The Irish took the boys rankings with a score of 119.5 and the girls rankings with 128 points, each time over Poland Seminary, which took second place. It’s the second year in a row St. V-M swept the Salem district.

“This is round one and this district was a whole lot more difficult than in years past,” St. V-M coach Dan Lancianese said. “This district was very strong, so they made us prepare well for next week’s regional and that’s always the big one. That’s the one we have to have.”

Campbell took first place in all four races he ran, three of which he had to run in a span of about 30 minutes. Campbell won the 100-meter dash (11.02 seconds), the 200 (22.38) and anchored both the 400 relay (43.31 seconds) and the 800 (1:29.18).

Campbell, an Ohio State football recruit, didn’t get off to a great start in the 100-meter dash and didn’t separate himself until the final 10 or 15 meters.

“My start was nowhere near as I expected it to be, which means I just gotta work hard for the next week of practice, get my start ready and I should be fine,” Campbell said.

He later drew more praise when Lancianese called him “Bolt” and said he wasn’t close to reaching his potential yet.

Laury took first place in three events and advanced onto the regional meet in a fourth. She won the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.68 seconds and was the only one to come in under a minute. She also anchored the 800 and 1,600 relays, which won with times of 1:45.96 and 4:06.28, respectively. In her main event, the 400, Laury entered with only the second-fastest qualifying time, behind Akron North senior Keishawnna Burts. The two ran right next to each other.

“I was kinda nervous about the 400, having the fastest girl being in lane 4 and me being in lane 5,” she said after she took first and Burts came in second. “I had a strategy with it. I knew if I just got out quick and held on strong she’d try to stay with me and it worked.”

Laury also placed fourth in the long jump with 16 feet, 5 inches, a poorer showing than what she had hoped. But advancing to the regional meet is a strong effort for Laury, considering she hadn’t done much with the event before late April.

“That’s a phenomenal talent, she put it together really well,” Lancianese said. “We’re just gonna start working on specific mechanics this week, so what she’s done is really impressive.”

On the girls side for St. V-M, sophomore Imani Davis took first with a 25.24 200-meter dash. Senior Marissa Rossetti won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:16.15 and ran one of the legs in the 3,200 relay. The Irish girls finished first/second in the 800-meter run as junior Julia Mendiola (2:17.19) and sophomore Cynthia Haas (2:21.44) took the top two places. Rounding out St. V-M’s titles on the girls side was freshman Rachel Iacofano, who won the 3,200-meter run in 11:26.32.

For the boys, Mick Iacofano’s 4:24.44 in the 1,600-meter run was enough to take first place and sophomore Nick Campbell took second place with a 4:27.52. Each was a part of the winning 3,200 relay (8:12.98). Iacofano later won the 3,200-meter run by over 16 seconds with a time of 9:42.65.

Fennell wins three

Northwest junior Meredith Fennell had a strong day as well. She took first in the day’s opening event, the 100-meter hurdles, with a time of 14.97 and was the only runner to beat the 15-second mark. That’s especially impressive considering she first started running the hurdles this past winter. She also anchored the 400 relay team that took first place with a time of 50.13 seconds. Fennell also won the long jump with the only jump better than 17 feet, beating that mark by 3 inches and the competition by 7 inches. .

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

He is 5-foot-6 sophomore setter Ross Russell, and Saturday little brother played the match of his young career in leading the Warriors to victory in an Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association (OHSBVA) Division II state semifinal. His 47 assists and game-changing “pancake” dig were paramount in a 3-1 win over Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas after Walsh Jesuit fell behind 1-0 and trailed 7-1 in game two.

“Ross has the biggest heart,” Walsh Jesuit coach Connor McCluskey said. “He made every right decision today. He called the perfect match today.”

The Warriors appeared almost too excited to start and dropped the first game 25-19. The Rockets came out fast in the second game with their second-team All-Ohio hitter Christian Ray getting three quick kills.

Walsh Jesuit (22-5) needed to flip the momentum and its mighty mite provided the defensive play of the match.

“I didn’t think I was actually going to get there, and then I slid my hand under and got it up,” Ross Russell said.

His “pancake” dig enabled Walsh to win the point and tie the score 10-10. The Warriors won the game 27-25 when senior outside hitter Austin Seislove rallied for three late kills.

“We always need one little spark,” McCluskey said. “Ross got us going. That was the turning point of the match for sure.”

The Warriors kept it rolling in the third game for a 25-17 win. Archbishop McNicholas (13-9) had a 12-9 lead in game four when Ross Russell set his 6-foot-3, all-star brother repeatedly, and Rob Russell (16 kills, four blocks) delivered four quick kills as Walsh pulled even 13-13.

“Being with my brother on the court is really fun,” Ross Russell said. “He calms me down and keeps our team loose.”

On back-to-back kills by Ray, McNicholas led 19-13 in the fourth game. The Warriors buckled down on defense, blocked the Rockets, and ran off six consecutive points. Seislove’s kill closed a 25-23 win and the match.

“It felt pretty awesome to take us to the state championship (match) that way,” Seislove said. “We may have been a little bit too pumped [at the start], but we finished strong.”

The Warriors meet Bishop Fenwick for the Division II state title at 3 p.m. today at Walsh Jesuit.

“These guys don’t make it easy for me, but they make it a lot of fun,” McCluskey said..

Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps.

The Blue Devils baseball team gave their faithful an opportunity to smile on a sunny and crisp Saturday at the Ballpark at Hudson with a 3-0 victory over Hudson in a Division I district final that took one hour and 25 minutes to play.

Senior right-hander Kyle Michalik played the starring role by pitching a one-hit shutout.

The victory brought smiles to the faces of players, coaches and fans. It also allowed everyone to reflect on the passing of Kevin Fox, Lexi Poerner, Blake Bartchak, Jeffrey Chaya and Cora Flemming in the past year.

“I was close with all of our friends that we have lost over this last year,” Michalik said. “Every game that the team plays and every game I play is for everyone. I know that they are always up there watching down us.”

