Garfield Heights

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Garfield Heights High School
GHHS Main Building Front.jpg
Location:
4900 Turney Rd., Garfield Heights, OH, 44125
Coach Mathew Barker
State championships 2006 NAQT
2007 OAC
2008 NAQT,OAC
National championships
Website GHHS A-Team

A successful team from the suburbs of Cleveland.


The Garfield Heights High School Academic Team was founded in 1986 by then-chemistry teacher Betty Hofman, who coached the team until her 1999 retirement. Garfield Heights made the OAC State Finals three times during her tenure, losing to Beavercreek, Copley, and St. Xavier respectively.

In 1999, former captain Michael Bindis took over, after replacing Hofman in the chemistry department as well. He coached the team for two relatively successful seasons.

In fall 2002, recently-graduated team captain Bob Kilner took over as coach. After a moderately-successful first few seasons, Garfield Heights won the Solon Comet Classic title in 2005, defeating a 2-man squad from Shady Side consisting of Andy Watkins and Grant May. The team would go on to win their first OAC Regional title since 1990, though they would lose in the then-double-elimination format state tournament. Later that year, Garfield Heights would finish 2nd at the NAQT Large-school state tournament, losing to a Noah Rahman-led Solon team, who they had been 6-0 against going into the match.

In 2006, returning only junior Jim Hrdlicka, Garfield Heights won several tournaments, including their first state title at the NAQT Division I State Tournament. They would fall one tossup short of qualifying for the OAC State Tournament, and performed poorly at HSNCT. With a young team returning for the 2006-2007 season, led by Dan Humphrey and Joe Wells, the team finished 4th in the NAQT State Tournament before upsetting the defending state champion Fisher Catholic in the OAC State Finals. In 2008, they repeated as OAC State Champions and picked up their 2nd NAQT State Championship, defeating Solon in both finals. At the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season, coach Bob Kilner resigned to work on graduate school and coaching youth sports.

The 2014/15 GHHS Academic Team is a total overhaul from the previous year. New coach, Mathew Barker, took over the team in August and had only one returning player, Branden Kraus. Consisting of 19 competitors (2 freshman, 2 juniors, 1 senior, and 14 sophomores) the Garfield Heights Academic Team has a bright future ahead. After a rocky start to the season, the A-Team settled in and had respectable showings at both the NEOAL league meet at Baldwin Wallace and the Cloverleaf Invitational. The Bulldogs also garnered a spot in the OAC Regional competition with a 7-0 performance at the Copley Invitational.

Past Varsity Teams and Coaches

Season Regular Varsity Team Lineups (Captains Listed First) Coach Record
1986-1987 Unknown Roster Betty Hofman 7-1
1987-1988 Unknown Roster Betty Hofman 9-4
1988-1989 Charlie Anderson, Michael Bindis, James Justice, Charlie Sipos Betty Hofman 29-8
1989-1990 Michael Bindis, James Justice, Jenny Justice, Carrie Typpo Betty Hofman 29-4
1990-1991 Jenny Justice, Carrie Typpo, Mary Bindis, Paul Korathu Betty Hofman 20-6
1991-1992 Carrie Typpo, Keith McMillan, Mark Schmidt, Steve Gold Betty Hofman 14-8
1992-1993 Keith McMillan, Mark Schmidt, Steve Gold, Steve Sajewski, Eric Meljac Betty Hofman 17-5
1993-1994 Mark Schmidt, Steve Gold, Steve Sajewski, Eric Meljac Betty Hofman 28-3
1994-1995 Mark Schmidt, Steve Gold, Steve Sajewski, Eric Meljac, Brandon Monsman, Nick Truman Betty Hofman 28-6
1995-1996 Eric Meljac, Brandon Monsman, Nick Truman, Tim Peshek Betty Hofman 35-9
1996-1997 Tim Peshek, Greg Schmidt, Jim Rose, John Presloid Betty Hofman 60-12
1997-1998 Jim Rose, Greg Schmidt, John Presloid, Helen Bednarz Betty Hofman 76-17
1998-1999 John Presloid, Norman Wells, Helen Bednarz, Nathan Maynard Betty Hofman 66-22
1999-2000 John Presloid, Tiffany Norris, Helen Bednarz, Nathan Maynard Michael Bindis 87-11
2000-2001 Bob Kilner, Michael Zilis, Jason Braddock, Jen Reeve, Abhishek Skariah Michael Bindis 60-33
2001-2002 Michael Zilis, Abhishek Skariah, Jack Bednarz, Tim Cieplowski, Jason Gardner Bob Kilner 67-30
2002-2003 Michael Zilis, Katrina Riddle, John Purpura, Kristina Escondo, Tim Cieplowski Bob Kilner 91-32
2003-2004 Jon Geisinger, Lucy Bednarz, Anisha Skariah, Jim Hrdlicka Bob Kilner 57-24
2004-2005 Jon Geisinger, Lucy Bednarz, Anisha Skariah, Jim Hrdlicka Bob Kilner 104-22
2005-2006 Jim Hrdlicka, Zeke Watson, Dan Humphrey, Joe Wells Bob Kilner 95-26
2006-2007 Dan Humphrey, Zeke Watson, Joe Wells, Liz Wells, Michael Pierzynski Bob Kilner 134-37
2007-2008 Dan Humphrey, Joe Wells, Liz Wells, Jack Wells, Rexy Dorado Bob Kilner 159-26
2008-2009 Jack Wells, Rexy Dorado, Mike Lange, Ralph Bednarz Helen Lindsay 4-10
2010-2013 Unknown Roster Jeff Cunningham 0-0
2013-2014 Branden Kraus, Michael Mori, Diedra Rollins, Jeff Cunningham 0-0
2014-2015 Branden Kraus, Alyssa Granito, Andrea Phillips, Rebecca Mosier, Diamond Knight, Austin Bhuller Mathew Barker 20-25

Notable Alumni

  • Mike Bindis (Former Head Coach 1999-2001)
  • Helen Bednarz Lindsay (Head Coach)
  • Bob Kilner (Former Head Coach 2001-2008)