Athens High School - Arena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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Upper left Senior Jim Geiger offers spirit and enthusiasm to the Bulldogs Upper right Freshman Kevin Johnson looks for help Middle left: Tom Downey and Woody Mayie get set for another half of basketball Middle right Freshman Jeff Dean shows his determination in shooting a free throw Lower left It's your mght Steve’ Mr. Ralph Nuzum asks for acknowledgement from the student section as Steve surpasses Nuzum's 30 year old record and begins his own reign as the All time leading scorer at Athens High Lower right Mike Croci takes a short jumper over a Meigs defender as Kevin Schwarzel fights for rebound position and Tom Downey watches 26 Basketball

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A CONTINUING SUCCESS STORY In what has been a banner season for junior forward Steve Bruning, 1981-82 has also seen AHS basketball climb another notch on the state tournament ladder The team, consisting of 8 seniors and 4 juniors, attained suc- cess by giving their all and bounc- ing back after a few early season losses. A second loss to Callipolis motivated the team to set their goals on the tournament They gained momentum, winning games against Jackson, Ironton and Waverly late in the season to secure their runner-up spot for the league title Winning 8 of their last 10 games, Athens finished with a fine 17-6 record, maintain- ing the tradition of excellent basketball at Athens Coach Fred Gibson attributed Athens' success to unselfish team play, which compensated for in- dividual weaknesses. The team stuck to a basic game pattern which took advantage of the team's strengths and hid their weaknesses Gibson found the team to be easily motivated and their attitudes made it easy for him to coach. The high light of the season was undoubtedly the team's tournament play On the tournament trail the Bulldog cagers took advantage of a hometown crowd at the Con- vocation Center to defeat Chillicothe 45-43 in the sectional final. The win granted Athens a return trip to the District Tourna- ment at Marietta College, where they faced a stubborn New Philadelphia squad The competi- tion proved to be tough but Athens hung in and simply refused to lose This determination led to a berth in the District champion- ship game against an undefeated Wintersville Athens finally fell to Wintersville, but not without giv- ing them all they could handle The 1982 cagers have a lot to be proud of as they are only the fourth team since 1953 to garner District Runner-up honors Individually the Bulldogs claimed several awards Senior point guard Brent Henry served as this year's team captain Senior Mike Croci made the Honorable Mention All- SEOAL team Steve Bruning gained the respect of many op- Eanents by providing excellent adership on the floor and has been honored numerous times On his way to establishing himself as one of the finest players in the state, Steve became the first player in the school's history to score more than 1,000 points in his career as he broke the previous mark of 992 which had been set by Ralph Nu um in 1952 Steve also set the single season record by netting 514 points. In the league Steve was voted Most Valuable Player and named to the 1st team, both for the sec- ond year in a row. He was also honored as the Player of the Year in the Southeastern District At the state level, Steve garnered 3rd team All-Ohio honors Look for- ward to the same type of leader- ship and production from Steve in 1983, as Woody Mayle and he will serve as next year's co-captains. 1981-82 Varsity Basketball and Cheerleaders Bottom row Manager Rob Coe, Kim Crawford, Mary Elis, Kristen Cornelius, lube Ross, Angie finneaity. Shelly Croci, Ann Makom, and Trainer Ed Mizicko. Second row Coach Fred Gibson, Brad Baker, Matt Stenson, Brent Henry, Woody Malye, Sieve Bruning, Pat Hollow, Tom Downey, Mike Croci, Jim Schanzenbach, Kevin Schwarzet, Jim Geiger, Mike Wiliams, Teresa Harden, and Coach Bob Finnearty. Lower right Coach Fred Gibson is the man behind recent basketball success at AHS Basketball 25

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jVS AND FROSH UPHOLD TRADITION First year reserve Coach Bill Riley offered his short team the option of accepting this disad- vantage, or working as hard as they could, to make their lack of height and quickness a part of their game plan The team chose the latter, and made all- out hustle and aggressiveness their trade mark Coach Riley's hardnosed techniques led this year's reserve squad to a 15-5 record. This included a six game win streak at the end of the year to help capture the SEOAL Reserve Championship with a 12-2 league mark. Tak- ing advantage of an abundance of quickness, the team wore down opponents by full court pressure and tenatious defen- sive play They averaged 47 points per contest, while only giving up 36. Facing adversity in the final game of the season, they once again came through with a sparkling inspirational perfor- mance. Disciplinary action had reduced the squad to five players — Kevin Hagen, Bill Finnearty, Carl Matheny, Tom Thompson and Doug Welsh. They needed a win over Waverly's reserves to capture the league title outright The outcome was typically out- standing as Athens came away with a 16 point victory, playing the entire contest with just five men. Coach Gibson and Coach Finnearty should look forward to acquiring these young men for the varsity program 1981-82 Reserve Basketball Bottom row Doug Welsh, Adam Sturbois, Marc Whaley, Leon Allen, Bill Finnearty, Terry Nurum, and T. D. Lovett. Second row Coach Bill Riley, Carl Malheny, Kevin Hagen, Tom Thompson, Kevin Conz, Sean Harter, and Manager Don Stroll. 1981-82 Freshman Basketball Bottom row Trevas Thompson, Ion (ones, Brian Martin, Marti Williams, Loren Kaneshige, Dana Kasier, and |eff Dean. Second row Coach Mark Smith, Kevin lohnson, David McAllister, Mike Aspel, Chris Gerig, Brian Blkkle, Jack Warman, Chris Leonard, Don Berberick, and Manager Scott Schmidt. Lower left Marc Whaley looks to drive or pass off against his opponent. With the emphasis placed on good defense, the freshman basketball team turned out one of their best records in years. The team compiled a record of 14 wins and 2 losses, averaging over 44 points per contest while limiting their opponents to 32. The team was enhanced by balanced scoring and a strong bench Coach Mark Smith was impressed by the im- provement his players made throughout the season. The highlight of the season was winning the Miller Invitational Tournament as they con- cluded their fine year This year's freshman team will undoubtedly con- tribute their talents and skills to the success and tradition of fine basket- ball at AHS. Basketball 27