Brunswick players jumped for joy and embraced after the final out to advance to a regional semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday against Mentor at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton.

“That was emotions,” Michalik said of the celebration. “We have been going at this for three straight years in the district championship. To finally come out and win this game means so much to us. We are playing for our friends we have lost. That is a huge part of how hard we have been playing. The emotions rose after that. We are just ecstatic.”

Michalik said Fox, Poerner, Bartchak and Chaya passed away from a car accident on June 3, 2012. Fox and Chaya were seniors in 2012, Poerner and Bartchak were juniors. Current Brunswick senior Julia Romito was the lone survivor from the car crash.

The Blue Devils, whose colors are blue and white, wore green shirts in the game to honor Flemming, a senior who passed away at age 18 on May 5 after battling bone cancer.

“They were not just student-body kids, they were part of this team,” Brunswick coach Todd Winston said. “They would come into my classroom after class during the school year and talk. They were part of this. [The players] lost best friends. It has been very difficult, but from administration all the way down, they have handled it very well. This is a very mature group.”

Michalik, a 6-foot-1 and 180-pound Ohio State recruit, struck out five. He succeeded primarily with his fastball and slider.

“I knew I had to keep my composure,” Michalik said. “I knew my team has my back. I trust them with everything.”

Brunswick (21-8) took a 2-0 lead in the second inning following three consecutive hits and a well-placed bunt. Senior Gerry Salsbury opened the inning with a triple to right and scored following a single to left by senior Kyle Wheeler. Sophomore Gary Clift hit a single to right and then Wheeler scored followed a squeeze bunt by senior Brian Lees.

The Blue Devils upped the lead to 3-0 in the third. Michalik hit a one-out double to right and scored on an errant throw after Salsbury hit a ball in play.

“It has been a pleasure to coach these kids,” Winston said. “It has absolutely been awesome. I have had most of these kids for three years.”

Hudson (24-6) got a single from junior Joey Cahill in the fourth inning for its only hit.

“Hats off to Michalik, he threw a heck of a game,” Hudson coach Buddy Dice said. “He gave up one hit. He pitched well and they made the plays defensively.”

Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

After all, Dunbar lost just one game to the Walsh Jesuit junior last week in the sectional final.

But the tenacious Sandberg had other ideas. In a battle of baseline players, the 2012 state semifinalist ripped wicked groundstrokes with depth and accuracy to win the first set before succumbing to Dunbar 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Dunbar, who showed virtually no emotion despite playing for a championship, will take a first seed to the state tournament next weekend in Columbus.

The match appeared destined for a dramatic ending early in the second and third sets. Sandberg trailed just 3-2 in the second set before he was doomed by a spate of unforced errors. Dunbar warmed up with the weather, playing his finest tennis after the same score was reached in the third set. He won the last three games to clinch the title.

Dunbar said he believes his ability to remain stoic despite losing the first set proved critical to his victory. He said was not surprised that the talented Sandberg played a far superior match than he did in the blowout a week ago.

“Losing your cool makes you do stupid things,” said Dunbar. “He played better and it’s definitely difficult to play people two times in a row like that. The whole mindset is that he’s going to change things, so you play off of that. He came out aggressive and controlled the tempo.”

Dunbar countered by slowing the pace of his shots, which weakened those of his opponent. In the end, however, both players wore down. Their energy will return in plenty of time for their trip to Columbus. And Dunbar said he understands what he must do to advance past the second round, in which he was eliminated in 2012.

“Serving is going to be a huge, huge key, especially when you really get into the match,” he said. “If you hold serve like I did for the most part in the last two sets today, you’re safe.”

The two Copley doubles teams heading to state should know that, as well. They combined to win all four matches on Saturday. The team of Anderson Ong and Jarad Pennington were particularly dominant in claiming the district crown with a 6-0, 6-3 drubbing of the Westlake team of Connor Michelich and Cal Craven. They lost just 10 games throughout the tournament.

Pennington and Ong play first and second singles, respectively, during the regular season. But the tough singles draw motivated them to team up in tournament play. That decision proved wise Saturday.

“We managed to keep our intensity the entire [final)]match,” said Ong, who lost in the first round of the state tournament last year with Pennington. “We stayed aggressive. We have to take things one match at a time. If we do that and keep playing like this, we can win matches in Columbus.”

The Copley brother team of senior Gavin Aten and freshman Austin Aten clinched a state berth by beating Nick Debiec and William Brown of Canfield 7-5, 6-1, then earned a fifth seed in the state event with a same score defeat of Solon’s Eric Goldberg and Dillon O’Brien.

Earning a berth in Columbus with your big brother? How awesome is that?

“Getting to state as a freshman is really cool,” Austin said. “My brother has given me a lot of support. The key for us today was getting our service returns in low and getting our own serves in was huge.”

Dunbar, Sandberg and the Copley players will have some company from the area in Columbus. Hudson senior Steven Boslet earned his fourth trip (the last two in singles) with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Jackson freshman Nate Zalenski, who was eliminated. Fellow Jackson freshman Joey Thomas qualified as well, but forfeited his third-place match with a back strain that has plagued him for a while.

The Hoover team of Rob DeMarco and Mike O’Connor reached the semifinals Thursday to qualify for state. However, they fell Saturday to Ong and Pennington before losing to Solon’s David Shankman and Brian Yang.

DeMarco and O’Connor will take a fourth seed to the state tournament.

Perry Division II district

Buchtel’s boys team finished in fifth place with 69 points.

The top four individuals or relay teams in each event qualified for regionals.

Leading the Griffins was Kavonte Woods, who took top honors in the discus throw (148-11) and second in the shot put (45-11).

Three Buchtel relay teams qualified for regionals as the 400- and 800-meter teams of Stephen Mosley, Mario Skipper, Johnny Gissendaner and Chris Davis earned second-place finishes, and the 1,600-meter relay team of Kendrick Johnson, Darnell Wilson, Antonio Hambrick and Javier Gaiter took third,

Gaiter also qualified in the 400-meter dash, with a time of 52.66 that earned him third place.

