From frosh to the final: Avon Lake seniors Bre Jones, Izzie Polinko, Olivia Tobin grew as Shoregals program did

Nearly three years ago, first-time head coach Paul Appel took over an Avon Lake program that was coming off a five-win season but had three talented freshmen who had just gotten their first taste of varsity action. Fast-forward to 2025, and those three girls — Bre Jones, Izzie Polinko and Olivia Tobin — are seniors and, with Appel leading the way, have taken the Shoregals back to a state final for the first time in 31 years. In fact, they will be the only three seniors on the roster when Avon Lake takes the court Friday in the Division III state championship against three-time defending champ Cincinnati Purcell Marion at the University of Dayton at 1 p.m. "My freshman year on varsity our team was close but our record wasn't really good," Polinko said. "Coach Appel came in and changed the program, he got everyone involved." The turnaround started almost from Day 1. In Appel's first season, Avon Lake went 15-10 and advanced to the district final, where it lost to eventual state finalist Olmsted Falls. "Freshman year we definitely struggled a lot," Tobin said. "It all changed when Coach Appel came in. When you have a coach who loves the game as much as he does, there is an immediate culture shift with everything. You have more motivation and everything a team needs to succeed." In 2024 the Shoregals improved to 19-5 but bowed out of the postseason with a district semifinal loss to Jackson. Tobin and Polinko earned all-district honors as the impressionable young freshman Appel inherited slowly became the leaders of the program. "Their evolution has been in line with our evolution as a program," Appel said. "They were always very talented but the way they started to understand the game at a high level and grown as leaders shows how hard they've worked at basketball." This season the three seniors, along with junior Olivia Miller and sophomore Molly Milligan, have led the Shoregals to a 23-5 record. Avon Lake has won seven of its last eight games heading into the state final. This year all three seniors, along with Miller and Milligan, were named to the all-district team. "Deep down I was always hoping we could do something like this, but this year it really clicked," Jones said. "We've grown together and done a great job of playing together the entire season." Avon Lake showed signs of greatness last year when it defeated eventual Division I state champion Olmsted Falls at home, but the moment the Shoregals took their place among the elite programs in Ohio was Dec. 23 this season when they traveled to Magnificat and stunned the Blue Streaks 38-37. "The Magnificat game was huge for us," Tobin said. "That was the biggest win we had, that was the start of everybody seeing us as a contender." Appel didn't know exactly when success would come but knew that one day this senior class would make great things happen at Avon Lake. "We didn't circle this year, last year or any year on the calendar as our year to go far," Appel said. "We were just trying to get better every day, in the process of that we wound up going on a pretty good run here. "It's been amazing to see these girls succeed. I have known all of them since they were 10 or younger, they are three special girls. They are all unique as people and I've really enjoyed being around them. It's going to be sad when they are gone, so we're going to enjoy this last week." One of the things that has made Avon Lake so successful is that it never relies on just one player to win games. Everyone in the starting five has had big games and all three seniors have had moments where they led the team to victory. "When (Appel) first came in he pushed me, Bre and Olivia to all be the best players we could be and that's why we are where we're at right now," Polinko said. "He got a lot of people involved with skill development and working to improve their games." If you ask Tobin, the Shoregals' tournament run would not have been possible without Appel's guidance. "He'll go into the Hall of Fame one day for how great of a coach he is," Tobin said. "I am so grateful for him." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.