North Union’s Max Parish (3) delivers a two-handed slam following a fastbreak during the second half of action. The senior tallied 31 points in the team’s win over the visiting Indians. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — There is always some mystery involved during the tournament basketball season. Coaches worry about first-game jitters or teams with nothing to lose that step up to pull off an upset. North Union was able to avoid the latter on Tuesday during the opening round of the Central District Division III tournament. Sparked by an opening salvo of three-point goals, Mount Gilead, the 20th…
Author: Bob Putman
North Union wrestler Heath Ferguson has his arm raised in victory in this file photo. Ferguson won the Division III sectional championship in the 150-pound weight category. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — North Union sophomore Heath Ferguson won a Division III sectional wrestling championship during the Central District tournament at Amanda Clearcreek. Ferguson (19-6) finished off three straight wins in the 150-pound division. He notched a late pin during the third period of his title match against Joey Wright of Westfall. After getting a first-round bye, Ferguson opened with a victory over Josh Kean of West Jefferson in a…
North Union’s Addison Wedding goes up for the center jump at Columbus Centennial. The Lady Cats won the Division II tournament game on a late basket. (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — North Union went though some pretty rough moments on Saturday in its Division II Central District sectional tournament hoop final at No. 3 Columbus Centennial. While some of the numbers were not on the plus side for the sixth-seeded Lady Cats, the only number that mattered overshadowed anything else that happened during the game. Kennedy Harrah’s scoop of a loose ball under the North Union basket ended with…
North Union’s Miles Hall (white) drives to the basket during a regular season home game against Jonathan Alder earlier this season. The Wildcat tallied 23 points in the team’s win over Elgin. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — There was some good and bad to how North Union played in the first half of Wednesday’s regular-season finale at Elgin. The good news for the Wildcats was the offense produced 42 points. But on the other end of the spectrum, NU Head Coach Ryan Grose was not particularly happy with how the defense played in allowing the Comets to score 30…
Fairbanks senior Reese Poling (4) goes up for a shot against Pleasant. The Lady Panthers saw their season end with a tournament loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff) — The point differential at the end did not really match how well the Fairbanks girls basketball team played during a upset bid of Pleasant. When the final seconds ticked off, the Marion County team earned a 45-34 victory in the opening round of the Division III sectional tournament on Tuesday at Pleasant. The Lady Panthers, though, were right with the Lady Spartans until the final two minutes when they were forced…
Fairbanks and North Union each had teams competing in the Division II Central District bowling tournament at HP Lanes on Tuesday. The Lady Panthers finished sixth overall, while the Lady Cats were eighth. Fairbanks finished ninth in the boys tournament. The top two teams advanced to the state tournament. Jasmine Wampler had the top series for Fairbanks with a three-game mark of 513. Emma Milleson had high game at 179 on her way to a 481 series. Lily Vollrath totaled 434 and was followed by Amelia Nicol (395) and Bella Nichols (375). Ryleigh Rasey led the Lady Cats with a…
With North Union head coach Ryan Grose looking on in the background, Max Parish shoots a free throw that put him at the 1,000-point milestone for his career. The Wildcats, however, fell to Indian Lake. (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — The ending was not what North Union senior Max Parish would have liked, but he still had a big accomplishment to be remembered. Midway through the first quarter of Friday’s home Central Buckeye Conference basketball against Indian Lake, Parish swished a free throw for his 1,000th career point. “I actually thought it would be an air ball,” Parish said…
Fairbanks and North Union each had teams qualify for the Division III district bowling tournament. North Union finished second overall in the girls sectional tournament on Saturday at HP Lanes with a total count of 3373. Mechanicsburg earned the first-place slot at 3734 while Fairbanks was seventh at 2968. The top 12 teams advance to district. The Lady Cats were led by Lexi Bahan, who had a three-game series of 558. She finished fifth overall individually. Ryleigh Rasey counted 505 in her series and was followed by Montana Donohue (478) and Alyssa Frisco (433). Emma McCaul had a two-game series…
NU’s Max Parish drives toward the basket against River Valley. Parish scored 25 points. (Photo submitted) — North Union struggled with execution on both ends of the court. That inconsistency led to a 64-52 non-league loss to River Valley on Tuesday. It was a battle between two of the top teams in the Central District. North Union earned a second seed in Division III for post-season play, while River Valley is slotted the same in Division II. The Wildcats led just once, holding an 18-16 edge early in the second quarter. The Vikings put together several scoring runs, helped by…
Fairbanks’ Jameson Rausch cuts down a portion of the net after the Panthers secured a tie for the Ohio Heritage Conference North Division championship. Boys hoop squads will soon enter tournament competition. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) — Ryan Grose’s second year as the North Union head boys basketball coach has shown great improvement against his first season. The Wildcats are 16-5 through Tuesday’s game and were rewarded with a second seed for the Division III Central District tournament. This year was the first time seedings were decided by the MaxPreps Ratings Percentage Index. The concept of using RPI to…
The North Union girls bowling team put together an outstanding effort recently in the Central Buckeye Conference tournament at Victory Lanes. In their best-ever finish in the tournament, the Lady Cats placed second overall in the Mad River Division with a total pin count of 3463. That is a new school record. Indian Lake won the tournament with a score of 3592. The Lady Cats set two other team records. They tallied a baker game of 213 and Monatana Donohue notched a three-game series of 668. Lexi Bahan totaled a 564 series and was followed by Ryleigh Rasey (549) and…
North Union used a strong first half to get past Northwestern 64-56 on Friday in Central Buckeye Conference boys basketball at Northwestern. The Wildcats (16-3 overall, 7-2 CBC) scored 19 points in each of the first two quarters to take a 38-18 halftime lead. The Warriors (4-15, 2-7) finished strong with a 23-point fourth quarter, but North Union held off the rally. Max Parish led North Union in scoring with 23 points, while Mason Bright chipped in with 14. North Union won the junior varsity game 56-21. Josiah Stover paced the Wildcats with 16 points and Nickolas Hajjar totaled 14.…
Audrey Benedict of North Union eyes the basket against Elgin. Benedict surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career during the NU victory. (Photo submitted) — Early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s basketball game at North Union, senior Audrey Benedict made what she thought was a normal two-point basket against Elgin. However, the reaction of her teammates and the NU fans left her a little confused when they loudly cheered after she made the basket. The shot, which earned the Lady Cats a 53-20 lead, gave Benedict 1,000 points for her high school career. Benedict knew she was getting close…
Audrey Benedict of North Union cuts down a portion of the net after the Lady Cats beat Northwestern. NU secured its third consecutive Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division championship. The Lady Cats have also won 31 straight conference contests. (Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman) — The North Union girls basketball team achieved another one of its season goals on Wednesday. After clinching a third straight Central Buckeye Conference Mad River title on Saturday, the Lady Cats completed a third consecutive undefeated league schedule with a 64-17 rout over the Warriors. “It feels good to be undefeated again,” senior Audrey…
North Union Middle School picked up a pair of girls hoop wins on Monday in the second round of the Central Buckeye Conference tournament. The seventh-grade team defeated Northwestern 31-23. Sam Price and Emmy Eastman each had 10 points for the Lady Cats. In the eighth-grade contest, North Union posted a 41-24 victory over Jonathan Alder. Glory Blevins netted 12 points. , while Morgan Mask totaled 11 points.