Gracie Gleason, left, and Emily Mask work on bumping the ball for a pass during the North Union youth volleyball camp. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — The future of any high school athletic program is tied to the younger athletes being ready when it is their turn to step into middle school and high school athletics. The North Union volleyball program helped along that process this past week as it held its annual youth clinic for elementary-age players. For Lady Cat senior Audrey Baldwin, it was a look back to when she was that age while looking ahead at…
Author: Bob Putman
North Union’s Griffin Osborne (orange) secures an interception while covering Fairbanks’ Holtz Maine during a 7-on-7 scrimmage at NU. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — Working towards the start of full-scale high football practices requires coaches to work through the process during summer sessions. Staying with a process is something North Union head coach Nick Hajjar has not wavered from during his tenure as the Wildcats’ coach. But there was a time when the process could be stagnated by the rules that were implemented when the practices were allowed to start. Those rules required limited contact, wearing only helmets and…
Fairbanks’ Ryker Green (white helmet) defends an incoming pass against an opposing player during a 7-on-7 scrimmage at Pleasant. (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — David Carroll began his tenure as Fairbanks’ head football coach in February. He has spent the past few months getting to know the Panther program. The getting-to-know period has pretty much turned into what-we-have as the season-opening practice sessions are right around the corner. “I have spent a lot of time with the kids since February,” Carroll said Tuesday following a seven-on-seven scrimmage at Pleasant that also involved Ridgedale. “There are new routines and change…
Several North Union athletes recently announced their intention of where that next step in athletics will be. Choosing where to continue their athletic careers were Max Parish (basketball, Heidelberg College), Tyler Huff (cross county, track and field, Heidelberg College), Caden Potts (football, Baldwin-Wallace University), Cameron Osborne (football, Wittenberg University), Reese DeCamp (softball, Rio Grande University), Emma Padovano (volleyball, Washington & Lee University) and Grace Landon (bowling, Muskingum University). Parish finished a standout Wildcat cage career as he became the fifth North Union boys basketball player to reach 1,000 points, totaling 1,069 points over his four years. But scoring was not…
Jonathan Alder’s Andy Yoder (right) attempts to slide into the plate, but is tagged out by Hamilton Badin’s catcher. The Pioneers fell, 2-0, during the Division II regional championship game that was played at Mason High School. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) — Jonathan Alder head baseball coach Craig Kyle made it pretty simple in describing the Pioneers’ 2-0 loss to Hamilton Badin in Friday’s Division II regional final at Mason High School. “They made one more play than we did,” he said. Alder and Badin battled through five scoreless innings behind the pitching of the Pioneers’ Greg Kennedy and…
In the above photo, Jonathan Alder’s Cam Potter (left) and Ashton Martin (10) go after the ball as a Kenton Ridge player slides into third base. In the bottom photo, Mason Keaton slides safely into the plate for a run. The Pioneers beat the Cougars, 8-7, in ninth innings during a Division II regional semifinal game. The contest was played at Mason High School. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller) — Working through a myriad of tough issues, the Jonathan Alder baseball team withstood the challenges and were scheduled to play for a regional title on Friday. The Pioneers faced a…
North Union will have new leaders for its girls and boys basketball programs for the upcoming season. Bre Jackson, who has been the Lady Cats coach for six years, and Ryan Grose, the boys coach the past two seasons, have each stepped down. Jackson has taken a job within Dublin City Schools and it was announced on Thursday that Grose was hired as the new boys basketball coach at Findlay High School. Jackson had a 92-48 overall record as North Union’s coach and a mark of 51-9 within the Central Buckeye Conference. She led the Lady Cats to four CBC…
