Area players, coaches honored

Five players and four coaches earned top laurels on the all-district teams.
VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
COLUMBUS -- Five players and four coaches who led their teams to the pinnacle of success highlight area selections to The Associated Press Northeast Inland District basketball teams.
In Division III, Ursuline High's Tyra Grant and Girard's Cachet Murray were named co-players of the year. In Div. II, The Rayen School's Taniesha Holland shared player of the year honors with Lindsey Gaut of Navarre Fairless, and her coach, Holly Seimetz, was named co-coach of the year. And in Div. IV, Lowellville's Amanda Nero was player of the year and Mathews' John Cicero was coach of the year.
On the boys side, McDonald's James Beedle shared Div. IV player of the year honors with Daniel Zacour of Kidron Central Christian, while Warren Harding's Steve Arnold and Sebring's Brian Clark were named coaches of the year.
Strong showing
More than 20 area players were selected first team by a panel of writers and broadcasters.
Grant, the only area underclassmen to receive special recognition, helped Ursuline to a 17-3 season while defending its state championship. Grant averaged 26.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocked shots, 3.5 assists and 3.7 steals per game. She shot better than 51 percent from the floor and 79 percent at the foul line.
Murray led Girard to a 20-0 season, the first unbeaten season for any Girard basketball squad, averaging 25.1 points per game.
Holland averaged 25 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.5 steals and 5.0 assists per game, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 65 percent at the line. She scored over 1,800 points in her career.
Seimetz guided the Tigers to their best season, finishing 19-5 overall and winning the program's first district championship.
Nero, a 5-8 senior, averaged 23.1 points per game for the Rockets, who finished 17-3 and won their second consecutive district championship.
Cicero, in his first season at Mathews, guided the Mustangs to an 18-2 record.
Beedle averaged 21.3 points per game for McDonald, which finished 18-2 and will play Clark's Sebring team for a district championship tonight at Struthers Fieldhouse.
Outside area
Division I state boys poll champion Canton McKinley captured one of the top individual awards when Dave Hoover, who guided the Bulldogs to a one-loss regular season, was selected as a coach of the year in the big-school division. He shared the award with Arnold.
The player of the year in Division I was Bret Wackerly, a 5-foot-10 senior who averaged 18.3 points a game for North Canton Hoover.
Other boys players of the year were: Dwayne Jackson of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (Division II); and Akron Manchester's Jordan Petraitis (III).
The rest of the coaches of the year for boys included: Chris Capannola of Medina Highland and Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit's Frank Lupica (II); and Rootstown's Mike Fuline and Mark Alberts Jr. of West Salem Northwestern (III).
The other girls player of the year was Barberton's Shana Andrus in Division I.
The girls coaches of the year included: Stow's Bob Podges (I); Don Smith of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit and Fairless' Tim Vick (II); and Todd Wise of Atwater Waterloo (III).