NJ's Top Performers List shows Richland County athletes preparing for successful postseasons

MANSFIELD — Fall high school sports are starting to wind down but Richland County athletes are just getting started.

With postseasons arriving in October, Richland County teams are starting to put in their final preparations for lengthy runs. Let's see how they did this week with our weekly Top Performers List.

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Monday, Sept. 23

-Makaree Chapman got her senior postseason golf run off to a great start with a co-medalist round of 36-36-78 at the Division I sectional golf tournament at Sycamore Springs Golf Course. She led Lexington to a second-place finish as a team with a 369 as Aniyah Monica posted a 46-46-92 while Lauryn Nupen added a 45-49-94, Kyler Lamb added a 54-51-105 and Willow Roberts rounded out the scoring for Lex with a 61-52-113.

-The Ontario Warriors girls golf team also advanced out of the Division I sectional tournament posting a team score of 385 to take fifth place. Ontario saw Brinlee Kreger shoot a 48-43-91 while Brooklynn Black added a 47-48-95, Alexia Sesco carded a 51-48-99, Ashley Hall chipped in with a 48-52-100 and Delaney Moritz rounded out the scores with a 58-58-116.

-Trevor Manuella helped the Lexington boys soccer team pick up a 3-0 win over Mount Vernon thanks to two header goals. Will Perkins added another goal while JayByx Mack, Perkins and Jackson Pigg had one assist apiece.

-The Shelby Whippets made short work of the Upper Sandusky Rams with a 3-0 win by scores of 25-11, 25-8 and 25-8 as Madison Henkel led the way with 10 kills while Lexi Mohn added nine and Eve Schwemley had six. Schwemley collected eight aces while Walp had five and Henkel added three blocks. Walp led the way defensively with 16 digs while Schwemley had 13 and Baylie Hoffbauer and Ava Bowman had nine apiece. Hoffbauer handed out 27 assists in the win.

-The Shelby girls tennis team swept Ontario 5-0 thanks to strong showings at every spot. Annie Mahek won first singles over Sophia Ellis 6-1, 6-2 while Bella Carver took second singles over Alainia Friend 6-1, 6-1 and Cami Wuchich won third singles over Lizzie Criss 6-3, 6-2. Zada Marquis and McKenna Baker won first doubles 6-0, 6-0 and Peyton Bruskotter and Allie Vogt won second doubles 6-3, 6-4.

Tuesday, Sept. 24

-The Shelby Whippets clinched a sixth straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference girls tennis championship with a clean 5-0 win over Pleasant. Annie Mahek won first singles 6-0, 6-1 while Bella Carver won second singles 6-1, 6-2 and Cami Wuchich won third singles 6-1, 6-2. McKenna Baker and Zada Marquis won first doubles 6-0, 6-0 and Peyton Bruskotter and Courtney Howarth won second doubles 6-2, 6-0 to earn the sweep. Shelby shared the regular-season MOAC championship with Marion Harding.

-Nathan Evans and Ashton Taylor led the Madison boys soccer team to one game closer to an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship with two goals apiece in a 5-1 win over Wooster. Joey Walker had one goal while Randy Jamieson, Evans, Walker and Rank Fava had one assist apiece while Jerry Wertz collected eight saves in the victory.

-Kabuto Setser was the man of the match for the Clear Fork boys soccer team in a 1-0 win over Mansfield Christian as she scored the lone goal off of an assist from Kade Beachy while Wes Bunnell preserved the shutout with six saves in goal.

-The Ontario Warriors needed just one half to beat Marion Harding 9-0 as the girls soccer match was called due to rain at halftime. Hattie Yugovich and Addi Pittman led the way with three goals apiece while Elaina Seif had two and Sasha Bulakovski had one. Seif handed out five assists while Yugovich had three and Bulakovski had one. Emma Fogle earned the shutout with two saves in her first career game.

-Mel Blubaugh was in prime form in an 8-0 girls soccer win over Shelby scoring three goals and handing out four assists in the MOAC victory. Brinley Barnett had two goals and Sabree Caudill, Ashtyn Wine and Addie Blakley had one apiece while Blakley had two assists and Ava Roberts and Lily Swendel had one apiece. Faith Smith had three saves in goal.

-The Mansfield Christian Flames girls soccer team made quick work of Loudonville in a 7-0 Mid-Buckeye Conference win. Grace Rader and Natalie Ricker had two goals apiece while Emma Docherty and Anna Tucker had one apiece. Erin Hope, Ricker, Rader and Zoey Leonard had one assist apiece in the win. Haven Granter posted the shutout in goal with two saves.

-The Shelby Whippets put themselves in position to compete for a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball championship thanks to a dramatic 3-2 win over Highland by scores of 20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-12 and 15-11 completing a comeback after being down 2-0 in the match. Eve Schwemley led the offensive attack with 17 kills while Madison Henkel had 10 and Lexi Mohn added 12. Schwemly, Mohn and Kendra Walp had two aces apiece while Baylie Hoffbauer handed out 45 assists on the night. Mohn had four blocks to lead the way defensively while Henkel had three and Hoffbauer added two. Mylee Shackle collected 19 digs while Walp had 10, Schwemley had 13 and Ava Bowman added 11.