Junior Kevin Zullo took care of the latter part, throwing all seven innings and not allowing an earned run.

Highland’s only scoring came in the fourth inning and with the bases loaded and two out. A hard-hit ground ball went under the glove of an infielder on the left side and allowed two runs to score.

On offense, the Explorers stole five bases and scored all three runs thanks to bunts. The third, and decisive, run came on a safety squeeze.

In the bottom of the fourth, Hudson catcher Alex Tench singled to right field, stole second base and advanced to third on a ground ball to the right side. The safety squeeze involves a big secondary lead but the runner waits until the bunted ball is on the ground before breaking for home. Senior Alex Agra laid down a perfectly placed bunt and took the sacrifice part out of it by reaching base for a hit.

“We work on bunting, we work on hitting, it’s worked,” Dice said, when asked if his players like the small-ball techniques. “Ask them, they like winning.”

Hudson will play Brunswick in the district final at 2 p.m. today.

Brunswick 7, Twinsburg 1

Before Brunswick senior Gerry Salsbury would allow his teammates to look ahead to their senior prom Friday night, he wanted to make sure their heads were at the Ballpark at Hudson.

That’s where Brunswick faced Twinsburg in a Division I district semifinal, and that’s where Salsbury was true to his word, shutting the Tigers down in a 7-1 win on a cold day.

“We told all our seniors, look, take care of business here and then we can go have fun,” Salsbury said. “This game comes first.”

Salsbury threw all seven innings. He allowed five hits and one run and struck out seven.

Twinsburg took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but Brunswick answered with three runs in the second and two in the third, allowing Salsbury to cruise the rest of the way.

“[I was able to] settle into the zone and get into it,” he said. “And realize that these guys have my back and we can go play ball now. ... Quite honest with ya, I didn’t have my best stuff. I was struggling to find my fastball. But I battled through it and got through the game.”

The Blue Devils brought two runs home on an error in the second inning to grab their first lead. A third run scored that inning on senior Kyle Burson’s single to make it 3-1. In the third, senior Kyle Wheeler and sophomore Gary Clift each scored thanks to singles up the middle and some heads-up base running. Each scored from second on infield hits after hard turns at third base. Burson later singled in a run to cap the scoring in the fifth inning.

Brunswick had previously held a knack for slumping offensively when Salsbury took the mound. Friday’s game made up for it.

“These guys actually owed me a couple,” he said. “They liked to put up one-run performances when I go out there to pitch, so they really owed me one. I’m real happy the way they came out and swung the bats today; it was huge.”

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Cuyahoga Falls senior Nicole Waibel and junior Nicole Rozsa went 1-2 in the pole vault to get one step closer to the state meet.

Waibel set a meet record with a vault of 11 feet, 6 inches. Rozsa finished at 11-0.

The top four in each event advance to the regional meet next week at Austintown Fitch.

“She definitely pushes me to expect more out of myself,” Waibel said of Rozsa. “It is nice having someone on the same team who goes the same height as you, because it always helps push you and makes you want to work harder.”

Waibel also placed third in the 300-meter hurdles in 47.39 seconds.

“I made it out to regional in both of my events, so I am pretty proud of myself because that was the goal,” Waibel said.

Waibel holds the school record in the pole vault at 12-4½. She tied for fifth at the state outdoor meet last year and was second at this year’s state indoor meet.

Rozsa placed fourth at the state outdoor meet last year and was tied for third at this year’s state indoor meet.

“It really motivates me to do better having her with me,” Rozsa said. “It is cool to have a teammate with you and to make it as far as we have. We both push each other every day.”

Rozsa has already qualified for state meets in gymnastics, diving and indoor track and field this school year.

Solon won the district team titles for each gender. The Comets scored 165 points on the boys side, which featured 16 teams, and scored 136 points to top the 17-school girls field.

The Stow girls placed second with 76⅓ points. Cuyahoga Falls (58½), Nordonia (53) and Wadsworth (46) rounded out the top five.

The Nordonia boys took second with 69 points. Walsh Jesuit (63), Wadsworth (60) and Twinsburg (57) rounded out the top five.

Other first-place girls

Nordonia senior Taylor McDonald ran to firsts in the 100 hurdles (14.87) and the 300 hurdles (45.32).

Firestone freshman Te-Shell Thomas won the 400 in 59.3 seconds.

“This feels great,” Thomas said. “I have been to [the Amateur Athletic Union] national where it is the junior Olympics. This is something different, but it is not too much for me. I have been through big meets before. I get nervous, but I try to keep a level head. I don’t get cocky. I just stay humble. I am happy to be here. I am excited to move forward.”

Twinsburg won the 400 relay in 50.19 seconds. The unit consisted of freshman Lauren McKinley, junior Brianna Lawson, senior Jordan Laley and senior Taylor Ware.

Stow senior Abbie Lawson won the high jump with 5-1.

Wadsworth won the 1,600 relay. Juniors Courtney Palange, Leah Runkle and Sarah Berger joined senior Michalla Gordon to clock a 3:57.91.

First-place boys

Nordonia won the 800 relay in a time of 1:29.80. The unit was made up of sophomore Denzel Ward, junior Brandon Truett, junior Sterling Brabson and junior Jordan Nobles.

Ward also won the long jump in 22-2¾.

Twinsburg junior Garrett Crichlow won the 1,600 in 4:13.57. He also anchored the victorious 3,200 relay in 8:00.41. Senior Ryan Scanlon, senior Tommy King and junior Nick Schank ran the first three legs. Tigers senior Eric Moorer won the high jump in 6-4.

Two Stow seniors won events, Keith Philpot in the 400 (50.89) and Paul Lovell in the 800 (1:55.85).

Cuyahoga Falls senior Chris Harris won the 300 hurdles in 39.07.

“I am very, very happy to advance to regional,” Harris said. “I made it to regional last year in the 300 hurdles too. Last year, I did the 300 hurdles, the 100 and the 4x100 [relay]. I was focused on more events. Now, that I am doing one event I just focus on it.”

