Cincinnati Hills League (CHL) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The CHL has always been one of Southwest Ohio's better Division II/III conferences with typically 1-2 teams that make tournament runs. 2021-22 was no different as Mariemont won a District Title and advanced to the Sweet 16 in Division III. Looking ahead to this season, there's some new faces and plenty of optimism for the tradition of one District champion continuing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline">Contenders</span></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Mariemont</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors were the lone team that advanced to the District title game last year and represented the conference well winning and going to the Sweet 16. One of the league's top scoring threats, <strong>Tim Stewart</strong> (Sr), is back for another season and should see a higher volume on the offensive end. Stewart will miss big man Ethan Malafa who graduated, but his presence alone requires defenses to adjust and defend accordingly. The Warriors should be able to challenge near the top of the division if not the favorite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Wyoming</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cowboys have a tradition of great success in the CHL and in Division II. Last year was a bit of a down year as they finished with an unorthodox 14-11 record. Moving into the new year, the Cowboys will have a good combination of seniors and some underclassmen. <strong>Will Svendsen</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1207374' first='Lance' last='Grayson']</strong>, and <strong>Louie Trenkamp</strong> all bring Varsity experience and should be able to challenge more of the league with that experience and defensive focus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Predicted Order of Finish</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>Wyoming- Arguably the most experienced team in the league with 3 of their top 4 returning. Should be better than a year ago with the league losing several top performers from last year.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":2} --> <ol start="2"><li>Mariemont- Have one of the league's best scorers back in Stewart. Not having that interior guy in Malafa could pose some issues, but the Warriors should be able to get good scoring numbers and stay competitive.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":3} --> <ol start="3"><li>Madeira- Could make the biggest leap after looking good in the Summer. <strong>Conner Cravaack</strong> (Sr) brings great post player offensively and is an Akron football commit along with <strong>Owen Henry</strong> (Sr). Could make argument for them to jump Mariemont or Wyoming with that experience.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":4} --> <ol start="4"><li>Indian Hill- Bring in big time coach in Ricardo Hill to take over the program. Will face some early challenges with several seniors graduated. Returns one of the better young bigs in Cincinnati in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462511' first='Cj' last='Hayden']</strong> (Jr) but will need depth around him to say competitive.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":5} --> <ol start="5"><li>Deer Park- Made massive strides winning 12 games. Wildcats return the top scorer besides Tim Stewart in senior <strong>Marcus Arrington</strong> (Sr). Having secondary scoring options will allow them to challenge for the #3 or #4 spots. </li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":6} --> <ol start="6"><li>Taylor- Last season's league winner lost their 1st Team All-District stud in Danny Austing and interior teammate Harry Hilvert. Lack the depth and returning talent to repeat this feat.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":7} --> <ol start="7"><li>Reading- Make the move up to Division II, but are losing their top 2 scorers from that team.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true,"start":8} --> <ol start="8"><li>Finneytown- Emotional season a year ago but don't have the guys back to make big moves.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->