2007 - 08 Alumni Basketball Games will be played on the Saturday of Blossom Weekend.

 

2006 Alumni Basketball Games

Revisiting Quesinberry Gym One More Time

 

This year 39 former hoopsters returned to Quesinberry Gymnasium on Friday, November 24 for the 9^th annual Chagrin Falls Alumni basketball games.  The players were joined by coaches Glenn Wyville (CFAA Athletic Hall of Fame member and former men’s varisity coach), Tom Mattern (Class of ’55 and former assistant varsity coach), Trish Kruse (Class of ’98 and current women’s varsity coach), and Dave Bargar (Class of ’85 and current men’s varsity coach).  The three games included players spanning four decades and at times the players showed the spark of days gone by.

 

The Young Men – It’s Both A Sprint And A Marathon

In the first game, the men’s alumni from class of ’94 to present proved that it helps to be young in these games.  The game pitted the Black team of Bill Wahl’94, Travis Kruse ’95 (CFAA Athletic Hall of Fame member), Todd Mental ’98, and David Stecker ‘02 coached by Jeff Stinson ’91 against the White team of Tim Meaney ’01, David Iantosca ’02, Zak Gebler ’05, and John Stecker ’06 coached by Dave Barger ’85. 

 

The thin numbers forced a full court four on four match up that tested the legs of the participants.  The victorious Black team  (65-50 final score) was paced by Kruse (23 points) and Wahl (20 points), while Iantosca led the White team with a game high 27 points.  We hope next year to see a stronger turnout amongst the most recent Tiger grads.

 

The Women Haven’t Missed A Step

In the second game of the day, fifteen former women’s players returned and put on quite a show for the fans.  The game pitted women alumni from the past 25 years and showed the strength of the long proud women’s program.

 

The Grey Team of Mary Beth O’Donnell Wolfe ’82, Anne O’Donnell Harmody ’87, Alicia Cottone Bell ’91, Trish Kruse ’98, Sara Stricker ’05, Trish Sanders ’06, Jane Phend’83 (CFAA Athletic Hall of Fame member), and Bit Cornell ’98 triumphed in a hard fought 37-32 victory.  The team was led by Kruse with 15 points and Phend with 11.

 

The White team of Katie Kruse ’99, Erin Hoffman ’03, Britton Lombardi ’03, Molly Magnuson ’05, Taylor Meyer ’05, K.K. Carothers ’06, Bridget Clegg ’06 fought valiantly throughout but came up short in the end.  The team was led by Hoffman with 12 points and Lombardi added another 8 points.

 

The Old Men Give It A Little Extra In The Nightcap

The last game pitted former men’s players from the class of ’69 through the class of ’93.  The game was a see-saw match that ended up heading into an extra session with the Black team edging the White team 39-35.

 

The victorious Black team was coached by Tom Mattern ’55 and consisted of Jeff Thompson ’69, Steve Diedrich ’82, John Dishong ’84, Joe Vinci ’85, James Kessell ’90, Jeff Stinson ’91, Todd Kruse ’93 and Dave Barger ’85.  Diedrich led the team with 17 points with the rest of the scoring fairly evenly spread amongst the other players.  Unofficially, it marked the first time Coach Mattern was able to top Coach Wyville in the alumni tilts.

 

Coach Wyville’s team of Bill Miralia ’77, Bob Bistritz ’78, Mike Wise ’80, Mike Bistritz ’82, Pete Hammonds ’83, Mark Miralia ’83, Rich Houston ’85, and Jeff Young ’91 made a tremendous comeback in the second half, but didn’t have enough gas in the tank to close the deal in the overtime session.  The scoring for the team was led by Bob Bistritz with 15 and Hammonds with 10 points.

 

Many Thanks To Those That Helped

As always these games do not go off without a lot of help starting with Brian McKenna ’88 (CFAA Alumni Director) and Connie Bridges Miralia ’83 (CFAA Alumni Secretary) for doing all the work getting things ready.  We were also fortunate to have a familiar face greeting the participants and fans as the entered the gym, as Ruth Maus (currently in her 50^th year in teaching and education) helped take donations and get everyone set up for the games.  Another key part of the games was the return of Bill Street ’65 as the Voice of the Tigers.

