Jacob Nicol (5) of Fairbanks leaps for a layup while Trevyn Feasel (3) of North Union attempts to block the shot. Connor Terrill (0) of North Union watches on. Nicol tallied 15 points during the Panthers’ 59-41 win over the Wildcats. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– Both the Fairbanks Panthers and the Wildcats of North Union have lately found themselves on the winning side of the scoreboard. The Wildcats had a four-game winning streak as they hosted Fairbanks, which was riding an eight-game burst headed into Tuesday night’s game. With the streak on the line, the Panthers upped their…
Author: Sam Dillon
The Wildcats of North Union celebrated their final regular-season wrestling match with recent victories over visiting schools Jonathan Alder, 53-21, and Elgin, 63-9. The Pioneers claimed second place at the meet with a 63-6 triumph over the Comets. The Wildcats claimed their victory over the Pioneers with wins at 120, 126, 132, 170, 182 and 220. Tarren Riffle, 120, gave the Cats an early lead with a pin in 1:33 over Zachary Yates and Hayden Pacha followed up at 126 with a pin in 58 seconds over Landon Carsey. Austin Jamison at 132 was able to add six teams with…
Molly Olsen of Fairbanks leaps for a layup while a Mechanicsburg defender gets her hands on the ball. The Panthers lost, 69-30. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– Lady Panthers of Fairbanks are a team that has been trying to take small steps to cover a lot of distance at the end of this basketball season. Sometimes those steps may be smaller than they would like, as was evident Friday night. The Lady Panthers lost their Homecoming game, 69-30, to Mechanicsburg. Fairbanks coach Landon Fraker said the game was frustrating for him and his Panthers. However, he saw progress from…
Seth Standley of Fairbanks goes up for a layup with a Mechanicsburg defender in his face. Standley added two points off the bench to help the Panthers take a 73-41 win over the Indians. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Panthers of Fairbanks came out of the tip with a fast and furious basketball style that the Mechanicsburg Indians just could not handle. As a result, FHS won its Homecoming game, 73-41. Panthers head coach Justin George said the difference between Fairbanks’ first go- around against the Indians two months ago and Friday’s contest was night and day. “From…
These North Union High School seniors signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers on the collegiate level. They are from left, front row, Dylan Thompson, Josie Duncan, Kamryn Rhodes and Hunter Zimmerman; second row, Nick Reeder, Ethan Hoffer, Anthony Padovano and Colton Clark. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– Wednesday was a day for high school athletes to set their futures in play at the next level. It was National Signing Day and seven North Union student-athletes took part in the day. NU athletic director Nick Hajjar said in his time at the school this is the most…
Abby Jones, 42, of Jonathan Alder leaps for a layup against Bishop Watterson. Jones tallied 18 points during the Lady Pioneers’ 59-44 loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Jonathan Alder Lady Pioneers had a big task at their feet on Monday as they squared off against the Division I Central District four seed Bishop Watterson. That task seemed a bit to large for the Lady Pioneers (13-4) as they fell to the Eagles, 59-44. The Pioneers kept pace with the Lady Eagles by setting up an early press to help slow down Watterson. The Eagles (19-2), though, handled…
Caleb Isler of North Union holds on to Jacob Romero’s (Pleasant) leg during a quarterfinals match of a Division III regional wrestling duals at Centerburg on Saturday. The Wildcats lost by a 40-39 margin after a tiebreaker and were eliminated from the state duals meet. (Photo submitted) –––– Two locals teams entered the wrestling state duals this year and neither will be moving on after suffering defeats during a Division III regional meet at Centerburg on Saturday. The North Union Wildcats returned to the duals after a year’s of absence from and found solid success in their first match, beating…
The Bunsold Middle School wrestlers placed fourth during a 26-team tournament at Beavercreek over the weekend. Colton Powers was the lone champion for the team, bringing home the 142-pound title. Christian McCartney (160) finished as runner-up in his weight class. Rounding out the placing were Carson Overbey, third; Brady Seger, fourth, Jayden Deardorff, fifth; and Ethan Skiles, sixth. The Monarchs will conclude their season on Wednesday with a triangular meet against Jonathan Alder and Hilliard Weaver.