-The Madison Rams picked up an impressive Ohio Cardinal Conference volleyball win over West Holmes by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 22-25 and 25-14. Addison Farris led the Rams with 13 kills while Autumn Haynes had 10, Paityn Butler had nine and Grace Speelman had eight. Jillian Pennington handed out 40 assists while Aryana Rogers led the way defensively with 21 digs which saw Farris add 11 and Butler chip in with nine. Paigte Patton collected 19 serve points with six aces while Butler had 10 points with three aces, Rogers had eight points with two aces and Farris added six points and four aces.

-The Mansfield Christian Flames picked up an impressive 3-1 Mid-Buckeye Conference volleyball win over Lucas by scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-19. Bailee Nelson led the way offensively with 10 kills while Adelle Cramer had six. Mckenzie Webb and Ally Shoemaker served up three aces apiece while Cramer and Chelsea Ward had four blocks apiece. Webb led the way defensively with 13 digs while Nora Cook had 12, Sophia Granter had 11, Shoemaker collected 10 and Nelson had nine. Shoemaker handed out 18 assists in the win.

Wednesday, Sept. 25

-The Lexington Minutemen took second as a team nabbing one of the five team district qualifying spots in the process with a 336 team score at the Division I sectional golf tournament. Jackson Durchik led Lex with a solid 37-37-74 while Nathan Dawson added a 42-42-84, Griffin Hughes had a 38-50-88, Daulton Mangas carded a 47-43-90 and Bailey Carmichael rounded out the scores with a 44-48-92.

-Madison sophomore Josh Maglott nabbed the first of five individual district qualifying spots with a great day of 42-36-78 at the Division I sectional golf tournament.

-St. Peter’s Chaeyeon (Joy) Kim was the Division II sectional golf tournament medalist after shooting a solid 42-40-82 as the freshman punched her ticket to the district tournament.

-Clear Fork’s Ella Schmidt found herself tied for the final district qualifying spot after 18 holes in the Division II sectional girls golf tournament at Valley View. Schmidt shot a 47-43-90 to earn a sudden death playoff for the final individual district qualifying spot and shot a par on the first hole of the playoff to punch her ticket to the next round.

-It was a balanced effort in Crestview’s 4-0 girls soccer win over Galion. Elyse Belcher, Lily Cline, Addy Cline and Devon Hickey had one goal apiece while Olivia Grant handed out two assists and Mady Mack collected six saves to preserve the shutout in goal.

-The freshman was lights out in Ontario’s 9-0 MOAC boys soccer win over Marion Harding. Gavin Wagner scored three goals and handed out one assist to lead the way for the Warriors. Xander Chitwood, Ian Morrison, Evan Ruhe, Jace Young and Henry Yugovich had one goal apiece while Chitwood, Emerson Jovani and KJ Oden had one assist apiece.

Thursday, Sept. 26

-The Lexington Lady Lex put up a dominant effort in an 11-0 OCC girls soccer win over New Philadelphia. Emily Thomas led the way with three goals while Gabby Lay had two and Morgan Harrod, Zoe Borowicz, Hailey Davies, Aubryn Huvler, Ruthie Togliatti and Lindsay Clingan had one goal apiece. Ellie Mayer and Togliatti had two assists apiece while Lauren Risser, Alli Laury, Maggie Arnett and Thomas had one apiece. Claire Hammer made one save in goal to preserve the shutout.

-It was a balanced effort in Madison’s 3-2 OCC girls soccer win over Wooster. Angel Montanez, Ellie Powell and Kyleigh Washington had one goal apiece while Keiayrsah Jones and Powell had one assist apiece.

-The Mansfield Christian Flames girls soccer team remained undefeated with a 2-1 win over Upper Sandusky where Erin Hope and Grace Rader scored one goal apiece while Haven Granter collected two saves in goal.

-The Madison Rams boys soccer team mathematically clinched the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship with a 2-0 win over New Philly. Randy Jamieson led the way with both goals while Collin Faith had one assist. Jerry Wertz collected five saves in goal to preserve the shutout.

-Colton Ernandes led the Crestview Cougars to a 2-0 boys soccer win over Willard with two goals while Caden Dickerson added two assists and Ty Callahan collected five saves in goal to preserve the shutout.

-Clear Fork’s Landon Ball was the lone Richland County boys golfer to punch his ticket to the district tournament after shooting a 37-37-74 to tie for medalist honors in the Division II sectional tournament at Woussicket Golf Course.

-Crestview’s Carter Bowman put up an impressive 36-39-75 tying for medalist honors during the Division III sectional boys golf tournament at Valley View Golf Course leading the Cougars to their first sectional team championship since 2014 with a team score of 339. Cole Bowman added a 40-40-80 while Kaden Dickerson shot a 46-44-90, Kayn Patton added a 49-45-94 and Zander Washburn rounded out the scores with a 46-54-100.

