Copley junior running back Aregeros Turner II is recovering from his broken leg and is sifting through his college options.
The Akron Beacon Journal previously reported that Turner orally committed to Tennessee in October and then earlier this week, but Turner, 17; his parents Aregeros and Cassandra Turner; and Indians coach Ron Viscounte denied that Wednesday.
“Tennessee and Illinois have offered Turner a scholarship, but he has never accepted or committed to either of those schools,” Viscounte said.
Turner, 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, said he is considering Tennessee along with Oregon, West Virginia, Ohio State and Illinois.
“He is going to the doctor [today] so he can rehab his [right shin bone] after breaking it in the Green game [on Oct. 14],” said his father, Aregeros Turner, on Wednesday. “We are getting ready for the spring combines and the summer recruiting. He needs to get back in shape. He has never been hurt like this. He is going to rehab and be ready to play his senior season at Copley.”
Thomas ranked
Marlington junior defensive back Dymonte Thomas is ranked the nation’s No. 77 player in the 2013 class, according to the first class rankings by Rivals.com today.
Thomas was the fourth of six Ohio players who were ranked. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and scored 13 touchdowns on offense and had 102 tackles on defense last season, according to Rivals.com. He is orally committed to Michigan.
Walsh wins in hockey
The Walsh Jesuit boys hockey team enters its matchup with Shaker Heights in a Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League Red Division first-round tournament game as the No. 6 seed.
The Warriors come into the eight-team Baron Cup Tournament with a 23-14 record and winners of the Red South Division title.
Walsh coach Pat McKendry said Hudson, Mentor, Holy Name, Rocky River and Elyria Catholic are also in their division.
Sophomore Dawson DiPietro leads the Warriors with 37 goals and 34 assists. Juniors Nick Musgrave (28 goals, 41 assists) and Ben Romanski (25 goals, 41 assists) are other top scorers.
Sophomore Jamie Studer has 21 wins as the goalie with five shutouts and a 90.5 save percentage.
Romanski, junior Evan Wohlabaugh, junior Joe Lane and senior Peter Myeroff are team captains. Senior Derek Allman and junior Scott Young are other key players.
“They believe in one another,” McKendry said. “We are still young with two seniors and our team believes in each other. We talk about pulling together and not pulling apart.”
Walsh, ranked No. 9 out of 82 teams in Ohio, is outscoring opponents 3.8-2.4 per game.
Another commitment
GlenOak senior offensive lineman Brenson Ennis committed to play at Malone, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Ennis is 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds.
Foreign flavor
Darryl Anderson continues to work with high school kids after serving as boys basketball coach at Coventry from 1990-1994 and Central-Hower from 1994-1996.
Anderson, 51, is in his 18th year helping place foreign exchange students in a home with a Northeast Ohio family through his job as community coordinator with the Program of Academic Exchange.
This year, he has 19 kids in Northeast Ohio, with four of them playing for area high school basketball teams.
The quartet is Barberton junior Emma Nilsson, 17, of Sweden; Ellet sophomore Tarek Vierhuve, 16, of Germany; Coventry senior David Barrio Garcia, 18; and Ravenna junior Joseba Estalayo, 16, of Spain.
“The kids are just loving it here,” Anderson said. “They are enjoying the school spirit and being a part of their schools.”
Anderson said Nilsson scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a Barberton game earlier this season. Vierhuve is Ellet’s second-leading scorer, Garcia is a 6-foot-5 post player for Coventry and Estalayo is a key reserve for Ravenna who has assisted on two game-winning baskets this season.
Estalayo lives with Ravenna 6-foot-8 sophomore Michael Boltz and his family. Anderson said Boltz plans to live in Spain next school year with Estalayo.
Anderson also placed Buckeye junior cheerleader Melanie Breuning of Denmark and Tallmadge sophomore swimmer Melanie Sass of Germany with host families. Both girls are 16.
“The kids apply to come to the United States,” Anderson said. “I have parents of kids who say their children want to come to Northeast Ohio because they have heard from several other kids that have had fun and positive experiences in the area.”
Anderson said any local families who are interested in hosting a foreign exchange student can check out pax.org, contact him at 330-256-6127 or call the national office at 1-800-555-6211.
OU signs two
The Ohio University women’s golf team announced the signings of two area seniors, Jackson’s Angela Codian and Highland’s Lauren McKinzie.
Codian was twice named to the All-Northeast Ohio Golf Coaches Association Division I first team and led the Polar Bears to a second-place finish at the state tournament in 2010. She was voted the Federal League Player of the Year and Stark County Player of the Year.
In 2011, she won the 2011 Greater Cleveland Women’s Amateur Championship. She also competed on the Taylormade-adidas Collegiate Tour in the summer of 2011, placing in the top ten on three occasions.
Codian maintains a 3.7 grade-point-average and is a member of the National Honor Society.
McKinzie helped the Hornets to three consecutive Division I state golf tournament appearances. She is a four-year first-team All-Suburban League honoree and was named to the All-Northeast Ohio first team three times.
Ashley to Ashland
Coventry senior Eric Ashley signed a national of intent to play men’s soccer at Ashland University. Ashley was the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division Player of the Year after scoring 31 goals during his senior season. He was also an All-Ohio and All-District selection in 2011.
Springfield honors four
Springfield High School will be inducting four new members into the Russ Pastuck Sports Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2012 inductees includes: Ken Bean, class of 1970; David Bolyard, 2000; Christine Brooks Cerny, 1989 and David Dies, 1999.
The induction dinner will take place February 23 at 6 p.m. at The Hartville Kitchen. The class of 2012 will be introduced at halftime of the varsity boys basketball game at Springfield on February 24.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
