Ex-Eastwood coach Gracyk hired by Lake

4/20/2012

Jim Gracyk, a former longtime and highly successful girls basketball coach at Eastwood, has been hired to take over the program at Lake.

Gracyk was hired on Wednesday night when the Lake Local Schools Board of Education approved the contract for him to become the Flyers' new girls coach. He coached at Eastwood for 17 years (1990-2007), compiling a record of 300-97 and his teams won 10 Suburban Lakes League titles. He led the Eagles to three regional finals and one berth in the state semifinals (2001).

Gracyk most recently served as an assistant under longtime Northview girls coach Jerry Sigler for the last two seasons.

Gracyk takes over for another successful coach, Denny Meyer, who resigned in March after four seasons.

Meyer compiled a 81-10 record, and his teams captured league titles in all four seasons. Meyer's Flyers went 16-6 this past season and followed three straight titles in the former SLL with a championship in the first season of the Northern Buckeye Conference.

Gracyk, who was The Blade's girls coach of the year in 2002, led the Eagles to four regional semifinals.

Beginning in the 1997-98 season, Gracyk's teams started a 71-game winning streak against SLL teams that covered five seasons.