Second-place girls

Cuyahoga Falls had four athletes place second: Rozsa, senior Erica King (discus, 131-1), sophomore Ashley Krieger (400, 1:00.02) and junior Maddie Ziccardi (shot put, 36-4).

Stow had three place second: junior Ashley Pryce (100 hurdles, 14.99), sophomore Sam Shaver (100, 12.37) and senior Abbie Lawson (300 hurdles, 45.83).

Other girls that took second were Walsh Jesuit junior Melinda Renuart (1,600, 5:06.91), Twinsburg junior Brianna Lawson (200, 25.53) and Cloverleaf junior Ashley Murray (3,200, 11:14.48).

Second-place boys

Three Wadsworth athletes placed second: junior Ryan Looser (110 hurdles, 14.9), junior Hunter Williams (200, 22.52) and senior Nick Seme (discus, 164-8).

Other seconds went to Walsh Jesuit seniors Russell Platt III (high jump, 6-2) and Gabriel Heydinger (shot put, 50-6½), Revere junior Andrew Robinson (400, 50.93) and Hudson senior Zach Teed (3,200, 9:35.8).

Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Austintown Division I district

Ellet, Kent Roosevelt, Tallmadge and Ravenna each had top-four finishers in multiple events at the Austintown Division I district meet on Friday.

The first four finishers in each event qualify for the regional meet next week at Austintown Fitch for the chance to advance to the state meet.

Andrew Mason of Ellet won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 5.73 seconds to qualify for the regional meet. Ellet’s Dorland Bell finished third in the event and Derek Stout placed third in the discus to advance to the regional meet.

Grant Mercer placed second in the 300 hurdles and second in the long jump to lead Kent Roosevelt. Katie Morsefield won the long jump and Alex Marsinek placed fourth in the event and will compete in the regional meet.

The Rough Riders had top-four finishers in relay events, including third-place finishes in the girls 3,200 and 400 relays and the boys 800 relay.

The Blue Devils were led by a first-place finish in the 800 run by Brian McGovern and a third-place finish in the 3200 run by Pat Ferguson. Kaycee Harris placed third in the 300 hurdles to lead the girls. The Blue Devils also placed in the top four in the girls 1,600, 800 and 400 relays and the boys 3,200 relay.

Olivia Chinn placed first in the 3,200 run and third in the 1,600 run, while Ja’Lynn Starks took third in the 400 dash to lead the Ravens to the regional meet.

Norwayne Division III district

Cory Glines won the 800-, 
1,600- and 3,200-meter runs to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas boys track and field team to a first-place finish at the Norwayne Division III district meet.

Bryan Wilkins won the 110 hurdles and placed third in the 300 hurdles for the Knights. Wilkins also ran in the 400 relay team that placed first. Josiah Moore placed first in the 100 dash and Alex Benedetti took second in the 200 dash to advance to the regional in Navarre.

The Knights also placed first in the 800 relay and the 3,200 relay.

Jared Poorman finished in first in the 200 dash and Alex Bates took first in the long jump to lead Smithville to a second-place finish.

The Smithies also took first in the 800 relay with a team of Nate Smith, Tolan Shane, Bates and Poorman. Shane also finished in second in the 400 dash.

Danielle Besancon won the pole vault and Kaitlyn Hostetler won the long jump to lead the Smithville girls to a first-place finish.

Maggie Poorman placed second in the 400 dash and took fourth in the 200 dash to advance to the regional meet and the 800 relay team of Annika Spurlock, Angie Pollock, Hostetler and Poorman finished first.

Molly Pusateri finished in first in the 800 run and Victoria Laubacher won the 3,200 run to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas girls team. Pusateri and Laubacher also ran on the winning 3,200 relay team.

And when the scoring was recalculated, the Golden Eagles and Perry Panthers were declared girls co-champions Friday at the North Canton Division I district meet.

“This coaching staff is unbelievable the way they prepare the kids and the way they follow the entire sport,” GlenOak coach Scott Ferrell said. “They’re just not in it for one event. They are in it for 17 events. I just represented us up there as they recounted.”

Fortunately, the result was a 98-98 tie and both teams left North Canton happy.

In the meantime, GlenOak dethroned Canton McKinley on the boys side, outscoring the runner-up Bulldogs 81-71. Jackson also tied for second.

“We’re very happy with the performances that we had and the amount of kids that we have moving on [to the regional],” said Ferrell. “Our depth is what is making us successful, and it showed again at this meet.”

The Golden Eagles had four combined champions, including the girls 400-meter relay, senior Jhni Fleming in the 100 hurdles (14.96 seconds), junior Josh Busken in the 1,600 (4:31.68) and Jason Boykins in discus (151 feet, 3 inches).

Perry girls coach J.P. Sexton was just as upbeat after learning his team would share the title.

“Our girls are tremendous,” he said. “They ran their tails off and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Sexton cited junior sprint star Hannah Luke and seniors Mikayla Dearing and Jackie Genetin for leading the way with strong performances.

Luke, a 5-foot-2 stick of dynamite, won the 100 (12.06) and 200 (24.92) dashes, and anchored team victories in the 800 and 1,600 relays.

“I’m my father’s daughter that’s for sure,” Luke said. “I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season to see what I can do, and what the rest of the team can do.”

The blustery cold evening did not slow Luke.

“She still ran amazingly well,” Sexton said. “Her times were right on par with what she’s been building to at this point of the year.”

Green made a strong showing in the middle distance events when junior Emily Hooker won the 400 (58.25), freshman James Angel held off Massillon senior and Ohio State-bound Gareon Conley to win the boys 400 (51.20) and senior Erika Rector won the 800 (2:16.57).

The Bulldogs also won the boys 1,600 relay (3:27.88), with Angel able to outlast runner-up Archbishop Hoban and the Knights’ anchor leg Oshar Latson. The Green girls were second in the 1,600 relay.

