Garfield Heights
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| Location: Garfield Heights, Ohio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Jeff Cunningham | |||
| State championships | 2006 NAQT 2007 OAC 2008 NAQT,OAC | |||
| National championships | ||||
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.
Currently, the team is rebuilding under Coach Jeff Cunningham, who took over in 2010.
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 |
Notable Alumni
- Mike Bindis (Former Head Coach 1999-2001)
- Helen Bednarz Lindsay (Head Coach)
- Bob Kilner (Former Head Coach 2001-2008)