-Lexington volleyball rebounded from a tough loss to Wooster with a dominant 3-0 win over Mansfield Senior by scores of 25-7, 25-4 and 25-8. Ava Brown had 17 kills while Tatum Stover added nine. Addison Nicol collected 10 aces while Stover added four. Alexis Foster collected three blocks while Savannah Wolf added 11 digs and Stover had seven to lead the way defensively. Foster handed out 24 assists in the win.

-The Shelby Whippets took a quick 3-0 volleyball win over River Valley by scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-13. Lexi Mohn had 16 kills while Madison Henkel added 12 and Eve Schwemley added eight. Henkel collected three blocks while Kendra Walp had 15 digs and Schwemley had 14 to lead the defensive effort. Baylie Hoffbauer handed out 38 assists in the win.

-Bailee Nelson and Bella Rayburn each had seven kills apiece in Mansfield Christian’s volleyball win over Crestline by scores of 25-12, 25-10 and 25-8. Nora Cook collected five aces while Ally Shoemaker had four and Nelson and Adelle Cramer added three. Cook collected eight digs to lead the way while Shoemaker handed out 17 assists.

Friday, Sept. 27

-Ontario’s Bodpegn Miller was unstoppable in Ontario’s 49-0 win over Galion in Week 6 throwing for 167 yards on 10-of-14 attempts and a touchdown. He also ran for 224 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries while James Mahon added 36 yards and a TD on seven touches as the Warriors ran for 303 yards. The defense pitched a shutout allowing just 84 yards of total offense.

-Lexington’s Joe Caudill had a big day in a 19-6 win over Mansfield Senior throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 11 completions while running for 30 yards on 13 carries. Camden Boozer also ran for 23 yards including a touchdown while Seven Allen caught four passes for 83 yards and a score and Brayden Fogle added four catches for 65 yards. It was Lexington’s first win at Arlin Field since 2018.

-Shelby’s Brayden DeVito accounted for five scores, (three rushing and two passing) finishing with 221 yards through the air and an interception, and added 89 more on the ground while Marcus Gumbert finished with 115 yards and a score in the Whippets’ 41-6 win over Highland.

-Crestview saw the resurgence of running back Ayden Reymer who is finally healthy as he rattled off 111 yards on the ground on 15 carries while the Cougars scored seven rushing touchdowns in a 47-6 win over South Central. Bransen Hider had 55 yards on five carries with a touchdown while Marcus Chancey added 51 yards on three carries with a score, Gavin Barker ran for 36 yards on five carries and three TDs and Liam Kuhn ran for 34 and two scores. Kuhn also completed 7-of-10 passes for 94 yards through the air helping Crestview nab its second straight win.

Saturday, Sept. 28

-Charlie Niese provided the lone goal from an assist from Ashley Montgomery in a 1-0 nonconference girls soccer win over Huron.

-Madison Henkel and Lexi Mohn were sensational in Shelby’s big 2-0 volleyball win over Lexington by scores of 25-14 and 25-16. Henkel had seven kills while Mohn had six and Alex Lay added five to help the Whippets pick up a win that might just make them the No. 1 seed in this year’s Division IV district tournament. Eve Schwemley collected five aces and seven digs while Kendra Walp had five digs and Bailey Hoffbauer handed out 22 assists in the victory.

-Gavin Bichsel had a solid day at the Buckeye Central Cross Country Invite taking sixth overall with a time of 17:45.26 while teammate Ray Lewis was a few spots back in ninth with an 18:09.98. Clear Fork’s Peyton Freitag took 11 ^th overall with an 18:30.98 while Mansfield Christian’s Davis Delorenzo took 14 ^th with an 18:36.33 and Landin Cyphers took 15 ^th with an 18:43.06 to round out the Richland County runners in the Top 15.

-Meagan Them and Riley Patrick went 1 and 2 again at the Buckeye Central Cross Country Invitational. Them took first overall with a 19:22.58 while Patrick ran a 19:34.04. Lucas’ Chloe Sturts finished third overall with a 20:37.52 while Plymouth’s Morgan Follett took fifth with a 20:58.56 as Richland County put four runners in the Top 5 of the event.

-Lexington’s Brailey Slone led Lady Lex to a seventh-place team finish at the Centerville Night cross country invite when she finished 13 ^th with a time of 21:12.8 and Katya Prykhodko took 14 ^th with a 21:22.9. Jenna Halfhill took 34 ^th with a 21:51.0 while Hallie Durbin took 74 ^th with a 22:54.5 and Brynn Bruner rounded out the scoring runners in 77 ^th with a 22:57.9.

-The Lexington boys took third overall in Centerville after Chance Basilone took fourth overall with a 17:16.5 while Gage Devaney took 34 ^th with a 19:07.8, Lincoln Rice took 46 ^th with a 19:26.6, Luke Haring finished 47 ^th with a 19:28.9 and John Bartone rounded out the scoring runners in 52 ^nd with a 19:37.4.

jfurr@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: NJ's Top Performers List shows Richland County athletes preparing for successful postseasons