Defending state champion, senior Morgan Estes of Green, easily won girls pole vault (11-6) as expected.

Canton McKinley’s boys were able to win the 800 relay (1:31.33) as anchor Jeff Richardson edged Wooster senior James Preston.

“My shoestring came loose,” Preston said. “I thought my shoe was going to fly off.”

McKinley was not so fortunate in the 400 relay when a poor handoff landed the Bulldogs in fifth place, one spot short of a regional berth. Richardson did avenge the miscue with a victory in the 200 (22.01).

Garfield senior Troy Robinson was second to Richardson in both the 100 and 200, but will advance.

Another busy McKinley athlete was junior Korrin Taylor. With a prelim long jump of 18-7½, Taylor seemed poised to challenge the district meet record, but elected to conserve energy for the 800 relay and the 300 hurdles by taking just one jump in the finals and still managed to win easily.

The decision paid off with a personal record split in the 800 relay when McKinley placed second and a personal record time of 45.90 in winning the hurdles. In the first event on the track, Taylor was leading the 100 hurdles and clipped the last barrier, only to be passed by GlenOak’s Fleming.

“I was so mad,” Taylor admitted. “I took anger and just went out and ran my fastest time in the [800 relay] and then ran my fastest time in the 300 hurdles, too.”

Hoover senior Ashley Hinderer, originally an 800 runner, ran the 1,600 for the first time at the Federal League championship meet last week and came back to win the district meet (5:20.76).

“I was just hoping to qualify for regionals,” she said. “I’m so glad I switched.”

Jackson junior Grace Taylor won the 3,200 (11:30.54) when she passed second-place finisher Hannah Thompson of GlenOak with about 250 meters left. Lake sophomore Jacob Kernell won the boys 3,200 (9:33.03).

Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps.

Booker is the second St. V-M junior to give Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer a commitment recently, following junior running back Parris Campbell Jr.

“It is a great opportunity,” Booker said. “I am excited to get the chance to play with Parris in college. It feels great to make the decision and I look forward to playing my senior year of high school.”

Booker, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and Campbell helped St. V-M win the Division III state football championship in 2012, and both played on the Fighting Irish boys basketball team that was the Division II state runner-up in 2013.

Booker, 17, said he also “seriously looked at Notre Dame” and received approximately 14 scholarship offers from Division I colleges.

“Obviously, you are talking about a great university in Ohio State,” St. V-M coach Dan Boarman said. “It is a great place to go to school and a great place to play football. I think it comes down to there wasn’t a bad choice for Dante. He had several options, and they were all good options.”

Booker is ranked the eighth-best outside linebacker in the country, and he is ranked third in the state of Ohio.

He had 157 tackles, 11 sacks and three fumble recoveries as a sophomore. He made 81 tackles and had nine sacks, dealing with injuries last season.

Booker said the Buckeyes recruited him to play outside linebacker. He is the ninth OSU recruit for the class of 2014. He and Campbell join guard Marcelys Jones, offensive tackle Kyle Trout, cornerback Damon Webb, linebacker Kyle Berger, athlete Sam Hubbard, defensive end Dylan Thompson and wide receiver Lonnie Johnson.

Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Eventually, those numbers wore down a game Field team and carried Walsh to a 4-2 victory and the championship of the Akron Division II district Thursday at Firestone Stadium.

The Warriors stranded six base-runners through three innings and found themselves in a 1-1 tie on an unseasonably cool day as gusty winds swirled and spectators shivered at Firestone Stadium.

“It doesn’t faze us at all,” said senior Lexi Noonan, who singled in all three at-bats and scored two runs. “We were stone-faced the entire time. We all know that we can do it. We’ve just got to wait for the right time and someone will come through. We trust each other enough to know that someone will come through.”

Walsh’s clutch hitting came alive with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, and sophomore right-hander Taylor Rahach (17-5) pitched a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts as the Warriors advanced to a regional semifinal against the winner of Geneva and Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin at 5 p.m. Thursday at Firestone Stadium.

It is the second district title for Walsh (24-5) in three years, and also the second for this year’s seniors, including Cori Anter, who got a big two-run double in the fifth.

Walsh went ahead 2-1 in the fourth when senior Jackie Ammar’s sacrifice fly scored senior Sophia Simone.

In the fifth, sophomore Riley Ries and Noonan singled to start the inning. Anter then drilled a liner to center that rolled to the fence and provided a 4-1 lead.

“I’d already been walked two times,” Anter said. “So I was thinking to look for the pitch, and the pitch before that I had turned my head off of it. I was just concentrating on keeping my eyes on the ball. Hands inside of the ball, and I did it.”

Anter said the pitch was a change-up.

“It was probably the first one I’ve hit all season,” she said with a laugh. “So that was sweet. That really felt good.”

But Field (23-4) would not go quietly.

Field’s Kerrie Trautman walked and Xzandria McKinley singled to start the sixth. That prompted a visit to Rahach from her coach.

“I just tried to slow her down,” Davis said. “Slow way down and enjoy. I mean that’s our thing. We never say here ‘you have to,’ or ‘you can’t.’ We never say that. It’s just fun.”

Rahach then got a fielder’s choice grounder and a strikeout, though a dropped fly ball enabled McKinley to score and make it 4-2. But Rahach ended the inning with a strikeout and retired the Falcons in order in the seventh.

“It was just time to take some time off,” said Rahach of the mound visit. “Just to breath, just to settle me down. I was real anxious, nervous.”

It was a disappointing finish for Field, which captured the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division with two wins earlier this week as well as the district semifinal 1-0 over Tallmadge on Wednesday.

Morgan Peachey had two singles for Field.

“They battled,” Field coach Beth Dyer said. “We knew we were going up against a good team and we were going to have play good ball. Probably not the best game of our week, but we hung in there. They didn’t give up.

“We’ve had a big week. This is the biggest week of the season for us. They did an excellent job. We couldn’t be more proud of the kids.”

Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps.