North Union’s Tyler Krebehenne earned player of the year honors for baseball in the Central Buckeye Conference. Krebehenne was named the Mad River Division’s top player. (Photo of Krebehenne submitted) — The Central Buckeye Conference recently announced its all-league teams in baseball and softball. Jonathan Alder and North Union each had an athlete named as a player of the year. Ashton Martin, an infielder and pitcher for the Pioneers, was selected by league coaches as player of the year in the Kenton Trail Division. North Union’s Tyler Krebehenne, an infielder and pitcher for the Wildcats, earned the same honor in…
Fairbanks will have athletes competing in four events during this week’s OHSAA state track meet at Welcome Stadium at the University of Dayton. Lady Panthers on the track will be, from left, Alexis Wojcehowicz (4×400 relay), Mollie Thrush (4×400 relay), Rachael Hoover (800, 1600, 4×400 relay), Charley Shope (300 hurdles, 4×400 relay) and Allie Boyd (4×400 relay alternate). (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — The ultimate goal for a high school student-athlete, no matter the sport, is to be able to be part of the final week of their particular season. To be able to do that once is a…
Fairbanks’ track athletes competed in the first day of the Division III regional meet at Heath High School. Several of them qualified for Friday’s running finals. Results from prelim events were as follows (qualified for finals unless noted): -100 meter dash: Charley Shope sixth, 12.88; -300 meter hurdles: Shope, fourth, 47.58; -4×100 meter relay: Kendra Turner, Allie Boyd, Molly Thrush, Sydney Nicol, 12th, 52.98 (did not qualify for finals); -4×200 meter relay: Shope, Thrush, Alexis Wojcehowics, Boyd, ninth, 1:49.73; -4×400 meter relay: Rachael Hoover, Wojcehowics, Thrush, Shope, fifth, 4:11.20. Several events were conducted as finals on Wednesday. The top four…
Happy teammates prepare to congratulate Jonathan Alder’s Evan Platfoot (10) as she trots home after a round-tripper against Logan Elm. An 8-5 setback, however, ended the Lady Pioneers’ season during a Division II regional semifinal game. For more photos, go to www.marysvillejt.com. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — Jonathan Alder had itself in hot water for a good part of Wednesday’s Division II regional softball semifinal against Logan Elm at Pickerington Central. Battling their way through a relentless amount of high-temperature situations, the Lady Pioneers were able to withstand the pressure put upon them by the Braves. Until they didn’t.…
North Union’s Ashton Haubiel goes into his swing at the incoming ball. The Wildcats dropped an 8-4 verdict at West Jefferson during the Division III district championship contest. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — North Union head coach Nick Blakeley kept waiting for the Wildcats to get going on Tuesday during the Division III Central District baseball final at West Jefferson. It finally happened, but it was not enough for North Union to advance to its first district final since 2009. The seventh-seeded Wildcats lost 8-4 on the No. 3 Roughriders’ diamond. “At some point you feel you are going…
Jonathan Alder dominated the Division II boys track and field championships on Saturday at Westerville South. Led by six first-place finishes, the Pioneers totaled 112 points to easily outdistance second-place Buckeye Valley, which had 80. “We are very excited as this is the first district championship in Jonathan Alder boys track and field history,” said head coach Justin Creps. “We lost one of our best runners, Mark Goode, to injury, so we knew our margin would be razor-thin,” he said. “The team was locked in and focused.” Brody Tremyane picked up a pair of individual championships while taking part in…
In the completion of a Central Buckeye Conference baseball game that started on April 17, North Union scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to defeat Springfield Shawnee 10-8 on Saturday at Shawnee. The win earned the Wildcats (16-9) a share of the Mad River Division title with Graham. Both teams finished with a 9-7 league mark. It was North Union’s first CBC crown since joining the league in 2019. It was also its first title since 2011 when the Wildcats tied with Highland and Elgin in the Mid Ohio Athletic Confernce Blue Division. When played in…
Mason Bright of North Union fires a pitch toward the plate against Liberty Union. The Wildcats won 10-0 during the Division III sectional title game. (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — A five-run first inning was more than enough for North Union on Thursday as the No. 7 Wildcats blanked 15th-seeded Liberty Union 10-0 in a Central District Division III baseball sectional final at North Union. It was NU’s 15th win against nine losses and advanced the Wildcats to a district semifinal for the first time since 2009. “Before the season we told each other we wanted to bring something…