Wadsworth Grizzlies named to the 11th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard

MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the Wadsworth (OH) Grizzlies have officially been named to the 11th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 10th year honoring girls basketball.

This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For basketball, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with over 40,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Grizzlies ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!

Going into the 2015-16 season, the Wadsworth girls basketball team was on a mission to earn the second OHSAA state title in program history and first since 1997. As usual the traditionally dominant Grizzlies took care of business and by the end of their regular season, they had earned 22 wins and lost just one game against Mason in mid-January. The team also won their seventh-straight Suburban league title.

Wadsworth continued its winning-ways in the postseason and reached the Division I regional bracket for the sixth year in a row. On Mar. 5th, the Grizzlies finally made their way past the regional final game after a 47-39 victory over Whitmer and advanced to the Division I state tournament in Columbus.

The Lady Grizzlies defeated Reynoldsburg (58-48) in the state semifinals to open the 2016 OHSAA state tournament. Reynoldsburg had the lead (31-27) at the half but Wadsworth scored two quick shots in the third quarter to go ahead 32-31. The Grizzlies completed an impressive 20-7 run in the fourth and came out on top after a thrilling back-and-forth game to secure their spot in the OHSAA state finals.

The next day, they went head-to-head in a sought-after rematch against the Mason Comets. With the Division I state crown on the line the Grizzlies overcame the Comets (60-51) and avenged their only regular season loss. Their 2016 OHSAA state championship is the second girls basketball title in school history.

Wadsworth won the opening tipoff in the state final game and in its first possession, senior Jodi Johnson put two points on the board. Mason found themselves playing from behind as the Grizzlies went on to score eight more to take a 10-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first quarter. Mason threatened the team's 30-14 halftime lead as they rallied back and cut its deficit to 37-30, but Wadsworth was able to hold on for a final 60-51 lead.

Under the leadership of head coach Andrew Booth, the team finished at 28-1 and won the Suburban League, Medina District, Norwalk Regional and OHSAA Division I state titles. At the end of the season, the Grizzlies were ranked No. 56 in the nation, No. 1 in Ohio, No. 1 in Division I and No. 20 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25.

These incredible season achievements have earned the Wadsworth Grizzlies an invitation to the 11th Annual Tour of Champions.

Please join us as we celebrate with the girls basketball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Friday, Apr. 29 at 2:15 p.m. during a school assembly in the gym.

For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.