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Middletown Christian is pleased to announce that Jeff Hembree and Luke Irving have signed letters of intent to further their athletic careers on the collegiate level.
Jeff signed his letter of intent with Urbana University for football
Luke signed his letter with Cincinnati Christian University for golf
Attending the signing presentation of Luke Irving was his  Father - Chris Irving, Mother - Lesa Irving, and CCU Asst. Coach Kyle Pollock, CCU Head Coach Jack Schlueter , Luke Irving, and MCS Head Coach Dr. Gary Cobb

Attending the signing presentation ofJeff Hembree was  Brother Isaiah Hembree,  Amy Hembree, Jeff Hembree, and Eagle Football Coach Mike Botts.

Congratulations to both athletes.

Michaela wanted to attend a Christian college in this region.  Fortunately, there were some offering her a scholarship for Track.  Among those, Cedarville was the best choice having considered going there for many years.  She will major in Athletic Training.

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Head coach Jeff Bolender is pleased to add a key recruit to the 2014 Cedarville University women's track & field program. Michaela Nelson recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Cedarville this fall and join the Lady Jacket track squad.

Michaela is a senior at Xenia Christian High School in Xenia, Ohio. She has been a four-sport athlete at XCHS participating in volleyball, soccer, basketball as well as track & field.

Michaela has missed recent competitive athletics due to an injury but still has many significant accomplishments. On the track as a sophomore, Michaela placed third at the state meet in the 400 meters. During her freshman campaign she finished fifth in the 200 meters and ninth in the 100 meters. Michaela's personal records are 12.3 seconds in the 100 meters, 25.6 seconds in the 200 meters and a district record 57.6 seconds in the 400 meters.

As a senior she was the District Player of the Year in basketball and a member of the All-Ohio Third Team. Michaela scored over 1,000 career points while also earning all-conference first team and all-area second team honors.

Michaela is the daughter of Lance and Jacque Nelson of Wilmington, Ohio.

Three seconds left. Tied game. Three free throws. Just like Grant Zawadzki envisioned growing up.

The Troy Christian sophomore sank two of his three tosses, lifting the Eagles to the Division IV regional championship with a 51-49 win against Delphos St. John’s at Trent Arena on Friday. The Blue Jays’ 3-pointer from 22 feet out bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer.

A program that managed six tournament wins from 2000-2012 — and has matched that with this incredible postseason run — is going to Columbus. Troy Christian (26-2) plays Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (23-4) at 10:45 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at the Schottenstein Center.

“I dreamed of this since I was a little kid,” said Zawadzki, who finished with 12 points. “I was a ball boy and was part of some of the best teams in the state with my grandpa (Ray Sr.) coaching, my brother (Kellen) playing. Nobody has ever gotten this far in my family. For me to be the first is incredible.”

Well, he’ll have to share it. His dad, Ray Jr., coaches Eagles Nation.

The Eagles overcame a 10-point deficit midway through the third quarter with clutch baskets from senior Nathan Kirkpatrick (15 points). Senior Christian Salazar (14) and junior Spencer Thomas stepped up big in the fourth, scoring the Eagles’ first eight points of the quarter, giving Troy Christian a 46-40 lead with 5:12 to play. The lead changed four times in the final 3:32.

None more dramatic than with three seconds left. A Zawadzki free throw tied it 49-49 with two minutes left. St. John’s missed a shot 20 seconds later. Troy Christian then drained the clock until Zawadzki attempted a 3-pointer and was fouled — depending which side fans were sitting — on the arm.

“I think he got him on the arm. It was a good call,” DSJ’s coach Aaron Elwer said.

Zawadzki, an 81.5-percent free-throw shooter, missed the first then connected on the next two.

“When I work out I always put myself in this situation,” he said. “One to tie, two to win to go to the state finals. No time on the clock. To actually step up I wasn’t that nervous. I just did what I’ve been doing since a young ‘un.”

This time it was for real.

