Walnut Hills - Revision history

Graham Dunwoodie: /* 2025-26 */

2026-05-24T19:10:22Z

2025-26

Graham Dunwoodie at 01:50, 10 May 2026

2026-05-10T01:50:53Z

Graham Dunwoodie at 22:40, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T22:40:02Z

Jackson Riddle at 18:22, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T18:22:50Z

Theo Novosel at 18:07, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T18:07:39Z

Theo Novosel at 18:04, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T18:04:35Z

Theo Novosel at 17:55, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T17:55:52Z

Graham Dunwoodie at 04:35, 9 May 2026

2026-05-09T04:35:09Z

Jackson Riddle at 21:31, 8 May 2026

2026-05-08T21:31:23Z

Graham Dunwoodie at 17:08, 5 May 2026

2026-05-05T17:08:31Z

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 After missing out on an HSNCT bid by one placement at the second St. Xavier Invitational in November, the Eagles punched their ticket to Nationals for the third straight year at the Nineteenth Annual Rowdy Raider Invitational in December by placing fifth, ahead of Ohio foes Northmont and Little Miami. Riddle and Fedorov, now seniors, led the team in scoring, while freshman Dashiell Radkey-Drilling performed well at his first IS-level tournament. Walnut attended the NAQT state championship without Riddle for the second straight year and placed 7th of 62, with Fedorov and Radkey-Drilling leading the scoring.
-The slogan for the 2025-26 season is "TO FORGE THE ENDURING LEGACY".
+Walnut sent a team of seven to the [[2026 HSNCT]]. They alternated wins and losses on Day 1 before a decisive victory over the Memphis University School to begin Day 2 put them at 5-3 with two games left. After losing to Eastchester, whose team consisted of the tournament's top individual player and nobody else, Walnut finally broke their 16-year playoff drought with a 290-195 win over Boyle County, with Riddle and Fedorov correctly answering five tossups apiece while the team as a whole did not neg once. Walnut faced Plano West in the first round of the playoffs, where after the Eagles built a small lead midway through the second half Plano would call a long timeout and then convert 4 of the game's final 5 tossups to win, 280-210. The team finished 97th of 320 overall, placing in the top 100 for the first time since 2010. Riddle led the team in scoring with 41.77 PP20 and finished his career as Walnut's all-time leading scorer with 8,595 points in 190 games played.
 == History (Middle School) ==

