Elyria Catholic defeats North Ridgeville on WEOL 'Scholastic Games'

A surge in scoring in the final rounds meant victory for the Elyria Catholic High School academic team on this week's "Scholastic Games," the weekly academic quiz series on WEOL (AM 930 and FM 100.3). Down a team member to just two students, Elyria Catholic's team trailed North Ridgeville High School in the early rounds, but the contest ended with a 300-210 win for Elyria Catholic. The Elyria Catholic team of Andrew Csanady and team captain Vito Careno defeated North Ridgeville's Alyssa Hlavacs, Morgan Weppelman and captain Drew Bowden — despite the third member of Elyria Catholic's team being unable to participate at the last minute. Careno was named the "Standout Scholar," winning a $50 award for being the student who contributed the most to his team. The remote broadcasts originate in conference facilities at the Elyria Public Library System, which co-sponsors the show. As the "Scholastic Games" broadcast schedule proceeds to its annual championship, all winners return for playoffs, with the six highest scorers advancing directly to the quarterfinals. The two highest-scoring losing teams become wildcards, though there are already two runner-ups with higher scores than North Ridgeville's. The balance of the broadcast schedule, with programs running between 6 and 7 p.m. on Mondays, is subject to modification when conflicts with live sports coverage occur. Monday night programs will usually be rebroadcast the following Friday at 6 p.m. unless there are conflicts with live sports coverage. The March 3 broadcast is a Friday repeat of the Elyria Catholic vs. North Ridgeville contest. The remaining scheduled matches include: March 6: Amherst Steele vs. Oberlin March 13: Brookside vs. Vermilion March 20: Black River vs. Cloverleaf March 27: Wildcard Competition, or the two highest-scoring losing teams April 3: Quarterfinal Qualifying Competition April 10, 17, 24 and May 1: Quarterfinals May 8, 15 and 22: Semifinals and championship In its 32-year history, 12 different schools have won "Scholastic Games" championships. Elyria High School is a five-time winner (1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2000), tied with Olmsted Falls (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018). Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville is close behind with four wins (2006, 2010, 2021, 2022), tied with Avon (2009, 2016, 2017, 2019). Avon Lake has three wins (2001, 2005, 2020), followed by North Ridgeville (1999, 2002), Amherst Steele (1991, 2015), Vermilion (2007, 2008), Admiral King (1995, 1998), Keystone (2004), Midview (2003) and Oberlin (1996). Sixteen area teams will be competing this year in a season that ends with the program's 33rd annual county championship to be aired in May. "Scholastic Games" began in the fall of 1990 with the support of Nordson Corp. and has continued on radio station WEOL during every school year since. It is the longest-running program of its type in the region. The program has had long-term support from Nordson and various funds of the Community Foundation. Additional support is from the Nord Family Foundation and the Community West Foundation. The radio sponsors again this year are EcoTree Services and the Elyria Public Library System. Area colleges and universities participate by providing $1,000 tuition credit awards for allocation by participating high schools. Participating for all or most of the program's 32-year history were Lorain County Community College, Oberlin College, Ursuline College and Ashland, Heidelberg and John Carroll universities, with more recent additional awards from Lake Erie College, Tiffin University and Notre Dame College of Ohio. The program's host and producer, Jim Mehrling, is a veteran Northeast Ohio broadcaster. He is the recipient of a 2019 President's Award from the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters. Again this year, most "Scholastic Games" programs will be followed by a talk feature, "Dialogues in Education," which presents education success stories with its host, award-winning journalist Bob Tayek.