2019 – 20 League Preview: Wayne County Athletic League

The Wayne County Athletic League is an athletic conference spanning schools from Wayne and Ashland Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Chippewa, Dalton, Hillsdale, Northwestern, Norwayne, Rittman, Smithville, Waynedale. <strong> </strong> <strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)</strong> Celina Koncz – Chippewa Makenna Geiser – Dalton Brooklyn Troyer – Waynedale Caitlyn DeMassimo – Norwayne Sarah Meech – Smithville &nbsp; <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> Chippewa should still be the league favorite. Until someone in the WCAL can find a way to beat the Chipps – which they haven’t done in the past few season – Denny Schrock’s squad is the bully on the block. Celina Koncz is one of Ohio’s top seniors – the double-double threat will be back for one last go-around. She is joined by Taylor Thomas – who must take the next step as a scorer and defender if the Chipps have visions of cutting down the nets this winter once again. Chippewa also boasts an outstanding senior class – we will see how quickly those girls can adapt to varsity play, because the Chipps have some huge early-season games on the slate. Norwayne returns the entirety of their team, including the DeMassimo sisters (Caitlyn and Taylor), as well as Olivia Stanley, Kennedy Kay and Andrea Maibach – making the Bobcats a real threat to the Chipps, not only in the WCAL, but also in the Division 3 Wooster District – which they will be joining for the first time in years after dropping from Division 2. Waynedale is a year older and with that comes valuable big-game experienced that was gained a year ago. The Golden Bears may have the best backcourt in the league – trotting out the trio of Brooklyn Troyer, Kelsey Wolfe and Laney Murphy. If WHS has enough physicality to compete with Norwayne and Chippewa – they should be in the mix at the end of the year when the league race is decided. Dalton also returns a very experienced team – led by Ashland University commit Makenna Geiser and her classmate Camille Beatty. The Bulldogs have played the Chipps as tough as anyone over the past few seasons – with some epic battles having taken place. If Kelsey Shoup, Tess Denning and Brennah Arnold can provide enough scoring to compliment Geiser and Beatty, the Bulldogs may have the formula to finally knock off Chippewa. ***Bonus Thought*** This could be the most balanced and competitive Wayne County Athletic League girls basketball season of all-time when we look at the teams and coaches. Chippewa, Dalton, Waynedale, Norwayne and Smithville are all very experienced and all 5 schools school have outstanding coaches. Each of those 5 teams have a legitimate chance to win the conference crown this winter. Northwestern, Hillsdale and Rittman will try to play the role of spoiler on any given night. &nbsp; <strong>3 Big Games: </strong> Chippewa @ Waynedale on November 26^th Dalton @ Chippewa on December 12^th Chippewa @ Norwayne on February 13^th &nbsp; <strong>2 Fun Facts: </strong> Chippewa head coach Denny Schrock has over 650 wins in his hall-of-fame career – most of which have come at Chippewa. Schrock’s career win total puts him in the top 10 of any bench boss to ever coach girls basketball in Ohio. Dalton has made 3 consecutive regional tournament appearances in Division 4 – meaning that the senior class has never lost a sectional or district tournament game. However, Dalton has failed to break through that glass ceiling and advance to the state Final 4 – there is no doubt about it, a trip to State is one of the main goals for the Bulldogs this winter. &nbsp; <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Chippewa