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 === 2021-22 ===
-The 2021-22 season saw Walnut's middle schoolers build upon the momentum that the previous year's state championship had given them. At their first tournament of the year, the Northmont Middle School Invitational, they managed to win with a 7-1 record, earning them a bid to the 2022 MSNCT. At the 2022 Ohio Middle School State Championship, Walnut was upset by Incarnation Catholic, causing them to place as the state runner-up for the second straight year. They attended the 2022 MSNCT, their first in school history, and placed 93rd of 140 with a record of 3-5. Eighth-grader Jackson Riddle led the team in scoring with a mark of 38.82 PP20.
+The 2021-22 season saw Walnut's middle schoolers build upon the momentum that the previous year's state championship run had given them. At their first tournament of the year, the Northmont Middle School Invitational, they managed to win with a 7-1 record, earning them a bid to the 2022 MSNCT. At the 2022 Ohio Middle School State Championship, Walnut was upset by Incarnation Catholic, causing them to place as the state runner-up for the second straight year. They attended the 2022 MSNCT, their first in school history, and placed 93rd of 140 with a record of 3-5. Eighth-grader Jackson Riddle led the team in scoring with a mark of 38.82 PP20.
 === 2022-23 ===
-At Walnut's first tournament of the 2022-23 season, they sent two teams to the Miami Valley Middle School invitational, who ended up getting first and second and thus playing each other for the championship. In a hard-fought battle, the A team managed to win by just 5 points. Needless to say, this earned them a bid to the 2023 MSNCT. Walnut did not end up competing for the 2023 NAQT Ohio state title, as travel difficulties prevented the team from making the 3-and-a-half hour trip north to Copley, Ohio, to participate in the state tournament.
+At Walnut's first tournament of the 2022-23 season, they sent two teams to the Miami Valley Middle School invitational, who ended up getting first and second and thus playing each other for the championship. In a hard-fought battle, the A team managed to win by just 5 points. This earned them a bid to the 2023 MSNCT. Starting in 2022-23, the Ohio NAQT state championship tournament moved from Dayton to Akron, increasing Walnut's round-trip travel time to the tournament from two hours to six; as a result, Walnut did not compete for an NAQT state title and has not done so since.
 Walnut attended the 2023 MSNCT. Playing a big role in the Eagles' 2023 MSNCT run was the mystery of floor "V," a floor that was represented by a button on the elevator that was discovered during a chaotic game of Elevator Tag, but wasn't accessible. (It was found out much later that "V" refers to Ventana's, a former restaurant on top of the hotel that is now mostly unused but occasionally opened for specific events.)  Without Meeron around, the Eagles spent several hours searching for floor "V". The team ended up finding a janitorial closet, thought to be "V" at first, but only created frustration when it was revealed to not be. Walnut won 3 of their first 4 games, and the hot start was credited to the blessing of floor "V". Unfortunately, Walnut was blown out by Redwood, an eventual top-8 finisher, in round 5, and the team would spiral into a 4-game losing streak to finish the tournament 3-5. The losing streak would foster a feeling of anger and betrayal towards the hidden floor, effectively cutting the hunt short. Since they finished 3-5, they were also unable to achieve a better record than [[Arab Junior High]], whom team captain Cal Moore proclaimed rivals and "opps" on the day before the tournament began for reasons unbeknownst to most of the team. The team leaders in scoring at the 2023 MSNCT were eighth-graders Tiernan Hicks and Rishi Pampati, scoring 23.7 and 23.5 PP20 respectively.
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 Walnut's middle schoolers repeated as champions at Miami Valley in February 2026, once again winning all six of their games by triple digits, allowing them to clinch an MSNCT berth. Stewart-Pirone shattered Walnut's previous record with 95.00 PP20 despite sitting out a game against Walnut's weakest opponent.
-Walnut attended the [[2026 MSNCT]], which was their first trip in three years. Armed with knowledge learned from the 2023 trip, seventh-grader Theo Novosel led a renewed search for floor “V”, but it was found to be even less accessible than before, and the search was unsuccessful. Despite an encounter with a Valley Leadership team featuring the tournament's top overall player, Walnut won 4 of their first 6 games, needing just one more win to qualify for the playoffs. After a late surge from Texas' T.H. Rogers knocked Walnut down to 4-3, they found themselves in a winner-take-all Round 8 against Thomas Russell. Walnut fell behind by 145 three questions into the second half of the decisive game, then surged to within ten points before ultimately falling on the final question, ending the Eagles' run at a program-best 4-4 record. Stewart-Pirone set a new school record with 45.34 PP20, placing within the top 100 individually, while eighth-grader Milan Shah recorded 36.56 PP20 and eight powers in the last three games.
+Walnut attended the [[2026 MSNCT]], which was their first trip in three years. Armed with knowledge learned from the 2023 trip, seventh-grader Theo Novosel led a renewed search for floor “V”, but it was found to be even less accessible than before, and the search was unsuccessful. Despite an encounter with a Valley Leadership team featuring the tournament's top overall player, Walnut won 4 of their first 6 games, needing just one more win to qualify for the playoffs. After a late surge from Texas' T.H. Rogers knocked Walnut down to 4-3, they found themselves in a winner-take-all Round 8 against Thomas Russell. Walnut fell behind by 145 three questions into the second half of the decisive game, then surged to within ten points before ultimately falling on the final question, ending the Eagles' run at a program-best 4-4 record and a placement of 98th of 192. Stewart-Pirone set a new school record with 45.34 PP20, placing within the top 100 individually, while eighth-grader Milan Shah recorded 36.56 PP20 and eight powers in the last three games.
 == Roster (2025-26) ==