 

We also want to recognize the Kruse family and Bob Bistritz for their generous financial contributions that made these games possible. 

 

Next year we will do it all again with the games scheduled for Saturday of Blossom Weekend.  We look forwarded to seeing everyone back again and hopefully some that were not able to make it this year.

 

2005 Alumni Basketball Results

 

By Jeff Stinson ‘91

 

To view photos of the game, please click this link.

 

On Friday, November 25 former Tiger cagers reunited at the Middle School for the 8^th Annual Chagrin Falls Alumni basketball games.  This year 46 former Tiger Hoopsters played in the games coached by past and present Chagrin Falls coaches including Glenn Wyville (Chagrin Falls Athletic Hall of Fame coach), Tom Mattern ’55 (former assistant men’s varsity coach and former alumni director), Trish Kruse ’98 (women’s varsity coach) and Dave Barger ’85 (men’s varsity coach).

 

Recent Men Grads Push The Action

The first game pitted former men’s graduates from 1994-2005.  Erik Rozsa ’95, Paul Rozsa ’98, Matt Laufik ’01, David Iantosca ’02, Pat Lynch ’02, Garrett Monda ’02, and David Stecker ’02 made up the winning Ash team coached by new men’s varsity coach Dave Barger ’85.  The team fell behind in the first half, but rallied in the second half for the win.

 

The losing White team, coached by novice Jeff Stinson ’91, consisted of Travis Kruse ’95 (Class of 2005 Chagrin Falls Athletic Hall of Fame inductee), Scott Gebler ’00, Tim Meaney ’01, Sam Moore ’03, Drew Steltzer ’04, Alex Timmons ’05, and Zak Gebler ’05.  The losing team attempted valiantly in the closing moments to pull even but came up short against the long range marksmanship of Stecker and Iantosca.

 

Women Gather In Numbers To Rekindle Competitive Spirits

Game number two on the afternoon included former women’s stars from the last 25 years with almost 20 former Lady Tigers participating in the game thanks to the recruiting efforts of Coach Kruse.

 

The victorious Ash team was coached by new women’s varsity coach Trish Kruse ’98 and consisted of Heidi Exline Stapulionis ’85, Sally Florkiewicz ’91, Megan Exline ’91, Alicia Cottone Bell ’91, Katie Kruse ’99, Sara Grigera ’02, Molly Magnuson ’05, and Sara Stricker ’05.  The see saw contest finally fell in the Ash teams favor driven by the consistent play of the Kruse sisters.

                       

The White team was coached by Nancy Fitz ’85 (Chagrin Falls Athletic Hall of Fame) and included Mary Beth Wolfe ’82, Anne O’Donnell Harmody ’87, Tricia Kihlstrom Broski ’90, Meg O’Donnell Lynch ’91, Laura Miller ’98, Erin Hoffman ’01, Alison Barriball ’02, Allie Lozon ’05, and Taylor Meyer ’05.  Using a rotation of two five woman squads the White team kept the game close until the closing moments.

 

Elder Statesmen Show They Haven’t Missed A Step (Sort of)

The nightcap of the triple header included former men’s players from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.  Supported by friends and family the men demonstrated the competitiveness that has helped fuel the tradition of Chagrin basketball over the years.

 

For the second straight year, the Ash team coached by Glenn Wyville was victorious.  The winners included Jeff Thompson ’69, Carl Gluf ’75, Doug Hubbard ’79, Mike Bistritz ’82, Don Shanklin ’82, Joe Vinci ’85, Dave Barger ’85, Erik Rozsa ’95, and Paul Rozsa ’98.  The victors were able to successfully mix defensive schemes to keep its competition off balance while capitalizing on opportunities on the offensive end.

