H.S. Roundup: Lancaster and Fairfield Union boys win McGowan Invitational
CROSS COUNTRY
Lancaster boys finish first
The Golden won their third meet of the season at Watkins Memorial. The Gales have now defeated all 30 teams they have faced in 2023.
Wes Taylor led the Gales again this week with a win in the Division I varsity team race, and he remains undefeated this season. Zane Schorr and Carter Schorr followed closely in fifth and sixth. Carter Davis finished 10th, Owen Rice was 18th, Brock Jarret was 21st and Oliver Roush finished 38th in the 16-team race. Charlie Cooperrider finished fifth to lead all Lancaster finishers in the reserve race. Thirteen of 17 Lancaster runners set new personal bests this week. Returning Lancaster runners improved by an average of 1:57 compared to their results at Watkins in 2022.
Lady Gales place second
Lancaster placed second out of 17 teams at the Watkins Memorial McGowan Invitational. Leading the Gales was junior Marisa Heil, who won the race in a time of 18:13. Ava Parrett followed close behind in fifth place. Harper Allen returned to action placing 22nd. Katie Coy, Lily Carpico, Ava Zeiders, and Bella Specht completed the varsity team scoring in places 31st, 46th, 61st, and 77th.
The junior varsity squad placed third out of 12 teams. Leading the Gales was Hungarian exchange student Dorka Tatar in second place. Sarah Johnson placed 14th, Alia Hopple 26th, Brenna Jarrett 38th, Alayna Knoch 50th, Evelyn Hill 70th, Zoe Fullen 104th, Emma Loudon 110th, Annabelle Walter 112th, Lilly Layne 126th and Annabelle Whitacre in 138th. Six Gales had personal bests and five had season bests.
Fairfield Union boys finish first
The Falcons won the Division II Watkins Memorial Invitational against 12 other teams. Drew Walton was first overall with a time of 15:39. Nathan Phillips was seventh, Christian Reindle eighth, AJ Ray 16th, Connor Runkle 23rd, Connor Myers 24th Chase Miller 27th. There were 163 athletes in the race.
The Lady Falcons took second in a field of 12 teams. Anna Conrad won overall in a time of 18:51, Vera Henderly sixth, Addy Winters 14th, Claire Wilkinson 20th, Ava Wilkinson 21st, Julia Widener 27th, and Averey Cottrill 35th.
Liberty Union girls place third
The Liberty Union Cross Country teams competed at the McGowan Invitational at Watkins Memorial High School. The girls’ team was third in the Division III race and was led by Rachel Sponseller (2nd, 20:39). She was followed by Natalie Cotton (18th, 23:09), Elizabeth Conn (21st, 23:31), Kathleen Slaby (32nd, 24:23), Heidi Chabot (42nd, 25:12), Caroline Endsley (46th, 25:30), and Ashley Kessler (51st, 26:07). Other Lion runners were Emma Huntwork (26:56), MJ McCleese (27:36), Addison Ross (27:54), Sammy Jones (29:33), Lillian McCoy (31:47), and Gaia Cipriani (35:14).
The boys team placed eighth in the Division II race and was led by Connor Tighe (17th, 17:15). He was followed by Baily Chabot (54th, 18:45), William McCreery (61st, 19:03), Lincoln McCoy (68th, 19:19), Charlie Sponseller (84th, 20:03), Micah Strawser (88th, 20:09), and Derek Doersam (105th, 21:01). Other Lion runners were Hunter Maddux (21:33), William Gonzalez (22:33), and Silas Kohler (24:29).
Fisher Catholic has strong showings
The Irish boys and girls both had a strong showing at the Watkins Memorial McGowan Invitational.
The Irish Girls placed second out of seven teams scoring 56 points. Leading the Irish was senior Ruby Hagy, who placed fifth with a time of 21:10.9 and senior Ava Albert placed 13th with a time of 22:16.8. Other Irish runners were Mary Grace Crabtree-23:17.5-17th, Allie Krile-23:29.1-20th-PR, Eve Ohhwofohwaraye- 24:10.9-29th-PR, and Abigail Crabtree- 24:30.2- 33rd.
The Irish Boys placed third out of 11 teams scoring 105 points and were led by sophomore Roman Funk- 17:40.09-7th-PR and sophomore Landen Funk-18:00.2-12th. Other Irish Runners were Daschel Neighbor- 19:11.3-25th, Reece Hagy-19:12.8-26th, Nathan Krile-19:51.4-36th, and Senior Jake Taylor-20:52.8- 47th.
VOLLEYBALL
Fairfield Christian Academy 3, Berne Union 0
The Knights improved to 4-0 in the Mid-State League-Cardinal Division with a sweep over the Rockets. Samantha Rouser had 17 points, four aces and 12 assists. Katy Smeltzer finished with 15 pts, four aces, Claire Deem had 12 pts, two aces, 10 digs and 12 assists, Ella Koehler had 16 kills and 9 digs, while Sylvia Ross had 12 kills and Nakayla Cash 12 digs.
Fisher Catholic 3, Millersport 1
The Irish were able to remain unbeaten in the MSL-Cardinal Division with a 25-22, 25-22, 26-28, 25-11 win over the Lakers.
Ellie Bruce had 29 kills, two aces and six solo blocks to lead the Irish. Abby Krooner had three aces, 40 assists and five digs, Vanessa Funk finished with eight aces, and nine digs and Kaitlyn Watson had seven kills and 10 digs.
Fairfield Union tops A-C
The Falcons improved to 7-2 overall. Christian Thompson led the way with 15 kills, 12 assists, 16-for-16 serving and 14 digs. Addy Wolfe had solo blocks to tie a school record and added seven kills. Cara Miller was 20 for 20 serving, 20 assists, eight kills and 10 digs, and Emily Burke had was 28 of 29 serving, had 20 assists, eight kills and 10 digs.
Bloom-Carroll 3, Teays Valley 0
The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the MSL-Buckeye Division after their 25-8, 25-15, 25-23 win over the Vikings.
Evely Brown led the way with 15 kills and five total blocks. Molly Barber had 13 kills, Madison Lacy finished with 39 assists and Mia Matchett had five aces.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs competed in the Wayne Roller Invitational and went 2-1, losing to Pickerington Central 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, defeated Thomas Worthington 25-11, 25-15 and Lancaster 25-13, 25-17.
Combined three-game stats: Evelyn Brown had 27 kills and seven blocks, Katie Marshall and Corinne Knapp 22 kills each and Madison Lacy finished with 88 assists.
GOLF
FCA wins MSL-Cardinal
The Knights won their third straight MSL-Cardinal Division match at the Lancaster Country Club. The Knights finished with a 348-team total, followed by Wellington (394) and Berne Union.
Johnny Sparks led the way with an 82 and was the medalist for the match. He was followed by Harrison Teal (84), Connor Blair (87) and Josh Witte (95). FCA consists of junior and team captain Harrison Teal, who has an average of 79.3 in the league. Freshmen Connor Blair averages 84, Johnny Sparks with an 84.5, and Josh Witte with a 97 making the core of the team. Sophomore Joel Blankenship averages 97.6 and has been a consistent contributor.
Lancaster competes at G.C. Invitational
The Gales played in the Grove City Invitational held at Hickory Hills Golf Course and finished in 16th place with a 391. Gave Betts led the Gales with an 88. Jacob Miller shot a 93, Devon Schultz 103, and Greyson King 107.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: H.S. Roundup: Lancaster and Fairfield Union boys win McGowan Invitational