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 === 2021-22 ===
-The 2021-22 season saw Walnut's middle schoolers build upon the momentum that the previous year's state championship had given them. At their first tournament of the year, the Northmont Middle School Invitational, they managed to win with a 7-1 record, earning them a bid to the 2022 MSNCT. At the 2022 Ohio Middle School State Championship, Walnut was upset by Incarnation Catholic, causing them to place as the state runner-up for the second straight year. They attended the 2022 MSNCT, their first in school history, and placed 93rd of 140 with a record of 3-5. Leading the team in scoring was eighth grader Jackson Riddle with a mark of 38.82 PP20, the best by a Walnut player at any MSNCT.
+The 2021-22 season saw Walnut's middle schoolers build upon the momentum that the previous year's state championship had given them. At their first tournament of the year, the Northmont Middle School Invitational, they managed to win with a 7-1 record, earning them a bid to the 2022 MSNCT. At the 2022 Ohio Middle School State Championship, Walnut was upset by Incarnation Catholic, causing them to place as the state runner-up for the second straight year. They attended the 2022 MSNCT, their first in school history, and placed 93rd of 140 with a record of 3-5. Eighth-grader Jackson Riddle led the team in scoring with a mark of 38.82 PP20.
 === 2022-23 ===
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 Walnut's middle schoolers repeated as champions at Miami Valley in February 2026, once again winning all six of their games by triple digits, allowing them to clinch an MSNCT berth. Stewart-Pirone shattered Walnut's previous record with 95.00 PP20 despite sitting out a game against Walnut's weakest opponent.
-Walnut will attend the [[2026 MSNCT]], their first MSNCT appearance in three years.
+Walnut attended the [[2026 MSNCT]], which was their first trip in three years. Armed with knowledge learned from the 2023 trip, seventh-grader Theo Novosel led a renewed search for floor “V”, but it was found to be even less accessible than before, and the search was unsuccessful. Despite an encounter with a Valley Leadership team featuring the tournament's top overall player, Walnut won 4 of their first 6 games, needing just one more win to qualify for the playoffs. After a late surge from Texas' T.H. Rogers knocked Walnut down to 4-3, they found themselves in a winner-take-all Round 8 against Thomas Russell. Walnut fell behind by 145 three questions into the second half of the decisive game, then surged to within ten points before ultimately falling on the final question, ending the Eagles' run at a program-best 4-4 record. Stewart-Pirone set a new school record with 45.34 PP20, placing within the top 100 individually, while eighth-grader Milan Shah recorded 36.56 PP20 and eight powers in the last three games.
 == Roster (2025-26) ==

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 Walnut will attend the [[2026 MSNCT]], their first MSNCT appearance in three years.
-At the hotel, seventh-grader Theo Novosel searched for floor “V.” After a long search, no entrance was found. He resorted to asking a woman at the front desk, who was named Eliza, if they could go to the floor. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the elevator wasn’t programmed anymore to go up to the floor, and there were no other entrances. Milan Shah, who was with Novosel on this endeavor, asked Eliza for her number. He failed.
+At the hotel, seventh-grader Theo Novosel searched for floor “V.” After a long search, no entrance was found. Walnut went 2-1 on their first three games before their lunch.
 == Roster (2025-26) ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:07, 9 May 2026
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	At the hotel, seventh-grader Theo Novosel searched for floor “V.” After a long search, no entrance was found. He resorted to asking a woman at the front desk, who was named Eliza, if they could go to the floor. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the elevator wasn’t programmed anymore to go up to the floor, and there were no other entrances. Milan Shah, who was with Novosel on this endeavor, asked Eliza for her number. He failed.		At the hotel, seventh-grader Theo Novosel searched for floor “V.” After a long search, no entrance was found. He resorted to asking a woman at the front desk, who was named Eliza, if they could go to the floor. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the elevator wasn’t programmed anymore to go up to the floor, and there were no other entrances. Milan Shah, who was with Novosel on this endeavor, asked Eliza for her number. He failed.
		+
		+	On the first day of the tournament, seventh-grader Isaac Jump peed his pants from being so incredibly anxious. After a quick wardrobe change, Walnut went 2-1 on their first three games before their lunch.

	== Roster (2025-26) ==		== Roster (2025-26) ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:55, 9 May 2026
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	Walnut will attend the [[2026 MSNCT]], their first MSNCT appearance in three years.		Walnut will attend the [[2026 MSNCT]], their first MSNCT appearance in three years.
		+
		+	At the hotel, Theo Novosel searched for floor “V.” After a long search, no entrance was found. He resorted to asking a woman at the front desk, who was named Eliza, if they could go to the floor. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the elevator wasn’t programmed anymore to go up to the floor, and there were no other entrances.

	== Roster (2025-26) ==		== Roster (2025-26) ==

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 === 2024-25 ===
 The Walnut middle schoolers only participated in one tournament in 2025, a winter tournament at Miami Valley in February, which they won by going 8-0 and winning each of their games by triple digits. Both Radkey-Drilling and seventh-grader Susan Stewart-Pirone placed in the top four individuals at the tournament, averaging over 50 PP20 a piece, with Radkey-Drilling at a massive 76.43.
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 === 2025-26 ===
-Walnut's middle schoolers repeated as champions at Miami Valley in February 2026, once again winning all six of their games by triple digits. Stewart-Pirone shattered Walnut's previous record with 95.00 PP20 despite sitting out a game against Walnut's weakest opponent.
+Walnut's middle schoolers repeated as champions at Miami Valley in February 2026, once again winning all six of their games by triple digits, allowing them to clinch an MSNCT berth. Stewart-Pirone shattered Walnut's previous record with 95.00 PP20 despite sitting out a game against Walnut's weakest opponent.
 == Roster (2025-26) ==
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 * Sasha Rucker-Chang (7)
 * Fiona Wang (7)
 == Notable Alumni ==
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 *Sarah Hansen (2015-2017) - [[Miami (OH)]]
 *William Culbertson (2016-2019) - [[Miami (OH)]]
 *Graham Dunwoodie (2018-2023) - [[Chicago]]
 *Miles Spieler (2022-2025) - [[Ohio State]]