Track and field

Salem Division II

Brian Hanshaw of Field set a meet record in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 7¾ inches to lead the Falcons to first place after the first day of the Salem Division II district meet.

Hanshaw broke the record of 21-7 set in 2004. Preston Semler of Field finished in second with a 21-6 mark in the long jump and Travonte Junius of St. Vincent-St. Mary took third in the event.

Logan Hull of Manchester finished third in the discus to lead the Panthers to second place.

Janessa Ridenour of North finished third in the high jump to lead the Vikings, and Brittni Porter of Manchester finished fourth in the event to lead the Panthers.

Ciera Trybend of Salem placed first in the shot put to lead the Quakers to a first-place finish. Shayna White of Southeast finished in second in the shot put, and the Pirates are tied for second after the first round.

Tennis

Division I district

Aaron Sandberg of Walsh Jesuit, Joey Thomas of Jackson and Jacob Dunbar of Cloverleaf all qualified for the state tournament and will play in semifinal matches of the Division I district tournament on Saturday at Oberlin.

Sandberg will play Thomas and Dunbar will play Nathan Griffin of Cleveland St. Ignatius in the semifinal matches. Steven Boslet of Hudson will play Jake Zalenski of Jackson for the chance to go to state and play in the fifth-place match on Saturday.

The top six in singles and doubles advance to the state tournament.

Rob DeMarco and Mike O’Connor of North Canton Hoover will play Andrew Ong and Jarad Pennington of Copley in a doubles semifinal match on Saturday.

Both duos have already advanced to the state tournament.

Austin Aten and Gavin Aten of Copley can advance to state with a win in the fifth-place match.

What happened was decidedly better. Just a few seconds after the ball spun in the dirt a few feet in front of home plate, the Falcons could call themselves district champions with a 2-1 win over Springfield on Thursday.

Spartans (25-5) senior first baseman Sarah Stubbs fielded the bunt and hesitated for a second before deciding to attempt to throw out lead runner Mikayla Fowler at second base.

The throw skipped under the glove of the second baseman and toward the center fielder, who also had trouble handling the slick ball in the cold rain.

“When I saw it went through her feet I was like ‘I’m going for it. All-in, right now,’ ” Fowler said.

Fowler never looked back and scored from first base on the sacrifice attempt, getting mobbed at home plate after scoring the winning run.

“Before I got on deck, Katie [Vogelsong] said ‘Me and you, we’re going to win this,’ ” Fowler said.

And that’s just what they did.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Fairless coach Carrie Reynell said. “They’re a solid defensive team. But 11 innings in, someone is bound to make an error and we were fortunate to capitalize on it.”

Sophomore starting pitcher Kelly Hysong had the game of her life for the Falcons (24-4), improving to 19-4 by holding the Spartans to just one run on seven hits with 15 strikeouts in 11 innings.

She threw 164 pitches.

“She came up huge,” Reynell said. “She dug down deep and found something extra today.”

Springfield had the go-ahead run on third base in the fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Hysong did not let those runners cross the plate, and she ended the fourth and seventh with a strikeout.

“I just told myself ‘You need to do this for the team,’ ” Hysong said. “I tried to keep it out of the zone so if they did hit it, it was a fieldable ball.”

Hysong, the leadoff hitter, also scored the Falcons’ other run in the first inning. That kept them in the game for the following 10 innings.

She started the game off with a single, then stole second and was knocked in on a single by Fowler.

Springfield struck back to tie the score in the third inning when sophomore Deanna Cole tripled and scored on a squeeze by junior Kassy Flores.

The score remained tied 1-1 for the next eight innings, which included a short rain delay, darkness and a temperature drop of more than 20 degrees from the opening pitch.

The game lasted more than three hours.

“We’ve tried to work hard since the beginning of the year in keeping the mentality strong,” Reynell said. “When you get late into tournaments, that’s really what it’s about.”

Spartans senior standout Quartni Whited struggled at the plate, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, but she didn’t let it affect her performance on the mound, throwing 11 innings but ultimately falling to 21-4 with the loss. She allowed two runs on four hits, struck out seven and walked one.

Fowler led the Falcons at the plate with two singles, an RBI and a run scored.

Cole paced the Spartans with a single, triple, stolen base and a run scored.

Fairless will play the Canfield-Poland Seminary winner at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Firestone Stadium in a regional semifinal.

His hiring was approved by school board members on Wednesday night.

Whitmer began his coaching career in 1978 at Mogadore and has since coached at Tallmadge, Jackson and Twinsburg.

He also served as the coach for the Tri-County All-star teams.

Whitmer has been a part of nine sectional, four district and two regional championships along with two final four teams.

“I look forward to get going here and enjoy winning probably as much as you do,” Whitmer said at the meeting. “That’s the goal.”

Whitmer was an assistant at Twinsburg when the Tigers won Division I state championships in 2011 and 2012 and were state runner-up in 2013.

— Staff report

Booker is the second St. V-M junior to give OSU coach Urban Meyer a committment recently, following junior running back Parris Campbell Jr.

“It is a great opportunity,” Booker said. “I am excited to get the chance to play with Parris in college. It feels great to make the decision and I look forward to playing my senior year of high school."

Booker is 6-foot-3 and 215-pounds. He and Campbell helped St. V-M win the Division III state football championship in 2012 and both played on the Fighting Irish boys basketball team that was the Division II state runner-up in 2013.

Booker, 17, said he also “seriously looked at Notre Dame” and received approximately 14 scholarship offers from Division I colleges.

“Obviously, you are talking about a great university in Ohio State,” St. V-M coach Dan Boarman said. “It is a great place to go to school and a great place to play football. I think it comes down to there wasn’t a bad choice for Dante. He had several options, and they were all good options.”

Booker said the Buckeyes recruited him to play outside linebacker. He is the ninth OSU recruit for the class of 2014. He and Campbell join guard Marcelys Jones, offensive tackle Kyle Trout, cornerback Damon Webb, linebacker Kyle Berger, athlete Sam Hubbard, defensive end Dylan Thompson and wide receiver Lonnie Johnson.

