The 2021-22 Edison Wildcats - Andrew Grimm

RICHMOND — The Edison girls basketball team is on the right track.

After a number of down years and a slow start to last season, the Wildcats turned things around as the team played its best basketball of the season late in the year. As a result, Edison ended the season with a record of 10-13.

The Wildcats lost five seniors from last year’s team in Emma Scott, Corrine Freeman, Courtney Cooley, Trista Furbee and Ashley Grafton.

“We were real lucky,” Edison head coach Mark Smyth said. “We had great kids. We had to deal with COVID, but our kids kept fighting. It was a fun year. I could not ask for a better season.”

Smyth is in his second season as head coach of the Wildcats.

“I wouldn’t say things are easier this year, but things are more normal,” Smyth said. “The girls know my system. They know what to expect. Their effort has been great.”

Edison is continuing to take steps this season to fight against COVID-19.

“Things are more normal this year than last year,” Smyth said. “Last year when you went to practice you did not know if you were going to be back the next day. This year, it doesn’t feel that way. we don’t have that same level of stress about COVID that we did last year. We are still being careful about what we do. We are still following the guidelines. This year is definitely less stressful than last year.”

The Wildcats have 15 girls in the program this season.

“We played Wellsville (Nov. 22) to open the season, and we dressed 13 girls,” Smyth said. “One girl was injured, and we had one girl not dress. All 13 girls played in the game, and all 13 girls scored. I don’t know if that is going to be the norm, but we are going to be able to go 10 or 11 deep.”

One of the main reasons for the program’s turnaround has been the play of Edison’s four seniors.

“They are very experienced,” Smyth said. “They have played together for a long time. They have gotten a lot of varsity time.”

The seniors are Alayna Meadows (power forward), Alysea Fiedorczyk (guard), Savanna Ankrom (guard) and Gracie Fox (guard). Meadows is a four-year starter, while Fiedorczyk, Ankrom and Fox are all three-year starters.

The other starter for the Wildcats this season will be junior Olivia Huff (center). Huff is a three-year starter.

“Our older kids are great leaders,” Smyth said. “We have one four-year starter, and four three-year starters — one of which will be a four-year starter next year. They have played together for years. They have a lot of continuity. You cannot lock in on one of our weapons. All of them can score, and all of them can defend. We have a lot of continuity in our first seven or eight girls.”

Pam Johnson (guard) and Jadyn Nicholson (post) are the other two juniors. Johnson is the team’s sixth-man.

“She’s like a starter,” Smyth said.

The Wildcats have five sophomores on the roster. Leading the way in that group is Pressly Meadows (guard/post). She is Alayna’s younger sister.

“She’ll be coming off the bench quickly in games,” Smyth said.

The other four sophomores are Lexie Reed (post), Grace Browning (post), Emma LoPrete (post) and Autumn Brown (guard).

“All of them did see some varsity time last year,” Smyth said. “Pressly saw the most varsity time. The others were primarily jayvee players.”

Edison has a talented trio of freshmen looking to make an impact this season. They are Amelia Collopy (guard), Kylee Stull (guard) and Olivia Jackson (guard/post).

“I’m happy with the way things are going,” Smyth said. “We have great kids. The girls are working hard. They know my system. We had a great summer. We are getting good leadership from our seniors. I am happy with the way things are right now.”

The freshmen have quickly picked up Smyth’s system, and they are coming along the way Smyth hoped they would at this point of the year.

“They are,” Smyth said. “They ran a lot of our stuff in middle school. They ran some of our basic sets. They also worked hard in the summer. That has been a huge help. That is something we have not had at Edison in years.”

Huff is the tallest player on the Wildcats’ roster.

“I would say we have average size,” Smyth said. “Olivia Huff is 6-foot-1. She is taller than everyone else. I would say we average about 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7. We have a couple of kids coming off the bench who are tall. I think we match up size-wise with the teams on our schedule.”

Smyth got the job just prior to the start of last season, so he did not have time to fully implement his system heading into last season.

“The nice thing is last year I got the job a few days before the girls’ basketball season started in Ohio,” Smyth said. “We kind of threw band aids on things. We did not have time to put a lot of things in. We started 0-7, but we won 10 of our final 16 games. We were able to put more things in as the season went on.

“We are going to do a lot of the same things. We have been able to put a lot more things in. We are going to be able to do a lot more, and we are going to do some different things.”

This season, the Wildcats are taking things one day at a time.

“We don’t have any goals written down,” Smyth said. “We just want to get better every day. We are going to be focused on who is not on our schedule. We are not going to be looking ahead.”

The Wildcats have a busy start to the season as Edison plays several games early on in the campaign.

“We play a lot of games early,” Smyth said. “We have played Wellsville (Nov. 22). We (played) Catholic Central (Nov. 27). We (played) Indian Creek Monday, and then we play Harrison Central and Buckeye Local. We play six games this season before we played two last season. We play a lot of early games and not as many late in the season. We play good teams. We play a tough schedule. Hopefully, we are ready and prepared for that.”

Edison has a makeup game against Conotton Valley scheduled for Dec. 28 on the road. The game was originally scheduled for Nov. 24, but was postponed due to the Rockets having COVID-19 issues.

This season Smyth will be assisted by his dad — Ron Smyth — and former Wildcat player Lynsey Morrison.

“We are going to miss Tom Bocek,” Mark Smyth said. “He is now the AD. Being the AD, he could not put the time in. He could not do it full time. We are going to miss him.

“Bringing Lynsey up to the high school has been great. My dad has been a head coach for more than 20 years. It is wonderful coaching with him. It is nice because whenever I want something done, they are able to run the drills and do what needs to be done.”

After taking a big step forward last year, Edison is hoping to take another one this season. If they do, the main reason for it will be the play of the team’s seniors.

“We have great kids,” Mark Smyth said. “Our seniors are great leaders. They have turned the Edison program around.”