The 2012-13 Mason boys’ varsity golf team / Photo provided

Marc Hardin reports:

Thursday’s Division I Southwest District boys’ golf tournament at Weatherwax Golf Course began with a 90-minute frost delay and ended with Mason shooting a hot round while making school history.

The Comets received individual scores of 2-over-par 74 from three players and won their first district title with a team score of 300 on the Woodside and Highlands courses.

Mason beat runner-up Centerville (309) by nine shots and finished 13 ahead of third-place Moeller (313). All three teams advance to next week’s big-school state tournament at Ohio State.

The win for the boys made it an historic, double-championship day for Mason. The district-winning girls received their first-place hardware 30 minutes before the boys claimed their winning trophy.

“We’ve never had a team or an individual go to the state tournament until today,” Mason second-year coach Tim Lambert said.

“It’s been a good year because we won the Greater Miami Conference for the first time, too. But this is huge, winning with the girls. We’re really happy to finally be going to state.”

Mason’s Bryan King, Alex Ebel and No. 5 player Braydon Hack carded matching scores of 74. P.J. Greene shot 78 while sophomore Scott Purvis, the Comets’ lone non-senior, came in with an 82.

King won a six-man, three-hole playoff for second place. Vandalia Butler’s Shawn Downing was medalist with a 72.

“Our upperclassmen closed the back nine with amazing golf,” Lambert said. “To get three 74s is incredible.”

Ebel, who has been playing with a sore back, shot 35 on the back nine.

“Going to state for the first time, in my senior year, is sweet,” said Ebel. “Now we have to do what the girls did when they won state. We got to win this year then build a dynasty.”

Moeller was led by a score of 74 from Andrew Benza. Amelia’s Jake Brinker qualified to state as an individual after shooting a 74.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: alex ebel, boys golf, braydon hack, bryan king, centerville, comets, gmc, golf, greater miami conference, highlands courses, history, mason, mason high school, p.j. greene, scott purvis, tim lambert, weatherwax golf course, woodside

Mason golf coaches Tim Lambert and Karen Binzel. Photos provided

Chase Howell reports:

Mason swept the Greater Miami Conference Golf Tournament (Sept. 18, 19 and 21), winning both the boys’ and girls’ titles. For the Comets, senior Tara Liebert led the girls with a combined two-day score of 148, while senior Alex Ebel posted a team-high 149 for the boys. The Mason girls won by 36 strokes.

“We had five girls finish in the top 10, so it was great to have that kind of depth,” Mason girls’ coach Karen Binzel said.

Binzel, in her first season as varsity coach, was named GMC Coach of the Year. On the boys’ side, Mason coach Tim Lambert was also named GMC Coach of the Year.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: alex ebel, coach of the year, comets, gmc, golf, greater miami conference tournament, karen binzel, mason, mason high school, tara liebert, tim lambert

Mason soccer standout Jami Pfeifer is in the running for LaRosa’s MVP of the Week award.

The senior forward led the Greater Miami Conference in scoring last season with 12 goals and 13 assists and propelled the Comets to a 13-3-3 record and sectional championship.

Pfeifer, who also runs track, has twice been named 1st Team All-GMC

LaRosa’s MVPs of the Week are decided on the basis of popular vote. Cast your vote (registration required) at www.larosasmvp.com.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, gmc, jami pfeifer, larosa's mvp of the week, mason, mason high school, nominated, soccer, vote

Mason football coach Brian Castner directs the Comets in a preseason practice. He’s in his third year with the program. The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger / The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kevin Goheen reports:

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: andrew hauser, brian castner, coach, colerain, comets, corey quallen, darryl johnson, elijah nkanseh, football, gary popvich, gmc, greater miami conference, high school, mason, mason high school, middletown, randy anderson, sports, steve specht

Mason seniorTara Liebert leads what promises to be a competitive team this year. File photo

Mark Schmetzer reports:

Mason’s girls’ golf  team is deep in returning talent this year.

First-year coach Karen Binzel has four of the top five players from last year’s Comets team back, led by senior Tara Liebert.

“She’s playing outstanding golf,” said Binzel, who’s worked her way up through the Mason program with the seniors on this year’s team.

Junior Miranda Lambert, the Cincinnati Women’s Junior Met champion, and sophomore Morgan Schaffer also will be strong contenders in what Binzel expects will be spirited competition for a spot in Mason’s top five.

It would only become more heated with the expected arrival of senior Stephanie O’Loughlin, a transfer from San Diego.

“If you asked me to pick a top five, I couldn’t do it,” Binzel said. “We have 10 girls who could potentially fill the top five spots.”

Teams will compete this year in one of two divisions. The Southwest Ohio Division II sectional tournaments are scheduled for Sept. 24 and Sept. 26 with the district tournament scheduled for Oct. 3 at Pipestone Golf Course.

The Division I sectionals are set for Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 with the district event set for Oct. 11 at Weatherwax Golf Course in Middletown.

The Division II state tournament is scheduled for Oct. 12-13 with the Division I event Oct. 19-20, both at the Ohio State University Gray Course.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, gmc, golf, greater miami conference, karen binzel, mason, mason high school, miranda lambert, morgan schaffer, stephanie o'laughlin, tara liebert