Austintown Div. I district

Austintown-Fitch boys are leading after four events and Boardman tops the girls side through three.

Billy Price took second in the discus throw, setting what would have been a new meet record with a throw of 190-03, but Anthony Wilks of Marlington topped his throw with a distance of 190-07.

Both marks shattered the previous record of 182-05 set by Boardman’s Corey Linsley in 2009.

North Canton Div. I district

North Canton Hoover leads both the boys and girls through four and three events, respectively.

The girls 3,200 meter relay team of Ashley Hinderer, Tiffany Bentler, Colleen Bentler and Taylor Cropper won with a time of 9:33.66.

Taking top honors for the boys was Xavier Hogan in the long jump with a distance of 21-09.

Amherst Div. I district

Medina leads both the boys and the girls through four and three events, respectively.

Mike Hierholzer won the boys discus with a throw of 174-09

The girls 3,200 meter relay team of Alexis Smith, Maria Scavuzzo, Kimmy Vidika and Sarah Pack won with a time of 9:30.63.

Norwayne Div. III district

Rootstown and Smithville hold the top two spots through six events for both genders. Rootstown leads the boys and Smithville the girls.

David Paliscak won two events for the Rootstown boys, taking the shot put (59-05) and discus throw (153-00).

Alex Bates won the long jump for Smithville boys with a jump of 20-09.

Winning events for the Rootstown girls were freshman Courtney Brown in the high jump (5-02), Dawn Freeland in the shot put (40-08).

Taking events for the Smithville girls were Danielle Besancon in the pole vault (10-03) and Kaitlyn Hostetler in the long jump (17-01.5).

Softball

North Canton Hoover 5,
Louisville 1

Junior Tara Thacker struck out 10 to improve to 18-0 as the Vikings stayed perfect at 30-0.

Freshman Andi Farrah led Hoover at the plate with two singles, a double, three runs and an RBI.

Medina 8, Brunswick 2

Megan Paradise improved to 18-5 and the Bees totaled 11 hits in a Barberton Division I district.

Lauren Peak and Jessie Holzman led the Bees with two singles each. Sami Holzman knocked in two with a double and scored a run.

Windham 11, Rootstown 0

Freshman Brittany Knight hit two home runs and and sophomore Karsyn Mullen added one for the host Bombers (20-7, 13-0 PTC-County).

Rahach, a Mantua resident, knew everyone on the Crestwood team and played with or against a majority of the players in recreational youth leagues.

“I was nervous, but I was excited at the same time to play them,” Rahach said. “I knew it would be a good game.”

Rahach brought her “A” game and struck out a season-high 16 batters to lead the Warriors to a 2-0 win in an Akron Division II district semifinal.

Field defeated Tallmadge 1-0 in the other semifinal with an unearned run in the sixth inning. Walsh (23-5) and Field (23-4) will meet in the district final at 6 p.m. today at Firestone Stadium.

Senior Leandra Griffin reached via an error and scored Field’s run following an infield single by senior Xzandria McKinley with two outs.

“It is a great feeling to be able to deliver the hit, especially since our team hasn’t made it this far in the past much,” McKinley said. “I am very excited.”

Field senior right-hander Kerrie Trautman and Tallmadge junior right-hander Kirsten Lightel engaged in a pitcher’s duel in the nightcap.

Senior Lexi Noonan provided all the offense Walsh needed with a single in the first inning that scored sophomore Lilli Piper and senior Jackie Ammar.

“It was an inside pitch,” Noonan said. “She was pitching us inside the whole game. You just have to wait on the ball an extra second. I was up in the box a little farther than the other at-bats and that helped.”

Rahach, a 5-foot-5 right-hander who is 16, retired the first eight batters she faced by strikeout. She only allowed walks to senior Heather Pahorsky and sophomore Holly Hoffman, and a single to junior Reanna Szarka.

“My rise ball was just rising up and they were swinging underneath it,” said Rahach, who also mixed in some curveballs. Walsh scorekeeper Bill Leslie said Rahach has 205 strikeouts in 125 innings.

“She won the game for us,” Walsh coach Bill Davis said. “That is her hometown. That is where she would have gone to high school had she not gone to Walsh. We are glad we have her. We made a couple of adjustments on her pitching two weeks ago. It seemed to really help her and she has bought in to it. We went out and played [Olentangy] Liberty, [North Canton] Hoover and Elyria. She has been doing real well.”

Walsh beat Liberty and Elyria, and lost to Hoover.

“I think our strength of schedule will help us,” Davis said. “I don’t think anybody sees the schedule we see.”

Trautman struck out six and allowed two hits for Field.

“Ever since I was little I learned to keep my composure no matter what the situation,” Trautman said. “Even with runners on base, I just do my thing and throw it where coach calls for it. That is what gets me through most games.”

Trautman said her screwball and curveball were “both working” Wednesday.

Lightel struck out 11, allowed three hits and also hit a single. Sophomore Joanna Catalano had Tallmadge’s other hit.

Field’s two other hits were by Justine Barnes (tripled) and Trautman (single).

“We have had a big week,” Field coach Beth Dyer said. “We wanted to play. Both pitchers did their thing. It was a pitcher-dominated game. We knew coming in that both pitchers were good. It was just about executing and who was going to make the most out of opportunities.”

Field won the outright Portage Trail Conference Metro Division championship this week with wins over Springfield and Coventry.

“This has been an awesome season,” Trautman said. “We have been the underdogs all year. No one expected us to be this good. Coming out and proving people wrong our senior year just makes us all real proud to be a Falcon.”

Walsh and Archbishop Hoban shared the North Coast League Blue Division title.

Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

“We’re definitely on a mission,” said Sanner, the team’s third baseman and cleanup hitter. “Our slogan is FSOB – Firestone Or Bust.”

The Spartans (25-4) did break out the bats Wednesday, pounding 17 hits en route to a 12-2, six-inning victory over Northwest in a Navarre Division II district semifinal. Springfield will meet Fairless for the district title at 5 p.m. today at Fairless High School.