When Grant Zawadzki fought to get his own rebound on a missed free throw in overtime and drew another foul, giving Troy Christian a four-point lead instead of only a two-point one, he showed the Eagles' never-say-die spirit.
When he stole the ball from Kyle Pipenger with less than 10 seconds left, it was just a fitting ending.
Ten of the sophomore's team-high 20 points came from the free throw line - seven of those in overtime - and the Eagles held off a late charge by the previously-undefeated Patriots to score one of the biggest upsets of the year in a shocking 48-43 victory in the Division IV regional semifinal at Trent Arena Tuesday night.
The Eagles (25-2), who had never even won a sectional title before this season, move on to play Delphos St. John's for the regional championship Friday night.
"Every win is ground-breaking for us right now," an elated and exhausted Troy Christian coach Ray Zawadzki said. "The kids believe in each other and what we, the coaches, are telling them - and when those two things happen, kids can make special moments."
And Tuesday's fast and furious finish had plenty of those.
A 16-2 run between the first and second quarters gave Troy Christian control of the game with a 19-11 lead - a lead they held nearly the entire game thanks to a wise defensive choice.
"We wanted to apply pressure to (point guard) Matt (Werner) at the top," Zawadzki said. "That way he couldn't look over to (Tri-Village coach) Josh (Sagester) and get the calls from the bench. There was a couple of offensive sets that they weren't ever able to get into that would have been hard for us to defend with our lineup."
That helped limit Tyler Cook and Andrew Willcox to a mere three points in the paint in the first half. Meanwhile, the Eagles buried five first-half 3-pointers - two from senior Nathan Kirkpatrick. And a Holden Varvel drive-and-kick to Zawadzki for 3 right in the half's closing moments gave the Eagles a 21-16 edge.
"We believe in the 3," Zawadzki said. "We hit 188 of them before tonight, and we have four boys that I trust whole-heartedly to shoot it. And really, it was the only offense that we could go to early."
Tri-Village (26-1) fell behind 31-24 after three, but a seven-point run got the dangerous Patriots within one at 31-30 and forced a Troy Christian timeout with 3:58 left in the game. A three-point play by Spencer Thomas, two Zawadzki free throws and one free throw by Christian Salazar blew it up to seven again - but Tri-Village still wasn't done.
Pipenger hit a pair of free throws, then Colton Linkous dove for a loose ball, recovered it while falling to his back and dished to Pipenger for a 3 that cut it to 37-35.
Holden Varvel hit a pair of big free throws, but Pipenger scored again, and Willcox stole the ball from Zawadzki with 17.5 seconds left, giving the Pats one last chance.
"Grant is growing up on the job," Ray Zawadzki said. "It's hard to ask a sophomore to lead your team, but we've done that this year. Tonight, he made some sophomore mistakes - but he made up for them."
Cook - who scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and overtime - scored the game-tying bucket on an in-bounds play from under the Tri-Village basket, and the Eagles came up empty on a pair of game-winning shot attempts to end regulation.
Pipenger hit a free throw to start overtime and give the Patriots their first lead since the first quarter, but Varvel hit Salazar (eight points, seven rebounds) for a long jumper that gave the lead right back to the Eagles. Cook couldn't tip the ball in after three tries on the other end, and Zawadzki came up with the ball and sank two clutch free throws to widen the gap.
With the score 43-42, Zawadzki was sent to the line again. He made the first and missed the second, but he beat everyone to the ball off the rim and drew another foul. This time, he hit both, and Troy Christian led 46-42.
"That's just the competitive spirit that's inside him," Zawadzki said. "He was not going to be denied."
A free throw by Cook made it a one-possession game, but Zawadzki sank two more free throws to make it 48-43. And as Pipenger brought the ball up the floor for a desperation attempt, Zawadzki swiped it - and the top-ranked team in D-IV's - chances right from him. Spencer Thomas hurled the ball up into the air, and Troy Christian celebrated one more in a growing line of biggest wins in school history.
"Make no mistake, they're the best team in the Southwest District in Division IV," Zawadzki said. "We have nothing but respect for Tri-Village. They're the elite. But we were the best team tonight."
Troy Christian - 48
Matthew Coots 0-0-0, Holden Varvel 1-2-4, Aaron Horn 0-0-0, Spencer Thomas 4-1-10, Logan George 0-0-0, Nathan Kirkpatrick 2-0-6, Christian Salazar 3-1-8, Grant Zawadzki 4-10-20. Totals: 14-14-48.
Tri-Village - 43
Matt Werner 0-2-2, Shade Brubaker 1-0-3, Kaleb Choning 0-0-0, Kyle Pipenger 8-5-23, Colton Linkous 0-0-0, Andrew Willcox 0-1-1, Tyler Cook 6-1-13. Totals: 15-9-43.
Score By Quarters
TC 6 21 31 39 48
TV 9 1624 39 43
3-point goals: Troy Christian - Thomas, Kirkpatrick 2, Salazar, Zawadzki 2. Tri-Village - Brubaker, Pipenger 2.
Records: Troy Christian 25-2. Tri-Village 26-1.

Following Troy Christian’s stunning 48-43 overtime win over the state’s top-ranked team on Tuesday, coach Ray Zawadzki still considered Tri-Village the best team in the Southwest District. The Eagles were just better on this particular night.

“This is groundbreaking for us,” Zawadzki said of a Troy Christian team that had never made it out of the sectional tournament before this season. “The kids right now, they believe. The coaches believe in each other. When that happens you can get special moments.”

Senior Christian Salazar’s basket gave Troy Christian the lead for good, 41-40, with 2:44 left in overtime. Sophomore Grant Zawadzki scored the Eagles’ final seven points on free throws (missing just one) in front of about 3,500 spectators at Trent Arena. Overall, Troy Christian made 14-of-17 free throws compared to a 10-of-23 effort for Tri-Village.

Tri-Village (26-1) erased a 37-30 deficit in the final 1:42 to force overtime. Senior Kyle Pipenger scored seven straight for a game-high 24 and junior Tyler Cook (13 points) capped the comeback with a tough inside basket with 15 seconds left.

A Pipenger free throw gave the Patriots a 40-39 lead to start overtime. But Tri-Village, which beat Troy Christian 56-40 on Jan. 8, struggled after missing all five of their shots and four free throws.

Troy Christian (25-2) plays Delphos St. John’s (20-5) in the D-IV regional final 7:30 p.m. Friday at Trent Arena. The Eagles are vying for their first trip to state against a team that’s been there 11 times, the last in 2002.

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