HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Loving, Heintschel lead all-district picks

Whitmer’s McCarver, Perrysburg coach Sims honored

3/8/2013

The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth
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St. John’s Jesuit basketball standout Marc Loving and 34th-year Titans coach Ed Heintschel each hit major milestones during the 2012-13 season, and each garnered top honors in this year’s Associated Press Northwest Ohio Division I all-district selections.

Loving, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who will play at Ohio State University, repeated his 2012 selection as D-I boys player of the year after averaging 21.3 points and 8.2 rebounds during the regular season for the fifth-ranked, Three Rivers Athletic Conference champion Titans (19-3).

During the season Loving also became the school’s career scoring (1,649 points before Thursday’s district semifinal) and rebounding (785) leader, and set the St. John’s single-game scoring record with 42 points in a win against Lima Senior.

With the Titans’ 11th victory this season, Heintschel (609-189 career record) became Ohio’s 10th boys coach to reach 600 wins. He was named D-I district coach of the year.

RELATED: Complete list of all-district selections

Joining Loving on the D-I first team are Whitmer senior Nigel Hayes (16.2 points, 8.8 rebounds), a 6-7 forward who will play at Wisconsin, and Anthony Wayne senior Mark Donnal (18.5 points, 10.6 rebounds), a 6-9 center who will play at Michigan. Rounding out the first team are Keon Johnson of Mansfield Senior and Jeff Thomas of Norwalk.

The AP all-district teams were selected by an 11-member media panel Monday in Findlay.

The Division I girls player of the year is 5-10 junior forward Keshyra McCarver (17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds) of 16-6 Whitmer, and the coach of the year is Perrysburg’s Todd Sims, who guided the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 20-1 regular-season finish (14-0 in Northern Lakes Leagues).

Also named to the D-I girls first team are Perrysburg’s 6-1 junior forward Sarah Baer (13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds) and Notre Dame’s 6-0 sophomore guard Tierra Floyd (10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds).

Completing the D-I girls first team are Indiya Benjamin of Lima Senior and Alexis Stoops of Ashland.

In Division II, Bowling Green’s 6-8 senior forward Vitto Brown (23.7 points, 13.0 rebounds), who has signed with Wisconsin, shared player-of-the-year honors with 6-4 junior guard Dakota Mathias of 2012 state runner-up Elida. Mathias averaged 25.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the 14-8 Bulldogs.

Also named to the D-II boys first team are Napoleon’s 6-5 senior Jordan Lauf (21.6 points, 9.6 rebounds), who has signed to play at Toledo, Taren Sullivan of Lima Bath, and Nic Williams of Sandusky Perkins.

City League girls player of the year Cha’Ron Sweeney, a dynamic 5-2 point guard (14.6 points, 4.0 assists) was named to the D-II girls first team along with district player of the year Amanda Cahill (22.2 points, 9.2 rebounds) of top-ranked, 22-0 Clyde, a 6-1 junior forward who has committed to play at Indiana.

Joining them on the D-II girls first team are Emily Ruhe of Lima Bath, Carly Santoro of Bellevue, and Emma Histetler of Shelby.

In Division III, 5-10 junior forward Cassidy Wyse (14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds) of 20-1 Northwest Ohio Athletic League champion Archbold has been named girls player of the year, and T.J. Metzger of Ottawa-Glandorf is the boys player of the year.

Named to the D-III girls first team along with Wyse are 5-8 senior guard Brittany Gross (13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds) of Northern Buckeye Conference champion Elmwood, 5-7 junior guard Rachel Myers (15.6 points) of Liberty-Benton, Taylor Garboski of Upper Sandusky, and Theresa Jackson of Collins Western Reserve.

The Division IV boys first team includes 6-2 senior guard Eric Cellier (21.7 points) of 20-2 Toledo Area Athletic Conference champion Toledo Christian, and district player of the year Zach Garber (23.0 points, 12.1 rebounds), a 6-10 senior center from 16-6 Vanlue who has signed to play at Toledo.

Rounding out the D-IV boys first team are Ben Riehle of Edgerton, Curtis Geise of Delphos St. John’s, Brandyn Reinhart of New Riegel, Kyle Stahl of St. Henry, and Wade Gelhaus of Fort Recovery.

Kelsey Tietje (18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds), a 6-3 senior center from 21-1 Patrick Henry, was named to the Division IV girls first team along with Miranda Palmer (21.7 points), a 5-6 senior guard from 19-3 Blanchard Valley Conference champion Arcadia.

Arcadia’s coach, Randy Baker, shared coach-of-the-year honors.

Abby Siefker of top-ranked 21-0 Ottoville was named D-IV player of the year, and the first team also included Kaylee Patton of Waynesfield-Goshen, Nickyla Garverick of Colonel Crawford, Randa Payne of Mansfield St. Peter’s, and Haley Horstman of New Knoxville.