“We were really ready to play today,” seventh-year Springfield coach Roger Errington said. “We wanted to hit the ball and come out and show that we’re a good hitting team.”

Errington said his team came out flat Monday in a 2-1 loss to Field, which captured the Portage Trail Metro title by one game over Springfield.

There was no such repeat as the Spartans’ first four batters hit safely and scored, and after three innings it was 8-0.

“We can’t get comfortable,” said Stubbs, a Findlay recruit and the team’s first baseman. “We can’t get satisfied.”

Springfield ended the game in the bottom half of the sixth with five consecutive hits scoring four runs.

Sanner enjoyed a 4-for-4 day at the plate, with a double, two runs and two RBI. She has studied the state-championship path of Springfield’s 2005 team.

“We want the state tournament,” she said.

Senior Quartni Whited (21-3) earned the win for the Spartans.

In the second inning, Spartans catcher Kassy Flores smashed a one-hopper off the right leg of Northwest sophomore starting pitcher Erika Juersivich (10-5), who left with an injury. Junior Hannah Gordon came on in relief and also batted 2-for-3.

Junior second baseman Caitlyn Hamrick doubled to right-center and scored for the Indians (20-8).

“We showed a lot of heart,” first-year Northwest coach Stephanie Pound said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game going into it.”

Fairless 3, Manchester 2

Risky base running finally paid off for Fairless, and the Falcons defeated Manchester in the other Navarre Division II District softball semifinal.

With one out in the top of the seventh, and the score tied 2-2, Fairless sophomore Kelly Hysong lined a single to center and promptly stole second base.

When the ball skipped away from Manchester’s middle infielders, she popped up and started for third. An errant throw enabled her to score the decisive run.

“I just took off and ran, and was hoping I would make it,” said Hysong, who also limited the Panthers to four hits and picked up the win in the circle.

Fairless base runners had been cut down at home and at third earlier in the game, but Hysong’s gamble was rewarded and the Falcons will meet Springfield for the district title.

“Some of the aggressiveness was miscommunication, but fortunately the last one worked for us,” first-year Fairless coach Carrie Reynell said.

After each team had scored an unearned run, Fairless (23-4) took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on an RBI double by sophomore right fielder Olivia Loretto.

Manchester (21-7) equalized in the bottom of the sixth on junior pitcher Brooke Horning’s RBI single.

Hysong (18-4) struck out five and worked a 1-2-3 last of the seventh. She also belted a ball off the top of the center-field fence and it stayed in play for a double.

Hudson, baseball

Agra, a senior, tripled and stole home for the winning run in a 4-3 victory over Stow in a Division I sectional final.

Deanna Cole

Springfield, softball

Cole, a sophomore, broke the state record for stolen bases in a season with her 63rd stolen base of the season in a victory over East in a Division II sectional final.

Lexie Handley

St. Vincent-St. Mary, softball

Handley, a freshman, threw back-to-back no-hitters against Firestone and Norton and has 138 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched with an 0.81 ERA.

Riley Ries

Walsh Jesuit, softball

Ries, a sophomore, went 8-for-11 at the plate in four games, including two home runs, four runs scored and seven RBI.

Imani Scott

Firestone, track

Scott, a senior, was part of a school-record 1,600-
meter relay, was second in the 800, fourth in the high jump and part of a second-place 3,200-meter relay to help the Falcons win the City Series championship.

Note: Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to nominate student-athletes for the High School Spotlight by noon on Mondays. Please email bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com with the athlete’s name, school, class, accomplishments for the week and a color picture (JPEG).

Twinsburg heads into its Hudson Division I district semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. today against Brunswick full of confidence after defeating Walsh for the second year in a row in a sectional final.

Seniors Nick Jaworski and Nick Medwetz each played starring roles in the Tigers’ 1-0 victory over the host Warriors on Friday.

Jaworski, a right-hander, tossed a complete-game shutout and also batted in Medwetz for the lone run. Medwetz hit a triple prior to scoring.

Twinsburg defeated visiting Copley 6-2 in a sectional semifinal May 16.

“We’ve just been playing well lately,” Twinsburg coach Donald R. Jones said. “We were 6-6 at one point this season and now we are 20-9 going into the game with Brunswick.”

Senior Jalen Washington hit a solo home run and a two-run double for Twinsburg in the game against Copley.

Jones said other consistent players have been seniors Cooper Rea, Dylan Gugliotta, Brady Haba and Ed Govang, junior Dan McMullen and sophomore Mitch Eglar.

Twinsburg defeated host Walsh 9-1 last year.

Hudson and Highland will play in the other district semifinal after Twinsburg and Brunswick complete their game.

Hit No. 4 is a home run

Buckeye senior Tom Metheney entered last week with three hits in 15 at-bats this season. His primary role is to play first base as a defensive replacement late in games.

Metheney’s fourth hit of the season turned into a memorable one when he smacked a solo walk-off home run in the seventh inning to lift the host Bucks over St. Vincent-St. Mary 8-7 in an Akron Division II sectional final. It was Metheney’s first home run at any level of baseball.

Archbishop Hoban defeated Buckeye in a district semifinal Monday at Summit Lake Park’s George Sisler Field.

Hoban’s hot-hitting Cain

Senior center fielder Aaron Cain is putting together an impressive season as Archbishop Hoban’s leadoff hitter.

Cain helped the Knights win the Akron Division II District title by going 1-for-3 against Buckeye and 2-for-3 against Tallmadge. Between the two games, he hit three singles, was hit by a pitch, walked once, scored twice and played flawlessly defensively.

Cain has 48 hits in 94 at-bats this season for a .511 batting average with 35 runs and 14 RBI.

He played with his older brother, Kerrigan Cain, on the 2011 Hoban team that was the Division II state runner-up. Kerrigan Cain posted a .522 batting average as a senior with 48 RBI, 29 runs, 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 12 stolen bases. He is a sophomore on the Case Western Reserve University baseball team.

Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.