Jacob Ranker, center above photo, of Marysville leaps over a hurdle during the 110-meter Division I district finals at Hilliard Darby Saturday. Ranker took second in the 100 and first in the 300-meter hurdles to move on to regionals. At the photo to the right, MHS’ Jenna Rioch runs through a turn during the 800-meter finals at Hilliard Darby. Rioch took second place in the race to move on to regionals, which will be held this week at Pickerington North High School. (Journal-Tribune photos by Sam Dillon) –––– –––– The Monarchs of Marysville have advanced athletes through the Division I…
Author: Sam Dillon
Carson Newell of North Union pops up a hit in the infield during a sectional finals game against Columbus Academy. The Wildcats lost the contest 8-3 to end their season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The sixth-seeded Wildcats of North Union had great expectations going into the Division III baseball tournament season. The group of 10 seniors had high hopes of making a run deep in this year’s post season after making a solid push for a conference title with a 17-6 record. Those hopes were dashed, though, with Thursday’s 8-3 loss to No. 10 Columbus Academy. Despite the…
Connor Parks, right, of Marysville slides into second base during a successful steal attempt against Big Walnut in a sectional championship game. The Monarchs cruised past the Golden Eagles, 8-1. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– –––– Gabe Schaeffer of Marysville attempts to put down a bunt against Big Walnut. The Monarchs won the tournament game, 8-1. (Journal–Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– It looked like it was going to be a long game for Marysville sophomore pitcher Jack Christian as he walked the opening two batters during the Monarchs’ sectional finals game against Big Walnut on Wednesday. However, looks…
Kennady Ruhl of North Union watches a pitch while at the plate. Ruhl was the Lady Cats’ only offensive weapon as she hit a home run in the fourth inning during NU’s 4-1 loss to West Jefferson in the Division III District semifinals. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Lady Cats of North Union are in a self-titled rebuilding year, but at a school like NU a rebuilding year means going 20-5. It doesn’t come without some hiccups along the way. That hiccup came during the Lady Cats’ district semifinal game against West Jefferson Tuesday. The Lady Cats, who…
North Union catcher Ashden Turrill applies the tag to Grant Rausch of Fairbanks at plate. Rausch was called out on the play. The Wildcats rallied for a 3-2 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– With the conference schedule in the books and tournament time just around the corner, two Union County baseball teams came together to tune up their games on Monday. The contest was tough battle for both squads, but it was the Wildcats of North Union who got the best of the Fairbanks Panthers, winning 3-2. “I would say we did a pretty good job of playing…
North Union’s softball regular season has come to a close with the Lady Cats coming up just short of a conference title on Saturday. NU fell to Springfield Shawnee, 3-2, and the setback finished NU with a 13-3 record in the Central Buckeye Conference’s Mad River Division. North Union finished a game behind in the standings to Benjamin Logan (14-2). Josie Duncan took the circle for the Lady Cats and pitched her way to seven strikeouts, while giving up seven. NU go on the board first in the top of third inning and followed up with a run in the…
In this file photo, Daniel Heinig of JA tosses the shot put during a meet at Fairbanks High School. Heinig took first at the Central Buckeye Conference championship meet to help the Pioneers win a league title. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Pioneers of Jonathan Alder and Wildcats of North Union closed out their regular track season at the Central Buckeye Conference championships on Friday. The Jon Alder boys were crowned co-champions in the Kenton Trail Division with a team score of 110, sharing the title with London. The Lady Pioneers took third place in their meet with…
Josie Duncan of North Union prepares to slide into third base as head coach Dawn Draper gives her the signal to slide during a sectional finals game against Liberty Union Friday. The Lady Cats won 4-2. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Lady Cats of North Union may not have played their best game during a Central District Division III sectional finals game, but they played well enough to keep their season alive as they took a close 4-2 contest against Liberty Union on Friday. Josie Duncan got the nod to take the circle for the Lady Cats and…
These Marysville High School seniors sign letters of intent during a ceremony at the high school earlier this week. They are from left, Collin Baschnagel, Jacob Branton, Cornelio Estrella, Jakob Hullinger, Cameron Strickland, Hanna Moffett, Sydney Wade, Blake Storr, Payne Miller, Logan Hawn and Ben Warden. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Monarchs of Marysville have 12 more student-athletes who will be taking their skills to the next level. The dozen recently penned letters of intent during a ceremony at Marysville High School. Collin Baschnagel will continue his career at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where he join the men’s…
Carson Newell, right, of North Union slides safely into third base as Colt McCoy, right, of Triad attempts to stop the ball from sailing past him. Newell tallied two hits in the Wildcats’ 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– With senior night in full swing for the North Union Wildcats, they did something that most high school ball clubs are not able to do. NU fielded a fourth-year man at every position on the diamond. The fact that they also beat Triad 2-0 on Monday made it even more to celebrate. North Union head coach…
Ashden Turrill, right, of North Union attempts to apply a tag at the plate as a London runner slides across for the run. The Wildcats beat the Red Raiders 6-3 to take first place in the Central Buckeye Conference. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Wildcats of North Union were able to leap-frog over their Central Buckeye Conference competitor Benjamin Logan to take first place in the Mad River Division. NU’s move into first place came 6-3 win over London on Thursday. The Wildcats, sitting at 11-3 in the CBC, now hold a one-game lead over the Raiders, who…
Jayden Eickhoff, right, of Fairbanks leaps over a Northeastern runner stealing second as Alex Blumenschein, left, attempts to catch the overthrown ball. The Panthers rallied to beat the Jets 3-2 in a rain-shortened contest. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– One swing of the bat can change everything in a baseball game. That surely was the case for the Panthers of Fairbanks on Wednesday as they rallied past Northeastern, 3-2, in the rain-shortened game. The Panthers gave up two early runs, but battled back in the fifth inning. FHS trailed one with runners at second and third and two outs…
Josie Duncan of North Union goes through her windup as she prepares to deliver a pitch. Duncan tossed a one-hitter and notched 19 strikeouts as the Lady Cats beat Graham 9-0. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– North Union pitcher Josie Duncan had a stellar game on Monday as the Lady Cats came back from an unexpected break over the weekend. Duncan struck out 19 batters during a 9-0 victory over Graham. NU was scheduled to play in the Wendy’s Classic in Ashland over the weekend. The event, however, was called due to inclement weather. NU head coach Dawn Draper…
North Union Lady Cat alumni and current softball players stand on the field to form the number ‘40’ to recognize the 40 years worth of softball that has been played at the high school. (Photo submitted) –––– North Union High School softball’s 40 years of existence can best be described in a couple of words …tradition and success. The sport made its way to NU back in 1979. That first team found itself finishing just below the .500 mark with a 10-11 record. However, it didn’t take long for the Lady Cats to start racking up a storied history off…
In this file photo, Josie Duncan of North Union rounds third base on her way home. Duncan hit a home run against Tecumseh to help the Lady Cats win 15-1. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Lady Cats of North Union have been feeling their youthfulness lately as they dropped back-to-back games against Teays Valley and Benjamin Logan. NU returned to form on Tuesday with a 15-1 win over Tecumseh. Madison Amstutz took the pitching circle to open the game and found an early test . Tecumseh’s lead-off batter found some green space on the first pitch for a…