Area athletes set for postseason All-Star contests

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Just when you thought basketball was over in the Mahoning Valley, the best of the best of the hardwood are getting ready to take the court once more.

Several Valley high school seniors will participate in all-star games this week. It will be the final game of their high school careers for their respective programs.

There will be a trio of long-tenured games beginning Tuesday. To kick of the festivities, the 41st-annual Al Beach Classic and the 26th-annual Columbiana County All-Star game will be held at Boardman High and Lisbon High, respectively.

Both Tuesday games will feature boys and girls contests. The girls game of the Al Beach Classic will begin at 6 p.m. with the boys following at 8 p.m.

There will be 3-point shootouts for each gender during halftime of their respective games. The boys game also will feature a slam dunk competition during the intermission.

The Columbiana County game, dubbed the Columbiana Classic, will be played at the same times as the Al Beach Classic. The Classic will award $12,000 in scholarships to student athletes.

The 10th-annual Frank Bubba Memorial Classic will be played on Wednesday at Warren Harding High with the girls game beginning at 6 p.m. and the boys game following. It also will feature 3-point shooting contests and a slam-dunk competition for the boys.

The Al Beach Classic participants will be divided into white and red squads. The red team will be coached by Chris Kohl of Cardinal Mooney and Brian Danilov of Campbell Memorial. The white team will be led by Newton Falls head man Chad Kiser and Howland’s Dan Campana.

Leading the girls’ squads will be Josh Scott (Western Reserve) and Bernard Bohla (Chaney) for the red and John Baytos (Warren JFK) and Eric Marino (Niles) leading white.

The Columbiana Classic competitors will be divided into blue and red teams. The boys teams will be coached by Wellsville’s David Thompson (red) and George Whittaker of Southern (blue). The girls teams will be led by Wellsville’s Ed Swogger (red) and Lisbon’s Jason Thompson (blue).

Struther’s High coach Joe Savko will lead the gold team of the Bubba Classic and LaBrae’s Chad Kiser will oversee the black team.

For the girls, Stacie Cepin of Austintown Fitch will take command of the gold team while Warren JFK’s John Baytos will also take charge of the black squad.