March 17, 2000
Three to go to NOL
By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor
Three Tornadoes are first team in NOL
Katie Fazekas and Erin Moore were selected first team All-Northern Ohio League on the girls side and Todd Focht represented the TC boys on the first team.
Fazekas, who was named special mention All-Ohio in Division I, and Moore were joined on the first team by Lyndsey DeWitt of Upper Sandusky, a first team All-Ohio Division II pick, Alaana Buurma of Willard and Bellevue's Erica Caranfar. DeWitt is the only junior.
Joining Focht on the boys first team were Jason Lemire of Upper Sandusky, Charlie Frye of Willard, Shelby junior Kenny Fritz and Tom King of Norwalk.
Jessica Falk of Upper Sandusky made the girls second team, along with Taylor McFarland (Willard), Amber Gullett (Shelby), Amy Benham (Shelby) and Kelly Shields (Bucyrus).
The boys second team was made up of Willard's Nick Dials and Derek Fey, Joe Babcanec of Norwalk, Bellevue's Pete Lepley and Joe Binnix of Bucyrus.
Also making the All-NOL team from Columbian was Anna Fretz, who was honorable mention on the girls team, and Chris Brooks, who won the same honor on the boys squad. All of the Columbian honorees are seniors.
Fazekas, Moore and Fretz all averaged in double figures in points for the 18-4 Tornadoes this season. Moore, a 6-0 senior bound for Michigan on a volleyball scholarship, averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Fazekas, a 5-5 four-year starter for Columbian, contributed 10.7 points, and the 5-8 Fretz added 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
"We're losing five seniors from this team who played extremely well together," said Columbian coach Larry Kisabeth. "Katie's been a very good floor leaders, and all three girls who made all-league gave us good athleticism.
"Any time you lose three all-league performers and two other very good seniors, you're going to have some big shoes to fill. What really struck me about this group of seniors is how well they played together and how balanced the team was. They had a real sense of teamwork.
"We have Katie Kobelt coming back next season, and we'll be expecting big things from Bridget Focht, Alex Miller, Kaila Dunn and Whitney Nahm. We'll also have some players off of a 17-3 JV team, so we'll find people to fill the shoes."
Focht, a 6-0 guard, averaged 13.5 points per game this season, good for seventh in the NOL. Brooks, a 5-11 guard, chipped in 10.2. Focht shot 34 percent from 3-point range. Columbian finished up second in the NOL, behind Willard.
"Todd and Chris were our top two scorers and led us in the majority of our games," Columbian coach Matt Hutchinson said. "They're both very good rebounders and defenders, and they were a huge key to our success this year.
"Not a lot of people thought we were going to be successful this season, but we finished second in the NOL. I think the biggest reason for that and the biggest thing our team can hang its hat on is our defensive performance. We had the second lowest defensive points per game average in the league. In this day and age, it's difficult to get guys to want to play solid defense. Our guys made that a priority, and it really helped our team. Todd and Chris were a big part of our success in that area."
Upper Sandusky's Meghan Horn joined teammates DeWitt and Falk on the All-NOL team, making honorable mention. DeWitt led the league by scoring 22 points per game. Falk, a 5-8 senior, came away with 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest, and Horn, a 5-11 sophomore had 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. The Rams advanced to the regional semifinals and finished the season 20-4, tying for the NOL title with Columbian and Willard.
Lemire, a 6-4 senior and the only Upper Sandusky boy on the NOL list, was second in the league in scoring (16.6) and third in the league in rebounding (9.7).