 

The White team coached by Tom Mattern ’55 once again fell short in game three.  This year’s team consisted of Bob Bistritz ’78, Cary Gluf ’79, Mike Wise ’80, Matt Bistritz ’80, Bill Morgan ’82, Jeff Stinson ’91, and Travis Kruse ’95.  Unable to consistently hit the outside shot, the White made the game close until the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

 

For The Love Of The Game

 

As with every addition of the Alumi basketball games we want to recognize those that helped make the day possible with their financial contributions to this year’s event including Bob Bistritz ’78, Natalie Gross Remington ’86, and The Groth Family (Bill ’71, Jeff ’75, Doug ’76, Jon ’80 and Janine ’82), without their support this event would not be possible.

 

Similar to last year we had three members of the Bistritz family (Bob’78, Mike ’81 and Matt ‘80) and Kruse family (Travis ‘95, Katie ‘99 and Trish ‘98) participate in the games.  Also this year, we had three members of the O’Donnell family (Mary Beth ’82, Anne ’87 and Meg ’91) play in the women’s game. We also were fortunate to have Jeff Thompson ’69 drive in from Pennsylvania, while Cary ’79 and Carl Gluf ’75 made it into town from North Carolina and Michigan, respectively.  Nancy Fitz ’85 came in from Washington, DC, and Katie Kruse ’99 made it back from Vermont for the women’s game.

 

We would like to thankTom Karlovec ’77, Tom Condit and Hadge Hissam for officiating the games.  Also thank you to Tom Mattern ‘55 for laying the strong foundation for this game over the years.  Special recognition goes to Brian McKenna ’88 (Alumni Director) and Connie Bridges Miralia ’83 (Alumni Secretary) for helping to organize this event without their efforts we would not be able to put on such a top notch event.  And once again thanks to Bill Street ’65 (the “Voice of the Tigers”) for announcing the games this year.

 

We are putting together plans for next year’s game which will again be scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving.  We look forward again to see more former Hoopsters at next year’s event.

 

Results - 2004

by Jeff Stinson '91

On Friday, November 26, 2004, former Tiger hoopsters gathered at the "new" Middle School to stoke the old competitive fires and catch up with former teammates.  This year almost 40 alumni participated in the games coached by Glenn Wyville (Chagrin Falls Athletic Hall of Fame coach), Tom Mattern '55 (former assistant men's varsity coach and former alumni director), Mike Salyers '90 (men's varsity coach), and Dave Barger '85 (men's junior varsity coach).

The Joy Of Being Young

The first game pitted former men's graduates from 1993-2004.  Erik Rozsa '95, Ben Timmons '04, Sam Moore '03, Travis Kruse '95, and Brian Gift '02 comprised the winning Black/Orange Tigers coached by Mike Salyers '90.  Erik Rozsa '95 led the winning team with 31 points followed by Ben Timmons '04 with 19 and Travis Kruse '95 with 15.

The losing White/Orange Tigers, coached by Dave Barger '85, consisted of David Stecker '02, Mike Gerbasi '02, Chris Oslin '98, Jimmy Lefler '99 and Todd Lewis '99.  The losing team was paced by David Stecker '02 with 16 points and Todd Lewis '99 with 10 points.  Jimmy Lefler '99 kicked in for 10 points in the losing cause.

Left to Right: Sam Moore '03, Jimmy Leffler '99, Ben Timmons '04, Travis Kruse '95, Chris Oslin '98, Todd Lewis '99, Brian Gift '02, Erik Rozsa '95, Mike Gerbasi '02, David Stecker '02

Tigers From Across The Decades Compete In Women's Game

The second game of the afternoon was played by the alumni women and included players from the '80s, '90s and more recent graduates. 

 The victorious Black/Orange Lady Tigers were Trish Kruse '98, Katie Kruse '99, Britton Lombardi '04, Leah Eichenbaum '04, and Erin Hoffman '01.  The winners were led by Erin Hoffman '01 with 18 points and Trish Kruse '98 with 8 points.  Eichenbaum '04 kicked in 7 points for the winners.

 Although on the short end of the contest, the White/Orange Lady Tigers put up a good fight all the way to the end.  The team was comprised of Nancy Fitz '85, Megan Exline '91, Alicia Cattone '91, Caitlin Clegg '04 and Caitlin Boyle '04.  Nancy Fitz '85 led the team with 10 point while Caitlin Clegg '04 knocked in 8 points and Caitlin Boyle '04 added 7 in the losing cause.

