MEDINA — Anchored by a nucleus of four returning starters, Medina begins tuning up for its Niagara-Orleans League title defense by competing in the Pastor-Cooper Tournament on Tuesday at Daemen College.
Medina, which shared the N-O crown with Akron last year at 13-1, will face Seneca High School of Buffalo at 6:45 p.m. in the opening round. The other semifinal will have McKinley High School of Buffalo vs. Orchard Park. The consolation game is slated for Dec. 3 and the title contest Dec. 4.
Four returning senior regulars — Levi Pace (6-7), Adam Hellwig (6-6), Demetrius Thompson (6-3) and Travis Bloom (5-10) — lead the way for Medina, which begins its N-O title defense Dec. 11 at Albion. That weekend will also see the Mustangs face East Aurora at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Cataract Classic at Niagara Falls High School.
“We’ve got some key players returning and I’m excited about the season. We’re pretty quick and long,” coach Tom Forrestel said. “We’ve got some good, challenging non-league games to help get us ready for what looks to be a strong N-O league.”
Pace, a three-time first team N-O all-league honoree, scored 391 points last year for a 17.8 per-game average, upping his career point total to 921. He also grabbed off 229 rebounds for an average of 10.4, to complete the season double-double, and had 141 blocks (4.9 average).
Hellwig averaged less than 10 points per game and was the Mustangs leading three-point shooter.
“Levi has really matured and we’re looking for him to be a good leader,” Forrestel said. “He gives us an inside presence who can also hit the outside shot so defenses have to respect that. So that should open up some of the guys. And we’ve got Adam who can penetrate and was our top three-point shooter.”
Seniors Anthony Session and Adam Thompson also return with some varsity experience.
Rounding out the squad are juniors Willie Jakes, Ricky Brady, Johnny Campbell, Marco Lopez, Michael Merritt, Michael Santoro and Nick Schroeder.
A key loss to graduation was Nick Peterson, a strong defender and play maker with his skillful passing.
“Nick was our lock down defender, so now we need someone to step up and fill that role and be a force on defense as we want our offense to come off our defense,” Forrestel said. “The key for us is not to turn the ball over. We make some turnovers with our uptempo offense, but we have to keep the turnovers down.”
Forrestel looks for Akron, which returns the All-league senior brother duo of Trevor and Alex Short, Wilson, which has the All-League duo of senior Ethan Baker and junior Brennan Moxham, back along with a veteran laden Albion squad, which returns four senior starters in Russell Craft, Justin Swanger, Brad Rush and Matt Monacelli to all be contenders. “The league is strong and there will be no easy games,” he said.
The Mustangs’ home opener will be Dec. 18 against CSAT.
Local Sports
Mustangs prepping for N-O title defense
Medina opens at Pastor-Cooper Tournament
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Medina netters nip Albion to open season
Opening the Niagara-Orleans League tennis season in exciting fashion Medina edged past rival Albion 3-2.5 Tuesday.
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Mustangs shut out by Lakemen
Limited to three scattered hits, Medina dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to Wilson Tuesday in a Niagara-Orleans League game at Vets Park.In other N-O action, Albion downed Akron16-1 and Roy-Hart blanked Barker 8-0.
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Lady Rams trim Mustangs 10-2
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Mustangs top Hawks to gain weekend split
A big early inning five run scoring burst sparked Medina to a 17-3 non-league victory over host Holley Saturday earning the Mustangs a split on the weekend.On Friday, unable to hold a big lead late, Medina saw Oakfield-Alabama rally to claim a wild 8-7 nine inning victory in a non-league game Friday at Vets Park.
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Veteran Purple Eagles netsquad looks to challenge
Over the past two years youthful Albion tennis squads have gained experienced while enduring a tough learning curve that resulted in back-to-back 0-12 Niagara-Orleans League seasons.However, that now experienced, senior laden Purple Eagles squad led by six returning regulars is looking to move back into N-O title contention this spring.
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Youthful Mustangs prepare for N-O opener
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Purple Eagles 9 blanks Lions
Seniors Matt Quider and Travis Downs combined to pitch a two hitter leading Albion past Lockport 3-0 Wednesday in a non-league game.Quider allowed one hit with five strikeouts over the first four innings and Downs gave up one hit with four strikeouts over the last three frames.
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Purple Eagles prep for title defense
Anchored by a quintet of high All-League meet place finishers, Albion is prepping to begin defense of its Niagara-Orleans girls track title at Akron on April 19.Sophomore Abby Squicciarini, who won both the 100 and 200 meter sprints at the All-League meet last spring, heads that key group.
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Rams look to rebound
Both teams will be looking to rebound from sub .500 seasons when the Roy-Hart boys and girls track squads open the Niagara-Orleans League season at Wilson on April 19.The Roy-Hart boys went 2-4 and the girls 1-5 last spring.
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Medina netters nip Albion to open season



