ThisWeek announces top fall coaches
ThisWeek’s Fall Coaches of the Year led their teams to seasons to remember.
An overall Coach of the Year will be announced during the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards, presented by Encova Insurance and in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine and Raising Cane’s. The event’s site, time and date will be announced soon.
To read bios of our fall athlete honorees, visit dispatch.com/sports/central-ohio-high-school-sports-awards.
Justin Buttermore, Upper Arlington
Football
Buttermore has made a habit of taking programs to the next level, and the Golden Bears enjoyed their most successful season in 21 years.
UA went 14-1 overall and 5-0 in the OCC-Central Division, losing to eventual champion Lakewood St. Edward 16-10 in a Division I state semifinal. It’s the furthest the Golden Bears have advanced in the playoffs since their undefeated championship season in 2000.
Buttermore is 161-48 with 14 playoff appearances in 18 seasons, the past two of which have been spent at UA after stints at Dresden Tri-Valley (2004-17) and Granville (2018-19). The Scotties were Division III state runners-up in 2017, and the Blue Aces earned their first two playoff wins under Buttermore.
He also was named league, district and state Coach of the Year.
“Defensively he is able to game-plan and prepare every week to take away the other team’s biggest weapons and best plays. Offensively, we largely had success because of our balance (running) and passing the ball,” wide receiver Sam Cannon said. “(We have) one of the only staffs that I know of that are constantly adapting and watching plays from the next level and then bringing them into our playbook the next week.”
Past honorees
2020: Bryan Johnson, Westerville North; 2019: Bryan Schoonover, Groveport Madison; 2018: Buddy White, Reynoldsburg; 2017: Mike LoParo, Hilliard Bradley
Joe DePalma, Dublin Coffman
Boys cross country
For the first time since it won the Division I state title in 2011, Coffman earned a trophy at the state meet when it finished second (144) behind Mason (106).
Junior Liam Shaughnessy was the top returnee after placing 24th at state in 2020 and wound up as the area’s second-best finisher at state, placing fifth in 15 minutes, 24.8 seconds.
The Shamrocks were runners-up in both the OCC-Central and regional meets behind Hilliard Davidson before edging the third-place Wildcats (145) at state as senior Isaac Frank also earned all-Ohio honors with a 28th-place finish (15:52.1).
Junior Will McGraw (37th, 15:57.5), senior Noah Clemens (61st, 16:09.6) and freshman Jacob Bolton (96th, 16:36.3) rounded out Coffman’s top five.
“When I finished the race, I had literally nothing left,” Frank said. “Just the coaches and the training, it all worked out. Especially with me being a senior, coach DePalma has seen me as a runner and he’s really adapted the training to each individual. It’s definitely a huge credit to the team and a huge credit to the coaches.”
Past honorees
2020: Dave Wadenstierna, Dublin Jerome; 2019: Ryan Beck, Gahanna Lincoln; 2018: Beck; 2017: Pat Schlecht, Hilliard Davidson
Jared Dombrowski, New Albany
Girls soccer
Dombrowski’s fifth season with the Eagles was a landmark for him and the program, as the team won its first district and regional championships.
New Albany went 17-3-2 overall and 5-0 in the OCC-Ohio, losing to eventual Division I state champion Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame 4-0 in a state semifinal.
Dombrowski is 66-15-16 overall and 21-2 in league play at New Albany, with league championships in each of the past two seasons and three of the past four. He came to New Albany in 2017 from Bexley, where he went 52-15-4 from 2011-16 with a Division II district title in 2013.
The Eagles came close to their first district championship in 2020 but were upset by Upper Arlington in a district final.
Dombrowski was a Super 12 selection as a senior at Pickerington in 2000, when he was named an all-state forward, and went on to play for Marshall from 2001-05. He also has served as an assistant coach at Capital and played with the U.S. National Beach Soccer Team.
“I’ve grown a lot as a player because he pushed me to do my best,” New Albany goalie Meryn Canowitz said. “He means so much to this program. He’s taken us really far. He knows us so well and how we play. He made everything easier to understand.”
