Students in the News

The 8th-grade Lady Devils basketball team concluded their season by winning the CVC Metro & Valley Divisions championship in March, defeating Richmond Hts. 45-17. The wins completed an undefeated season and a CVC championship, which has only been done a few times in school history.

Independence High School wrestlers Vinnie Kubicki and Rory Corrigan placed second in the Division III District tournament. Vinnie also came in second place in the Chagrin Valley Conference meet.

Congratulations to the nine Independence Middle School students who sang at the Ohio Music Education Association District 4 Solo and Ensemble Contest. All Independence performances earned a Superior (I) rating.

IHS student athlete Kyle Zygmunt was named to the third team under the 2022 Division IV Boys Basketball All-Ohio teams.

The Independence Middle School Power of the Pen competitive-writing team earned the first-place team award at the Power of the Pen regional tournament on March 12. The team includes Matilda Averre, Sam Bernhardt, Matthew Liepert, Tate McGovern, Tatiana Randjelovic and Mae Sheehan. Matthew Liepert qualified for the state-level competition on May 13 at Otterbein University.

Independence Middle School fifth-grader A.J. Bechlem claimed his first state wrestling championship in March during the Ohio Athletic Committee grade school competition in Youngstown. A.J. was among 1,300 youth wrestlers who competed in the two-day, statewide event winning the 71-pound division. In January, A.J. competed in the Tulsa Nationals championship and is currently ranked fifth in the nation in his weight class. This was A.J.’s fourth trip to an OAC state competition. Previously he placed fourth, seventh, and fifth.

Independence native Wyatt Flynn was named to the 2021-22 Winter Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference team after playing winter sports at Baldwin Wallace University.

Emily Boettcher, of Independence, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing after majoring in Baccalaureate Nursing from Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions.

The following students from Independence were named to Ohio University’s 2021 fall Dean’s List: Sophia Tokich, Megan Fink, Liv Michota, Alex Nemecek, Kayla Farone, Sam Richardson, Hannah Fleming, and Kana Wisniewski.

The following Independence natives were named to John Carroll University’s fall 2021 College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List: Anna Balicki, Zachary Barther, Alec Coutris, Brittany Dufalla, Erica Esper, Anna-Maria Marzev, and Nina Savastano.