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
Related Photos
-
Mike Wertman/STAFF
Discussion
Mustangs prepping for N-O title defense
Medina opens at Pastor-Cooper Tournament
- Local Sports
-
-
Holley cagers top Lyndonville
Moving on top to stay with an 11-2 run to close the first half, Holley went on to defeat Lyndonville 68-58 Thursday in a Genesee Region League game.
Sage Hodge scored a game high 23 points while Camron Quaranto netted 17 and Kyle Bell 16 to lead the way for Holley. -
Medina matmen top Albion
Jumping out to a big early lead, Medina went on to defeat Albion, 41-36, Wednesday in a Niagara-Orleans League match.
In Genesee Region League action, Lyndonville got a late pin to nip host Byron-Bergen 45-41.
In other N-O action, front-running Newfane improved to 5-0 by defeating rival Wilson (2-2) 60-17 and Barker (1-3) downed Akron (0-5) 43-36. -
Wilson bests Medina in N-O clash
Moving on top to stay with a big second quarter, defending champion Wilson went on to defeat host Medina 41-34 Friday in a Niagara-Orleans League contest.
-
Tigers nip Mustangs
A touchdown with just over a minute to go earned Akron a narrow 20-14 victory over Medina Friday in an interdivisional game at Vets Park.
-
Raiders down Mustangs
Capitalizing on short field opportunities, Eden rattled off 16 straight points in the second half to key a 34-20 victory over Medina Friday in an interdivisional season opener.
-
High school football practice begins
With the Labor Day weekend openers just around the corner area high school football teams began practicing Monday highlighted by the initial workout of the newly merged Barker/Roy-Hart squad.
-
Medina U10 bows in finals
Leading by a narrow 4-2 margin, Central Amherst erupted for four runs in the sixth inning to clinch an 8-2 victory over Medina in the championship game of the Akron U10 baseball tournament Saturday.
-
Jr. Wilson keeps rolling
Scoring runs in big bunches in almost every inning, front-running Jr. Wilson/BCA Ag. Tech defeated Fast Fitness 27-8 Monday in a Medina Women’s Softball League game.
-
Medina soccer squad romps
Getting goal production from 10 different players, Medina romped to a 12-1 victory over Pembroke Monday at Vets Park to stay undefeated at 11-0 in the Genesee Youth soccer League U19 Division.
-
Jr Mini Champions
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
Holley cagers top Lyndonville
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
