2019 – 20 League Preview: Northern 10 Athletic Conference
The Northern 10 Athletic Conference is an athletic conference spanning schools from Seneca, Wyandot, Crawford and Marion Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Carey, Colonel Crawford, Mohawk, Ridgedale, Seneca East, Upper Sandusky and Wynford. …
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Continue ReadingThe Northern 10 Athletic Conference is an athletic conference spanning schools from Seneca, Wyandot, Crawford and Marion Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Carey, Colonel Crawford, Mohawk, Ridgedale, Seneca East, Upper Sandusky and Wynford.
5 Players to Watch:
(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)
Jessica Bowerman – Seneca East
Claudia Pifher – Buckeye Central
Taylor Ratliff – Buckeye Central
Sadie Arend – Carey
Lyndie Williams – Wynford
4 Thoughts:
Outside of a (51-45) late-season match-up with Wynford, Seneca East was rarely challenged in conference play last year. The one team that did challenge them was Buckeye Central – the Tigers defeated the Bucks 69-62 at home in December and then won a classic 63-56 game on the road, in double overtime, at the end of the year. As they try to defend their crown, SE returns the league player of the year in Jessica Bowerman, as well as another standout guard in Emily Siesel.
Buckeye Central – who has enjoyed a lot of post-season success lately – should have no problems adding to their winning ways this winter. Led by combo-guard Taylor Ratliff, athletic post player Lexi Evak and star scorer Claudia Pifher, head coach Abram Kaple has an experienced bunch that will be battled-tested with a very difficult non-conference schedule.
Wynford will look to improve on their 10-6 record in league play (15-8 overall). They have a nice duo to enter the season with in Lyndie Williams and Rylee Alspach, as they try to replace the production from graduated forward Olivia Grove.
Upper Sandusky finished 3rd in the N10 last winter – but it may be unfair to expect that same kind of performance this year. The Rams will need to find some new sources for offensive production, as all-league performers Alexis Fogle, Madison McLaughlin and Alivia Oney are gone. They will start with Reagan Ward – who brings some valuable experience to the team that will look to find its footing early in the year.
3 Big Games:
Buckeye Central @ Shelby on December 23rd
Margaretta @ Seneca East on February 11th
Wynford @ Upper Sandusky on February 14th
2 Fun Facts:
At nearly 54%, Claudia Pifher led the entire state of Ohio (any division) last year in 3-point shooting percentage. Incredibly, Claudia was only a freshman when she achieved this feat.
Although the league is typically balanced and very competitive, Seneca East finished 16-0 during their league slate last winter. They are the 4th team in the last 5 years to run through the conference undefeated, joining Upper Sandusky in 2016-2017 and Carey who achieved perfection in both 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.
1 League Champion Prediction:
Buckeye Central