Past honorees
2020: Earl Devanny, Olentangy; 2019: Matt Thompson, Columbus Academy; 2018: Scott Dempsey, Watterson; 2017: Drew Pitzer, Big Walnut
Maggie Freytag, Columbus Academy
Girls golf
In their third season, Freytag helped the Vikings emerge as one of the premier teams in the state.
Academy qualified for its first Division II state tournament and rallied to finish fourth (694) behind champion Lima Central Catholic (659).
With no seniors in the program, the Vikings hope to build on a season in which they edged Columbus School for Girls for their first MSL-Ohio title, settled for second at sectional behind the Unicorns and then beat out CSG for their first district championship.
“Columbus Academy is so fortunate to have Maggie as our girls golf coach,” athletics director Jason Singleton said. “She started our high school girls golf program by infusing so much positive energy and life into the program. In just three years, she has taken our girls to the state tournament and it’s all because of her hard work and efforts.
“I’m so proud of her and look forward to see just how far she can take the program.”
A 1992 graduate of Upper Arlington, Freytag was a member of the Bears’ first girls golf team. She helped UA finish second at state during its first season in 1991.
Past honorees
2020: Chris Ditello, Columbus School for Girls; 2019: Rich Ritter, New Albany; 2018: Ritter; 2017: Cari DeAngelis, Olentangy Orange
James Gerdes, Grandview Heights
Boys soccer
Gerdes, a native of East Sussex, England, pulled the strings in helping the Bobcats win the Division III state championship, defeating Columbiana Crestview 4-2.
Grandview finished 17-4-2 overall in its sixth season under Gerdes, who also won the honor in 2017.
“Year in and year out, his system is so good that the faces change but results stay the same,” athletics director Brad Bertani said. “It’s pretty amazing. The kids in our community put a lot of effort into soccer as well. He does a great job of keeping things positive and intense both at the same time. The kids really buy into his coaching style.”
The Bobcats were the top seed for the district tournament and won their eighth consecutive district championship, defeating second-seeded Wellington 2-0. They finished third (4-2) in the MSL-Ohio behind Bexley (5-0-1) and Wellington (5-1).
“We play in one of the toughest soccer leagues in the state, and it really does prepare the players for tournament time,” Bertani said. “Our non-league schedule also is challenging. We play several top-tier Division I schools and some top-ranked Division II and III teams. There aren’t many cupcakes on that schedule.”
Past honorees
2020: Johnny Ulry, New Albany; 2019: J.J. Bain, Wellington; 2018: Mark D’Auteuil, Olentangy Liberty; 2017: Gerdes
Brett Hundertpfund, Dublin Coffman
Girls tennis
The Shamrocks entered the season with one returning Division I state singles qualifier in junior Dasha Chistyakova, but Hundertpfund knew the program could be in for a special season based on an improving supporting cast.
Coffman defeated Upper Arlington 3-2 to capture the OCC-Central championship at 5-0.
The Shamrocks fell to UA 3-1 in the OTCA Division I district final, but they lost just one other dual and finished 19-2 overall after going 12-6 in 2020.
Chistyakova went on to finish third at district and reached a quarterfinal at state after splitting time between first and second singles with sophomore Pritika Ghosh-Choudhuri, who was fourth at district and also reached a state quarterfinal.
Lauren Burkett, a freshman who played third singles in the regular season, and junior Emily Yoshino teamed up in doubles to reach a quarterfinal at district.
“It’s safe to say that since I’ve been coaching, and I’d argue even before that, it’s definitely the best Coffman girls team we’ve had in 10-plus years,” said Hundertpfund, who completed his 10th season.
Past honorees
2020: Marc Wurtzman, Columbus Academy; 2019: Shaun Stamps, Upper Arlington; 2018: Susan Storerr, Olentangy Orange; 2017: Ken Berlin, Dublin Jerome
Caitlain Judy, Upper Arlington
Girls water polo
Judy’s teams have won 53 of 59 games in her first two seasons running the UA program, including two state championships in five months.
UA went 27-6 last season, defeating the Cincinnati Mavericks 9-5 in the state final. Because the 2020-21 season was postponed from the fall to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that championship came on the heels of the Bears’ 26-0 season in spring 2021 when Judy also…
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