H.S. Roundup: Led by Heil, Lancaster places first at Unioto Invitational

CROSS COUNTRY

Lancaster girls: On Saturday, the Lady Gales placed first out of 19 teams as they won the Unioto Invitational. Marisa Heil led the charge, claiming first place. Harper Allen followed close behind in third. Ava Parrett raced to seventh, followed by Dorka Tatar in 19th, Katie Coy in 21st, Lily Carpico in 26th and Ava Zeiders in 27th.

Snagging PRs were Heil, Allen, Tatar, Carpico, Zeiders, Specht, Knoch, Hill, Jarrett, Hunt, Fullen and Walter. Hopple and Whitacre had post-season bests.

Liberty Union hosts invitational: The‌ ‌Liberty‌ ‌Union‌ ‌Cross‌ ‌Country‌ ‌teams‌ ‌hosted the Lion Invitational on Saturday.‌ ‌In the girls' race, the winner was Rachel Sponseller of Liberty Union with a time of 20:30. In the boys' race, the winner was Ashton Helmbright of Bloom Carroll with a time of 16:37. The Fisher Catholic girls team was first, with Liberty Union, Fairfield Christian Academy, Bloom Carroll JV, Amanda Clearcreek, and Lakewood placing second through sixth, respectively.

Other places for the Lions girls team: Natalie Cotton (ninth, 22:13), Elizabeth Conn (12th, 22:44), Kathleen Slaby (14th, 23:12), Ashley Kessler (20th, 25:00), Heidi Chabot (18th, 25:10), Caroline Endsley (25th, 25:37), Emma Huntwork (26th, 25:42), MJ‌ ‌McCleese‌ ‌(31st, 26:28), Sammy Jones (37th, 27:32), Addison Ross (39th, 28:03) and Lillian McCoy (41st, 29:02).

Bloom Carroll won the boy’s meet, with Fisher Catholic, Liberty Union, Fairfield Christian Academy and Berne Union placing second through fifth, respectively. Places for the Lions boys team: Connor‌ ‌Tighe‌ ‌(third, 17:11), Baily‌ ‌Chabot‌ (12th, 17:55), William McCreery (15th, 18:07), Lincoln McCoy (18th, 18:24), Charlie Sponseller (20th, 18:35), Micah Strawser (22nd, 18:39), Hunter Maddux (42nd, 20:46), Derek Doersom (45th, 20:56), William Gonzalez (46th, 21:25) and Silas Kohler (58th, 24:48).

VOLLEYBALL

Upper Arlington 3, Lancaster 2: The Lady Gales fell just short, losing in five sets, in a non-conference match against the Golden Bears.

Jada Johnson had 18 digs, one kill and three aces, Maria Pillar had 18 digs, Jenna Grabans finished with 12 kills, Emma Wilfing had 10 kills and two blocks and Chandler Crowell added 17 kills, three blocks and one ace.

Bloom-Carroll 3, Big Walnut 1: The Bulldogs improved to 19-1 on the season after their 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17 non-conference win over the Eagles.

Evelyn Brown had 13 kills, Katie Marshall had 12 kills, Molly Barber finished with 10 kills, Sienna Hogue had 18 digs and Madison Lacy finished with 45 assists.

The Bulldogs also defeated Liberty Union 25-11, 25-21, 25-15 to improve to 12-0 in the Mid-State League-Buckeye Division and clinch at least a share of the league title. Evelyn Brown had 14 kills, Jazlynn Caton 22 digs and five aces and Madison Lacy added 32 assists.

Fairfield Union 3, Teays Valley 1: The Falcons improved to 15-4 overall after their MSL-Buckeye Division win over the Vikings. Aylssa Tipton had 34 assists, Cara Miller finished with 33 digs, Christian Thompson had 28 kills and three solo blocks and Addy Wolfe added five solo blocks.

Fairfield Christian Academy 3, Grove City Christian 0: The Knights improved to 16-3 overall and 12-1 in the MSL-Cardinal Division after their 25-17, 25-10, 25-9 victory.

Seniors Sylvia Ross, Ella Koehler and Claire Deem took control of the match and didn’t let go. Ross had 10 kills and 10 digs, Ella Koehler had 13 kills, three aces and six digs and Claire Deem finished with 17 digs, eight assists and four aces.

SOCCER

Bloom-Carrol 7, Jonathan Alder 0: Savannah Wilde scored three goals to lead the way in the Bulldogs’ non-conference win over the Pioneers. Tessa Brooks added two goals, and Lilly Freistat scored one goal. Elizabeth Cline finished with five saves.

Pickerington Central 1, Lancaster 0: First place in the Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division was on the line as both teams entered the game with 2 wins, 1 tie, and no losses. A consistent rain made ball control difficult for both teams. The first half saw both teams have quality opportunities to score. The Lady Gales outshot the Tigers 6 to 3 in the first half. The two defenses and goalies were up to the task and kept it a scoreless first half.

The second half started with Lancaster putting pressure on the Tiger goal but was not able to find the back of the net. Pickerington started to generate more attacking chances as the game wore on. With 9:25 left in the game, the Tigers were able to score on a penalty kick after a trip in the box. Central made the goal stand up and earned a 1-0 victory. Madelyn Boothe had six saves in goal for Lancaster. This is the first OCC-Buckeye division loss since 2021, when Lancaster dropped a game vs Newark.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: H.S. Roundup: Led by Heil, Lancaster places first at Unioto Invitational