Lake, Gilmour, Cornerstone are No. 1 seeds

Three area boys basketball teams earned No. 1 seeds in their respective districts.

Lake Catholic was voted to the top line at the Division II Lakeside District, Gilmour is the No. 1 seed at the D-II Stow District and Cornerstone Christian is No. 1 at D-IV’s Grand Valley District.

The Cougars were placed on the top line after they began the season 9-0 and earned a No. 6 ranking in the first Associated Press state poll. Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran appreciates the recognition but remains focused on the road ahead.

“It’s great for the kids because they put in so much hard work to accomplish that goal and we appreciate other schools noticing their efforts,” Moran said. “But at the end of the day, we know it’s just a number and we know it’s going to be a grind to advance in this district.”

The Cougars are joined at Lakeside by No. 2 Villa Angela-St. Joseph. The reigning D-III state champions defeated Lake Catholic on Feb. 10, less than 24 hours prior to the bracket release.

CVC Chagrin champion West Geauga is the No. 3 seed at Lakeside. No. 5 Chardon, No. 7 Geneva, No. 8 Perry, No. 9 Harvey and No. 11 Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin round out the area contingent in Ashtabula.

Gilmour coach David Pfundstein designs his schedule to prepare the Lancers for the postseason. Gilmour appears set up to succeed with the top ranking at Stow. The Lancers own victories over Lake Catholic, Hawken and Beachwood, while their five

losses have come by an average of eight points to Lutheran East, Akron Hoban, VASJ, Cornerstone and Walsh Jesuit.

“The type of schedule we played this year helped us get it,” Pfundstein said. “We played some close games against some very good teams so it’s well-deserved and we’re just excited. This time of year is awesome.”

No. 5 Chagrin Falls and No. 6 Hawken join Gilmour

at Stow.

Cornerstone received 12 of 13 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 seed at Grand Valley. The Patriots were defeated by Warren JFK, a No. 5 seed this year, in last year’s district final. Cornerstone coach Andy Weybrecht and the Patriots hope to begin another run to Columbus after they won the state title in 2016.

“We are honored to be the No. 1 seed in our district,”

Weybrecht said. “We’re looking forward to competing to some great teams. (It) should be a fun March.”

No. 4 Richmond Heights and No. 9 Newbury will also compete in the Grand Valley District.

Brush earned the highest seed of any D-I area team. The Arcs were voted No. 2 at the Euclid District, followed by No. 3 Mentor and No. 4 Benedictine. Solon,

undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the state, was a unanimous selection as the district’s No. 1 seed.

No. 6 Mayfield, No. 8 South, No. 10 Riverside, No. 11 North and No. 12 Madison round out area teams in the district.

At the Solon District, Kenston is No. 7 followed by No. 8 Euclid and No. 10 University. Garfield Heights, Cleveland Central Catholic and Shaker Heights make

up the district’s top three seeds.

Beachwood was voted to the No. 2 line at D-III’s Garfield Heights District. Reigning D-IV state champion Lutheran East earned the top seed. The Bison are joined by No. 4 Kirtland, No. 6 Wickliffe and No. 9 Fairport in the bracket.

Also in D-III, Cardinal is the No. 5 seed at the Warren District and Berkshire is No. 11.