Leimeister, Meagrow lead Edison over Norwalk

MILAN — The temptation was real. Cole Leimeister, right or wrong, knows he is close to a big milestone. Knowing where the calendar is, the Edison senior knows time isn't on his side. After senior recognition was held before the non-league game Monday night against Norwalk, Leimeister let it fly. The results were positive for both Leimeister and the Chargers. He scored 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting in Edison's 84-59 win. "The first goal is to just get the win," Leimeister said. "I know I'm somewhat close (962) to 1,000 points, and I was probably forcing some shots, but I felt hot, and they were going in for the most part." After Norwalk had given the Chargers (10-11) a bit of a test for a half, the hosts put things away early in the third quarter. After Caiden Schmidt made a baseline jumper to bring the Truckers (1-20) within 40-32 just 32 seconds into the third, Edison quickly took off. Leimeister answered with a 3-pointer, then scored off a steal in transition just 26 seconds later. Kyle Robinson continued the run with a 3 off a pass from Leimeister, then classmate Coltyn Meagrow went to the rim off another Norwalk turnover. He was fouled and made the basket, then completed a three-point play to push the lead out to 51-32. Another senior, Kellen McDonnell, capped a 14-0 run over a 2:46 span with a friendly bounce on a 3 to make it 54-32 with 3:52 left in the third quarter. "We knew we were the better team coming out of halftime; we just needed to share the ball, and we knew we could go on a big run," Leimeister said. Norwalk made five 3s in the first half, and Edison head coach Dan Campana told his players he was glad it happened. "It shows them that you have to be engaged in the game all the way through," he said. "The third quarter was our big quarter to come out and play disciplined, share the ball, and attack. We did all that and scored 27 points, and it was our best quarter of basketball we've played. "That allowed us to get comfortable, and we didn't force things." Leimeister scored 13 of his 27 points in the third as Edison, which reached double-digit wins for the first time in six years, took a 65-42 lead. "But give a lot of credit to Norwalk tonight," Campana said. "They knocked down a lot of shots, and credit those kids for the way they fought hard. They haven't had the season they wanted, but those kids are still playing really hard for their coaches and teammates." Edison got the start it wanted. The Chargers scored the game's first eight points in under 90 seconds, which included back-to-back 3s from Meagrow and Leimeister. But despite several chances to put the Truckers away in the first half, the visitors kept within striking distance. Robinson put the Chargers ahead 17-6 with 3:19 left in the first quarter. From there, the Truckers were able to mostly trade scores and trailed 23-13 after one quarter. Xavier Saunders made a 3, and teammate Kingston Gonzales followed an Edison miss with a short jumper to bring Norwalk within 25-18 with less than two minutes gone into the second quarter. Meagrow scored five straight points to push the lead to 30-18, only for Saunders to make two more 3s around a 3 from Meagrow. That brought Norwalk within 36-30 with 44.6 seconds left in the half. Edison got the final basket of the half from Connor Goodwin with 19.3 seconds left for a 38-30 lead. "I think we had a good defensive game plan, but the problem right now is we're not strong enough or athletic enough to execute it," Norwalk head coach Adam Kreischer said. "They get out in transition, and then things you want to do in the half-court defensively all break down because they're out in transition before you can get set. "Leimister and Meagrow are two very good players who both played well tonight, and they shot it well in general." Meagrow was right behind Leimeister with 25 points as the duo combined for 42 points. That's par for the course, as the pair averages a combined 38 points per game this season. "I had them as freshmen on the JV team, then as their varsity coach the past three seasons," Campana said. "To see where they've gone from then to now with their confidence and all the things they've done is awesome to see. I'm just proud of the growth they've shown, and we still have more to go with them." Gonzales scored 19 points for Norwalk, and Saunders scored 17. Nolan Jones added eight points and seven rebounds, and Brandon Carty had six points and six rebounds. "We didn't finish real well around the basket, some of those through contact, but we still have to finish those even with contact," Kreischer said. "But even so, we got up around 60 points with those things still being true of us offensively. We are making some strides." Kreischer stayed seated throughout the game and deferred to assistant coach Wes Sellers while also coaching from the bench. His older brother by 11 months, Marc Kreischer, died suddenly at the age of 48 on Sunday. Marc Kreischer was the superintendent of Bloom-Vernon Schools in South Webster for 12 years. He also coached the South Webster boys basketball team to a state title in 2006. Both Adam and Marc Kreischer played for Steve Gray at Lexington and followed Gray to Norwalk as assistant coaches prior to the 2001-02 season. Gray also died suddenly, on Dec. 28, 2025, and the Truckers had a game the next night, also a Monday. "There is improvement, but the great thing now is these guys are still hungry," Adam Kreischer said. "To be a 1-20 team and still have hungry players says something about them. It's one thing to tell guys what it's like to play varsity basketball, and it's another for them to see what it looks like. "I think they've seen what it takes through playing the opponents we have this year. And through that, it hasn't made them afraid. It woke them up to what they have to do in the offseason, and I really think they are going to do it." NORWALK (1-20) Kingston Gonzales 7-2—19; Xavier Saunders 6-2—17; Kian Kreischer 2-0—5; Nolan Jones 2-4—8; Brandon Carty 2-1—6; Caiden Schmidt 2-0—4. TOTALS 21-9—59. EDISON (10-11) Cole Leimeister 9-4—27; Kyle Robinson 3-2—10; Kellen McDonnell 1-1—4; Owen Thurston 2-0—5; James Sebolt 1-0—2; Coltyn Meagrow 8-6—25; Wesley Seel 2-0—5; Connor Goodwin 3-0—6. TOTALS 29-11—59. Norwalk 13 17 12 17 — 59 Edison 23 15 27 19 — 84 Three-point FGs: (N) Gonzales 3, Saunders 3, Kreischer, Carty; (E) Leimeister 5, Meagrow 3, Robinson 2, McDonnell, Seel. JV: Edison won.