ZACH RASILE McDONALD, BOYS BASKETBALL

April 2, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

Winter Athletes of the Year

All of the top high school athletes in basketball, swimming/diving, wrestling, and bowling.

As a freshman, Zach Rasile broke the 20-year-old state single-season record with 140 3-pointers.

“It’s a lot of hard work. I’m always in the gym, but it’s definitely a team accomplishment, they do a great job getting me the ball,” Rasile said.

With the all-time record for 3-pointers made in a career at 329, Rasile will only need to net 63 from behind the arc in each of his next three seasons.

“It will definitely be a goal for the next couple years. I also want to get better and help the team win some more games,” Rasile said.

Rasile averaged 20.2 points and helped lead his team to a Division IV regional final.

“I definitely lean on them more of getting me the ball, but I’m just glad I was able to help them in return,” Rasile said.

He led the team in 3-point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage.

Rasile also earned all-state special mention as a freshman. He finished first team all-northeast Ohio, first team Trumbull County and first team ITCL.

“It’s an awesome accomplishment to be able to do that as a freshman, but I owe a lot of it to my team,” he said.

The Blue Devils finished the regular season 21-1 and ranked first in the Division IV Associated Press Poll, which marked the first time in school history the Blue Devils earned an AP title.

“It says a lot about our team and McDonald basketball in general. It’s never been done before, so it was cool to be a part of it,” Rasile said.

Rasile will finish his freshman year traveling overseas to play with Team Ohio in the Junior International World Championships in Italy.

“I’m really excited. I never thought I’d get the chance to play in Europe,” Rasile said.

—Brooke Meenachan