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 *Nikhil Kothari (2018-2022) - [[Ohio State]]
 *Graham Dunwoodie (2018-2023) - [[Chicago]]
 [[Category:High school teams]]

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 Walnut Hills finished as the OAC state runner-up to Green High School in 2009.
-In November of 2008, Walnut attended two tournaments in back-to-back weeks and win them both, with a combined 20-0 record across the two events. The team was led by Komarek and Moller, now seniors, as well as junior Max Bucher to form a strong three-way core. This core was enough to push Walnut over the top, as they soundly defeated [[Solon]] to win their first and only Ohio State Championship in school history. This set high expectations going into the [[2009 HSNCT]], with Bucher, Komarek and Moller all attending as well as sophomore [[Joe Nutter]] as backup. In the preliminaries, the team suffered a series of setbacks, most notably a 515-145 thrashing at the hands of eventual tournament runner-up Dorman, but still clinched a third straight HSNCT playoff berth with a 7-3 preliminary record, as well as the luxury of starting in the winner's bracket. In their first playoff game, the Eagles lost by just 10 points to New Trier, before earning their revenge on Santa Monica for their defeat two years prior. Their next match was against Detroit Country Day, who promptly mauled the Eagles to the tune of 505-170, ending their tournament run. They finished HSNCT in 17th place, the second-highest HSNCT placement in Walnut Hills history.
+In November of 2008, Walnut attended two tournaments in back-to-back weeks and won them both, with a combined 20-0 record across the two events. The team was led by Komarek and Moller, now seniors, as well as junior Max Bucher to form a strong three-way core. This core was enough to push Walnut over the top, as they soundly defeated [[Solon]] to win their first and only Ohio State Championship in school history. This set high expectations going into the [[2009 HSNCT]], with Bucher, Komarek and Moller all attending as well as sophomore [[Joe Nutter]] as backup. In the preliminaries, the team suffered a series of setbacks, most notably a 515-145 thrashing at the hands of eventual tournament runner-up Dorman, but still clinched a third straight HSNCT playoff berth with a 7-3 preliminary record, as well as the luxury of starting in the winner's bracket. In their first playoff game, the Eagles lost by just 10 points to New Trier, before earning their revenge on Santa Monica for their defeat two years prior. Their next match was against Detroit Country Day, who promptly mauled the Eagles to the tune of 505-170, ending their tournament run. They finished HSNCT in 17th place, the second-highest HSNCT placement in Walnut Hills history.
 ==== 2009-10 ====
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 Walnut entered the [[2026 OAC Regionals|Southwest Regional]] as the 2 seed, behind only eventual state champion St. Xavier. They would not get the chance to play the Bombers at Regionals, however, as 3 seed Cincinnati Hills beat them twice, first in the winners' semifinals and then in the losers' finals, causing Walnut to place third in the Southwest Region for the third straight year. Walnut entered [[2026 OAC States|States]] as the 6 seed in the newly-minted Division I. After losing to 3-seeded Little Miami in the second round of the winners' bracket, Walnut won a pair of nailbiters against Granville and Licking Heights before falling to eventual state runner-up Mason, giving the Eagles their first top-5 placement at States in seven years.
-After missing out on an HSNCT bid by one placement at the second St. Xavier Invitational in November, the Eagles punched their ticket to Nationals for the third straight year at the Nineteenth Annual Rowdy Raider Invitational in December by placing fifth, ahead of Ohio foes Northmont and Little Miami. Riddle and Fedorov, now seniors, led the team in scoring, while freshman Dashiell Radkey-Drilling performed well at his first IS-level tournament.
+After missing out on an HSNCT bid by one placement at the second St. Xavier Invitational in November, the Eagles punched their ticket to Nationals for the third straight year at the Nineteenth Annual Rowdy Raider Invitational in December by placing fifth, ahead of Ohio foes Northmont and Little Miami. Riddle and Fedorov, now seniors, led the team in scoring, while freshman Dashiell Radkey-Drilling performed well at his first IS-level tournament. Walnut attended the NAQT state championship without Riddle for the second straight year and placed 7th of 62, with Fedorov and Radkey-Drilling leading the scoring.
 The slogan for the 2025-26 season is "TO FORGE THE ENDURING LEGACY".