(Sitting) Caitlin Boyle '04, Britton Lombardi '03, Katie Kruse '99

The "OldÓ Men Put On A Good Show

The last game pitted men's basketball grads from the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s (through 1992).  Drawing the largest crowd of the afternoon, the elder statesmen of Chagrin men's basketball put on an exciting show.

The Black/Orange Tigers coached by Glenn Wyville were victorious in the night cap.  The team consisted of Doug Hubbard '79, Jeff Thompson '69, Bob Bistritz '78, Bill Bistritz '71, Mike Bistritz '81, Chris Norton '92, and Pete Hammonds '83.  The winners were led by Mike Bistritz '81 with 14 points while Bob Bistritz '78 and Chris Norton '92 each contributed 10 points. 

The White/Orange Tigers coached by Tom Mattern '55 fell short in the last game.  Contributors to the valiant effort were Jamie Kessell '90, Mark Miralia '83, Bill Dooley '81, Steve Deidrich '82, Cary Gluf '79, Jeff Stinson '91 and Jeff Young '91.  Top scorers for the losing team were Steve Deidrich '82 and Jeff Stinson '91 with 10 points.  Mark Miralia '83 knocked down a couple of three point shots and added 8 for the White/Orange team.

A Good Time Was Had By All

As with every addition of the Alumni basketball games we want to thank those that helped make the day possible with their financial contributions to this year's event.  Without their support this event would not be possible.

Similar to last year we had three members of the Bistritz family (Bob'78, Mike '81 and Bill '71) and Kruse family (Travis '95, Katie '99 and Trish '98) participate in the games.  We also were fortunate to have Jeff Thompson '69 drive in from Pennsylvania, Bill Bistritz '71join us from Seattle and Chris Norton '92 make his annual trip back from Utah.  Cary Gluf '79 and Bill Dooley '81 made it into town from North Carolina and South Carolina respectively for the games.  Nancy Fitz '85 came in from Washington D.C. and Katie Kruse '99 made it back from Vermont for the women's game.

 We would like to thank Dennis Barriball '72, Tom Condit and Tammy Brown for officiating the games.  We also hope Tom Karlovec's '77 knees get better in time to allow him to join us again next year.  Also thank you to Tom Mattern '55 for his help once again in pulling off this event and to Bill Street '65 (the "Voice of the Tigers") for helping out even in the absence of a working PA system.

We are putting together plans for next year's game which will again be scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving.  Next year we are planning on eliminating the bulk mailing of forms and reminders and will instead email around information on the times and locations of the games.  In an effort to make sure we do not miss anyone, please send us your email address so we can update our lists.  Send emails to cf_alumni@lgca.org and we look forward to seeing you there again next year.

Left to Right: Coach Wyville, Mike Bistritz '81, Doug Hubbard '79, Chris Norton '92, Bill Bistritz '71, Pete Hammonds '83, Bob Bistritz '78, Jeff Thompson '69, Mark Miralia '83, Bill Dooley '81, Cary Gluf '79, Steve Deidrich '82, Jeff Stinson '91, Jamie Kessell '90, Jeffrey Young '91, Coach Mattern '55

Results - 2003

     The first game was played by the young graduates from 1992-2003.  Erik Rozsa '95, Tim Meaney '01, Chris Norton '92, Matt Hentemann '03, Jimmy Leffler '99, Brian Gift '02, Pat Lynch '02 and Chris Osolin '98 comprised the winning Orange/White Tigers coached by David Bargar '85.  Jimmy Leffler '99 made nine three-point shots and led the winners in scoring with a new alumni game scoring record of 38 points.  Tim Meaney '01 added 20 points and Pat Lynch '02 contributed 11.  Erik Rozsa '95 and Chris Osolin '98 each had 10 points.  The losing Orange/Black Tigers consisted of Derek Anderson '00, Sam Young '01, Sam Moore '03, Travis Kruse '95, David Stecker '02, Kent Kiffner '97 and Todd Lewis '99.  The Orange/Black Tigers were led in scoring by Travis Kruse '95 and David Stecker '02 with 14 points each.  Todd Lewis '99 contributed 13 points and Sam Young '01 added 12 points.  Mike Salyers '90 was the losing coach.

