About Town

It may be the middle of summer, but we have several 2022 school year-end award winners to recognize and congratulate.

First, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Alumnus Hannah Bach continues to impress with her swimming talents. This time, Bach was named one of Ohio State University’s Top-30 Athletes of 2021-2022.

In case you were wondering, OSU has 36 division one varsity sports and no shortage of talented athletes eligible for this amazing recognition. Back will be a senior this fall.

Secondly, 2022 BBH graduate Chelsea Mack was named Softball Player of the Year by Cleveland.com. Mack will continue her academic and athletic career this fall at the University of Kentucky.

Additional congratulations go to BBH technology teacher and robotics advisor Craig Kowatch and the BBH Lady Bees Gymnastics team. The Cleveland Plain Dealer named Kowatch the Top Teacher of the Year and the Lady Bees the Top Female Athletic Team of the Year.

Lastly, Brecksville resident and St. Ignatius alumnus Braydon Nelson was named a 2022 NCBWA NCAA Division II First-Team All-American. Braydon pitches for the University of Tampa and just completed his final season with the Spartans. Look for an update here next month as Braydon is being courted by a several MLB teams in this month’s draft.

About Town congratulates all of these individuals and wishes them well in their future endeavors.

The congratulations, however, do not end there. In conjunction with Home Days, Brecksville hosted its annual Home Days Run. Congrats to the top finishers of the 5K race. This year’s top three males are Logan Feeney, Andrew Barchet and Dave Mealy, while the top three females are Andrea Klima, Tamera Marquardt and Kendall Brown.

Just a reminder that it’s not too late to clean out that garage, attic or spare room. Brecksville’s community garage sale day is Saturday, Aug. 27. My mother-in-law, a garage sale purist, will not shop any sale that is not pre-priced so make sure you price it early and right.

Update Alert – In June, About Town mentioned the efforts of BBH Middle School to raise money and awareness of pediatric cancer as part of its annual Kick It Campaign. The numbers are in and Kick It 2022 raised an astounding $42,000! Way to go students and staff!

Enjoy the remaining days of summer and remember BBH schools do not return until Tuesday, Sept. 6 this year. The extra weeks will allow time the new elementary building to adequately prepare to receive students and staff for the first time. 

Julianne Jirousek, BSN, RN, OCN, was recently awarded the Clinical Nurse Excellence Award for the University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center.  The 2013 Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School graduate was nominated for her dedication to her patients and the oncology profession. She attended the University of Cincinnati where she was a member of the Tri Delta sorority whose activities support St. Jude’s Hospital.

Alex Ulintz, a 2009 graduate of Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, has completed residency training at Indiana University as a board-certified emergency medicine physician. As of July 1, he is now working at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center while pursuing additional training in research and public health. 

The following Brecksville students graduated from their respective schools with doctorate degrees this past spring: Madalynn Wendland, Youngstown State University,

The following Brecksville students graduated from their respective schools with master’s degrees in the spring 2022 semester: Shawn Toal, Baldwin Wallace University

The following Brecksville students graduated with bachelors degrees from their respective schools this spring: Chloe Caniglia, Brogan Evans, Frederick Gener, Alexis Hotaling, Kaitlyn Kovac, Christina Labas, Erica Mayer, Tommy Rosselot and Emma Tupa, Ohio University; and Anne Pannent, University of Findlay.

The following Brecksville students were named to their school’s president’s list for the spring 2022 semester: Ben Skapura, Benjamin Boczulak and Sydney Butler, Miami University; and Megan Costanzo, Youngstown State University.

The following Brecksville students have been named to the dean’s list at their respective schools: Abigail Williamson, Slippery Rock University; Michael Dabney, Cedarville University; Lauren Hall, Hannah Andrewson and Elyse Hensley, Baldwin Wallace University; Mia Kramer, Molly Livingston, Lauren Wise, Taylor Swain, Kaitlyn Kovac, Maya Watson, Kiara Cirincione, Jake Haire, Amy Szmik, Jaden Kenner, Ohio University; and Emily Moro, Maddie Bird, Luke Kirin, Sara Louttit, Melanie Clark, Lana Traum, Morgan Rutkowski and Brooklyn Kelley, Miami University. ∞