For the Wadsworth girls basketball team, playing fellow Northeast Ohio power Solon in the final regular-season game was more important than Guaranteed Win Night in the sectional semifinals.
The unanimously top-seeded Grizzlies (18-1) stuck to their guns Sunday at the annual tournament draws, selecting a bye in the Medina Division I District for the second straight season. They will host the winner of eighth-seeded Brecksville (4-15) and 10th-seeded Copley (6-13) on Feb. 18.
Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth preferred not to force himself into rescheduling or canceling the Feb. 13 non-league game with the Greater Cleveland Conference-leading Comets (12-6). The sectional semis open the same day.
“Moving back to the regular district, in the past I’ve elected not to take a bye,” Booth said. “But with Solon already in place, it works out great because they’re a quality opponent, and you’re keeping on your regular schedule of Saturday and then, in this case, Thursday. It worked out pretty well for us.”
The Grizzlies’ decision highlighted interesting draws involving Medina County teams. Highland (16-3) tied with Berea-Midpark (15-4) as the second seed, but won a revote tiebreaker and was required by rule to pick a line opposite Wadsworth.
Valuing potentially two home sectional games, Hornets coach Mike Moser chose a Feb. 13 sectional semifinal and will play ninth-seeded Cuyahoga Falls (4-15). No. 4 seed North Royalton (11-9) took the bye in front, with Berea-Midpark playing No. 11 Firestone above them.
Moser had no qualms about being denied the opportunity to play on Wadsworth’s side of the bracket.
“It’s how I anticipated it being — people for the most part ran away from Wadsworth,” Moser said. “Us being the two seed, I didn’t have an option and had to play away from Wadsworth because they were the No. 1 seed.
“It’s something we obviously had talked about because, ‘OK, what if we’re the two or what if we’re the three?’ To be honest with you, I was happy either way. You assume the two, three and four were probably going to be together, and eventually you’re going to have to go through Wadsworth.”
Brunswick (10-9) got the sixth seed behind fellow GCC team Strongsville (10-9). The Blue Devils elected the Feb. 18 bye in front of the Mustangs, who will host seventh-seeded Wooster (9-10) on Feb. 13.
Brunswick is on the same side of the bracket as Wadsworth, setting up a potential county district semifinal at Medina on Feb. 22.
Since it is not permitted to compete at its own gym for district play, Medina (11-8) was placed in the nine-team Valley Forge District and got respect as the No. 3 seed behind Magnificat (16-4) and St. Joseph Academy (11-7).
The draw was head-scratching on the surface, as the middle seeds chose Magnificat’s side of the bracket. The Bees will host No. 7 Parma (8-11) and St. Joseph Academy will play bottom feeder John Marshall in Feb. 18 sectional finals, making both teams favorites to move on.
“I’m happy with (the bracket) and very happy to have the No. 3 seed,” Medina coach Karen Kase said. “We play a tough schedule, so hopefully that is going to pay off as well. St. Joe’s is up there with us — they’re a trough team — but all the other teams chose the bottom.
“Anything goes in the tournament, but I like our path. It’s exciting to think about.”
Cloverleaf and Buckeye will play in the 12-team Elyria D-II District, where the top seeds are Elyria Catholic (15-3), Bay (18-1), Padua (14-5) and Keystone (16-2).
Three of the top seeds elected first-round games, putting the middle seeds in quandaries. Colts coach John Carmigiano took so long to decide that an Elyria Catholic coach sarcastically asked “What’s the time limit again?” leading to room-permeating laughs from everyone, including Carmigiano.
Carmigiano didn’t want an eight-day layoff, so his choices were a Feb. 13 sectional semi at Keystone or an open sectional semi in front of defending district champion Padua, which is piloted by former Cloverleaf boys coach Dan Brown. Carmigiano chose the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division champion Wildcats, and No. 7 Holy Name (7-12) quickly pounced on the bye.
“Basically, (three) top seeds really forced our hands by all taking first-round games,” Carmigiano said. “We have scrimmaged Keystone and Padua, so it was more of a preference of matchups and hoping we would be able to get further along in the tournament.
“(Brown’s) a great coach, and their program is definitely a tough one to get by in the tournament. I preferred not to go up against him if it was at all possible.”
Despite beating No. 6 Firelands (12-7) last week and having a significantly better record than Holy Name, Buckeye (12-6) was the eighth seed and didn’t take long to choose a Feb. 13 rubber-match sectional semifinal at Firelands. Padua awaits the winner Feb. 18.
“It was nerve-racking because we weren’t sure where we were going to be with all the teams in front of us,” Bucks coach Ron Clady said. “We were in the middle group, so we were looking for a spot not only to get a first-round win, but to continue on.
“With what spots were left, we split with Firelands this year (in PAC Stars Division play), so we had a good chance of playing them. Then to play the third seed (Padua) was not a bad position to be in.”
Black River (1-17) was the 13th and final seed in the Wooster D-III District. The Pirates will play at second-seeded Orrville on Feb. 17.
Schedule
MEDINA DIVISION I
Feb. 13 — Copley at Brecksville, 1 p.m.; Wooster at Strongsville, 1 p.m.; Cuyahoga Falls at HIGHLAND, 1 p.m.. Feb. 18 — Copley-Brecksville winner at WADSWORTH, 7 p.m.; Strongsville-Wooster winner vs. BRUNSWICK, 7 p.m.; Firestone at Berea-Midpark; Cuyahoga Falls-Highland winner vs. North Royalton, 7 p.m. Feb. 22 — District semifinals at Medina, 6/7:45 p.m. Feb. 25 — District championship, 7 p.m.
VALLEY FORGE DIVISION I
Feb. 13 — Lakewood at Normandy, 1 p.m. Feb. 18 — John Marshall at St. Joseph Academy, 7 p.m.; Parma at MEDINA, 7 p.m.; Rhodes at Magnificat, 7 p.m.; Normandy-Lakewood winner at Rocky River. Feb. 22 — District semifinals at Medina, 6/7:45 p.m. Feb. 25 — District championship, 7 p.m.
ELYRIA DIVISION II
Feb. 13 — Fairview at Elyria Catholic, 1 p.m.; CLOVERLEAF at Keystone, 1 p.m.; BUCKEYE at Firelands, 1 p.m.; Clearview at BAY. Feb. 18 — Elyria Catholic-Fairview winner vs. Brooklyn, 7 p.m.; Holy Name at CLOVERLEAF-Keystone winner, 7 p.m.; BUCKEYE-Firelands winner at Padua, 7 p.m.; Bay-Clearview winner vs. Brookside, 7 p.m. Feb. 22 — District semifinals, 6/7:45 p.m. Feb. 25 — District championship, 7 p.m.
WOOSTER DIVISION III
Feb. 17 — Manchester at Fairless, 7 p.m.; BLACK RIVER at Orrville, 7 p.m.; Loudonville at Mapleton, 7 p.m.; Triway at Tuslaw, 7 p.m.; Norwayne at Smithville, 7 p.m. Feb. 20 — Fairless-Manchester at Northwestern, 1 p.m.; BLACK RIVER-Orrville winner vs. Waynedale, 1 p.m.; Mapleton-Loudonville winner at Chippewa, 1 p.m.; Tuslaw-Triway winner vs. Smithville-Norwayne winner, 1 p.m. Feb. 24 — District semifinals, 6/7:45 p.m. Feb. 27 — District championship, 1 p.m.