     The second game was played by the alumni women.  Seven Kenston High School alumni basketball players helped to complete the rosters and enable each team to have 10 players.  Thank you, Kenston!  The winning Orange/Black Tigers were coached by Tony Petrillo.  Players for his team were Megan Anderson '97, Alison Barriball '02, Erin Hoffman '01, Sara Grigera '02, Liane Harsh '84, Marissa Patsey '03, Robin Miller KHS '01, Kristy Takacs KHS '96, and Erin Jimison KHS '96.  Robin Miller KHS '01 led the winning Orange/Black with 25 points.  Erin Hoffman '01 made three three-point shots and collected 15 points.  Erin Jimison KHS '96 had 13 points and Megan Anderson '97 added 9 points.  Coach Glenn Wyville's losing Orange/White Tigers were comprised of Katie Kruse '99, Trish Kruse '98, Jennifer Bistritz '02, Michelle Petrillo '01, Emily Smith '00, Lisa Hentemann Kent '98, Erika Franz KHS '02, Rachel Allenick KHS '00, Jolie Hillier KHS '01 and Jill Cudzillo KHS '01.  Trish Kruse '98 led the losers with 17 points including five three-point shots.  All of her points occurred in the second half.  Katie Kruse '99 contributed 13 points.

     The final game was a very exciting overtime game as the "older" men from 1974 through 1991 played a great game for their fans (families)!  Coach David Bargar '85 led the Orange/Black Tigers to a winning effort.  Participating for the winners were Bob Bistritz '78, Jeff Stinson '91, Ric Sheer '74, Jeff Young '91, Matt Bistritz '80, Mike McCourt '76 and "younger" reserves Sam Young '01, Erik Rozsa '95 and Chris Norton '92.  Leading the winners in scoring were Chris Norton '92 with 16 points and Erik Rozsa '95 with 14 points.  Bob Bistritz '78 and Jeff Stinson '91 each had 12 points.  Matt Bistritz '80 followed with 11 points.  Glenn Wyville coached the losing Orange/White Tigers.  His team consisted of Greg Behler '76, John Dishong '84, Bill Morgan '82, Rich Houston '85, Pat Morgan '74, Mike Salyers '90, Rich Bistritz '77, Steve Diedrich '82 and "younger" reserves Travis Kruse '95 and Todd Lewis '99.  Steve Diedrich '82 was high scorer for the losers with 36 points, setting the individual scoring record for the "older" alumni game.  Greg Behler '76 followed with 10 points and John Dishong '84, Bill Morgan '82, Travis Kruse '85 and Todd Lewis '99 each had 7 points.

     Interesting Footnotes:  Participating in the alumni games were three Bistritzes-Bob Bistritz '78, Rich Bistritz '77, and Matt Bistritz '80, and three Kruses Ç Trish Kruse '98, Katie Kruse '99 and Travis Kruse '95;  Liane Harsh '84 traveled from Florida and Chris Norton '92 from Utah to participate in the alumni games; "elderÓ participants were Pat Morgan '74 and classmate Ric Sheer '74 who traveled from Michigan to play.

     Many thanks to basketball officials Tom Karlovec '77, Dennis Barriball '72 and Hadge Hissam.  Also, "thank-yousÓ to "Voice of the Tigers" Bill Street '65, floor managers Dave Quesinberry '67, Sherrie Takacs Wooden '75 and Tony Petrillo, and Alumni Association secretary Marilyn Wyville for the programs.  Dave Quesinberry is serving as assistant varsity men's basketball coach this season.

            The enthusiasm before, during and at the reception following the games was so "intenseÓ that plans are being made for the Seventh Annual Men's and Women's Varsity Basketball Games.  COUNT ON IT AND MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!  FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2004!!