The Wildcats of North Union captured fifth place with 79 team points at the 21-team Sally George wrestling invitational at Pleasant High School on Saturday. Chris Cox-Wilson was the lone champion for the Wildcats, reaching the top of the podium in the 182-weight class with a 5-1 decision over Tyler Echler of Liberty Center. North Union head coach Garret Andrews said the quick turn-around from their host tournament last Monday caused some challenges. “It was challenging hosting our home tournament on Monday and going to a two-day tournament for varsity,” Andrews said. “We had good competition this week.” The remaining Wildcats…
Connor Terrill of North Union leaps for a layup after stealing a Northwestern pass. Terrill netted four shots to tally eights points during the Wildcats’ loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– Close losses have become the norm for North Union boys basketball coach Brian Terrill and his Wildcats. NU now sports a 7-8 record and of those eight losses, five of them have either been in overtime or by a single bucket. The Wildcats added another close loss to their season of woes after Friday night’s 54-48 setback to Northwestern. With the Wildcats coming out on the wrong end…
Braylon Green of Fairbanks leaps for a shot during a game against Southeastern on Tuesday. Green tallied nine points during the Panthers’ 67-49 victory. FHS is now 11-2 on the season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Fairbanks boys basketball team has a single-track focus and that’s to win. That mentality has taken the Panthers far this year, increasing their season record to 11-2 after a 67-49 win over Southeastern on Tuesday. That victory, in large part, was due to what Fairbanks head coach Justin George calls “good balance.” “We had good balance, which we need from our main…
Above, Lincoln Witt, right, of Marysville, sits out, but got pancaked during the championship bout of the 120-pound class. Witt fell by pin fall to Josiah Kennedy of London. Below, Tarren Riffle of North Union is on his way to pin Grace Jones of London during the championship bout of the 113 class. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– The Wildcats of North Union hosted their annual Don Wasserbeck Invitational despite the weather that postponed the event to Monday. The Red Raiders of London, who tallied 302.5 points to be crowned the champions, topped the 10-team tournament. North Union came…
The Monarchs of Marysville clawed their way to a 77-65 victory at Westland on Friday to improve their record to 6-7. The Monarch got out the gate with some nice shooting to pick up 16 points. Gabe Schaffer and Phillip Hughes accounted for 10 points between them. Westland was able to take the early lead, though, outscoring the Monarchs 18-16. The second quarter was more of the same as the Cougars were able to hold on to a slim lead with some solid inside work. Westland held a 34-31 edge at the turn, but the Monarchs did the bulk of…
Sydney Bacon of North Union dribbles the ball while preparing to move to the basket against Springfield Shawnee on Wednesday. Bacon tallied six points during the Lady Cats’ 47-44 loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) –––– North Union’s girls basketball squad has seen its share of struggles this year. The youthful team has struggled to put together more than two wins this season, but on Wednesday NU came close to making it three. The Lady Cats couldn’t find their groove down the stretch, losing to Springfield Shawnee 47-44. North Union opened the scoring as Sydney Bacon drove for a couple…
Joel Krebehenne, right, of North Union goes up for a jump shot, as a London defender stands tall to attempt to block the effort. Krebehenne tallied two points from the line during the Wildcats’ 48-46 loss. (Journal-Tribune by Sam Dillon) –––– The young North Union Wildcat cagers are a team that has been in a battle over the last five games. That battle has included two overtime losses and three buzzer-beater shots. Unfortunately the Cats have fallen short in all of those contests. The latest heart-breaker came on a last second three-point shot during Tuesday’s 48-46 loss to London. Despite…