Boys Best of the Week: Who made a difference around the area in soccer, golf, XC?
MOUNT GILEAD — Parker Bartlett didn't waste any time to start the boys cross country season. The Mount Gilead senior won a pair of invitationals.
He won the Upper Sandusky Ice Breaker to begin the year, clocking a 16:18, then followed it up with a victory at the Colonel Crawford Kip Kinn Invitational with a scorching 15:29.
The Indians followed his lead by finishing second at the 12-team Upper Sandusky meet with 54 points, eight behind Columbus Grove's 46. At the Kip Kinn, Mount Gilead won the meet with 72 points.
More: Boys Cross Country Guide: Defending state champs looking for more at Mount Gilead.
More Boys Cross Country
● Also at the Ice Breaker, Marion Harding was third with 91 points and Cardington eighth with 226 out of 12 schools. Finishing in the top 20 locally behind Bartlett were MG's Owen Hershner (third, 17:14), Marion Harding's Kade Sutherland (fourth, 17:28), Cardington's Aidan Reitmire (fifth, 17:35), Harding's Carter Ferguson (10th, 18:03), River Valley's Chase Osborne (11th, 18:12) and MG's Nathan Smith (18:36).
● Also at the 15-team Kip Kinn, Northmor was runner-up with 90 points, beating Harding's 90 points on a fifth-runner tiebreaker. Pleasant was right behind in fourth at 92 points, while Cardington was 11th and Elgin 15th. Making the top 25 behind Bartlett were Northmor's Ryan Lehman (second, 15:33), Hershner (third 15:48), Sutherland (fifth, 16:22), Reitmire (sixth, 16:23), Pleasant's Nick Swartz (seventh, 16:24), Pleasant's Will Lichtenberger (ninth, 16:29), Ferguson (11th, 16:38), Northmor's David Blunk (12th, 16:45), Pleasant's Elijah McGinniss (14th, 17:02), Harding's Sebastian Swihart (17th, 17:11), Pleasant's Liam Curtis (19th, 17:14), MG's Tommy Emberg (21st, 17:25) and Smith (25th, 17:33).
● North Union was sixth out of eight boys teams at the heat-shortened Benjamin Logan Early Bird that was limited to 3200 meters. Tyler Huff was in the top 10 with a 10:56. The Wildcats were ninth out of 10 teams at the Buckeye Valley Baron Blast as Felix Plouck led the team with a 39th in 20:32.
Boys Soccer
● River Valley split a couple of matches last week. The Vikings fell to Fairbanks 3-1 with Hudson Pollock scoring and Christian Knight assisting as J.R. Bates saved seven shots. In a 4-0 victory over Hamilton Township, Pollock scored twice and had an assist, while Gabe Douce also scored twice. Knight and Bates had assists, while Bates had nine saves.
● Marion Harding dropped two matches, losing 7-0 to Indian Lake and 4-1 to Briggs. Tristan Elmore scored the goal and Trenton Leonard saved 18 shots over the two matches.
More: Boys soccer preview: River Valley poised to contend in MOAC
Boys Golf
● Pleasant topped North Union 166-177 in a match at Mill Creek. For the Spartans, Dawson Hall shot a 38, Brayden Parrish 42, Dylan Moore 43, Jonathan Maran 43, Jack Seckel 46 and Nolan Ludwig 47. For NU, Miles Hall posted a 42, Wyatt Davis 43, Austyn Wilson 45 and Jaxon Jolliff 46.
● The Spartans lost their first dual match of the season 170-172 against Clear Fork at Deer Ridge. Moore paced them with a 40 followed by a 41 from Maran, 45 from Parrish, 46 from Hall and 47s from Seckel and Ludwig. In a match at the Marion Country Club, Pleasant prevailed with a 161 to Clear Fork's 167 and Harding's 208. Parrish shot a 39, Hall a 40, Seckel a 41, Ludwig a 44 and Maran a 45
● North Union went to Kenton's Veterans Memorial Park and posted a 172-189 victory with Hall shooting 42, Jolliff and Wilson 43s, Ethan Monroe 44, Davis 45 and Tayden Peck 47.
Coaches and statisticians are encouraged to send their results to Rob McCurdy at the Marion Star at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.
Vote: Marion Star Boys Best of the Week Performer Poll
Pleasant's Braden Parrish shot a 39 in a tri-match win over Clear Fork and Marion Harding at the Marion Country Club.
River Valley soccer's Hudson Pollock scored two goals with an assist in a win over Hamilton Township.
Mount Gilead cross country's Parker Bartlett won the Upper Sandusky Ice Breaker in 16:18 and the Colonel Crawford Kipp Kinn Invitational in 15:29.
Northmor cross country's Ryan Lehman was runner-up at the Colonel Crawford Kip Kinn Invitational in 15:33.
Marion Harding cross country's Kade Sutherland was fourth at the Upper Sandusky Ice Breaker in 17:28 and fifth at the Colonel Crawford Kip Kinn Invitational in 16:22.
Voting continues through early Friday morning at MarionStar.com and its app.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Boys Best: Who led area's cross country, soccer, golf teams ?
