Boys Best of the Week: New Marion Harding head coach gets meaningful win in soccer

MARION — The Presidents are still waiting for their first boys soccer victory of 2024, but last weekend's tie with Coshocton held a lot of meaning for their first-year head coach.

Facing his alma mater, Ian Hartley watched as Marion Harding forged a 2-2 tie against Coshocton.

"This match means a lot to me personally, not just picking up the first tie of my head coaching career, but having it all come full circle against Coshocton," he said. "Coshocton will always have a special place in my heart; I will always bleed black and red."

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And why not? While playing at the school, he led the team to its best run in the early 2010s, winning four district championships and appearing in three regional finals. During that time, Hartley put up 73 goals and 37 assists.

On Saturday, Harding's Jackson Shipley scored late in the first half on a breakaway goal to take a 1-0 lead, but the visitors countered with a goal off a free kick just before halftime. Coshocton scored early in the second half on a set piece started from a free kick from its keeper. Shipley then tied it with 10 minutes to go.

It was a better result than a 7-1 loss at Northside Christian earlier in the week.

"As we start to build the program and change the culture, tallying some wins along the way is very important. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to grow both on and off the field," Hartley said.

Here are some other results from around the Marion area for boys fall sports over the last week:

More Soccer

● Pleasant picked up its first win of the season and just its third since the turn of the decade when it dominated Mohawk 8-1. Rodric Gomez led the charge with five goals, while Gael Gomez added a goal and two assists, and Landon Severns and Jair Orrostieta also had goals. In a 3-3 tie with Granville Christian, Rodric Gomez had a goal and assist and Issack Salinas had a goal as Griffin Gleespen added 14 saves. The Spartans fell to Buckeye Valley 5-0, but Gleespen had 21 saves in goal.

● Highland dropped a 1-0 match to Buckeye Valley when the Barons scored on a penalty kick. The Scots bounced back for a 7-0 win over Lakewood.

● River Valley led London 2-1 at halftime, but London rallied for a 4-2 victory. For the Vikings, Hudson Pollock and Christian Knight each had a goal and assist as J.R. Bates saved eight shots.

Golf

● Pleasant got a trio of 38s from Dawson Hall, Jack Seckel and Dylan Moore plus 47s from Johnathan Maran and Nolan Ludwig and a 51 from Matt Murphy during a 161-171 win over Clear Fork at Deer Ridge.

● North Union shot a 171 to split with Northwestern at 152 and Kenton Ridge at 171 during a match at Elks Golf Club in Springfield. The Wildcats topped Kenton Ridge on a tiebreaker. Jaxon Jolliff and Ethan Monroe both had 42s for NU, while No. 6 golfer Hudsyn Wilson rose up to post a key 43. In a 169-202 win at Marion Country Club over Marion Harding, Jolliff led with a 40, while Monroe had a 41, Wyatt Davis a 43 and Miles Hall a 44. Boston Pearson was the low score for the Presidents.

● In a 190-197 loss to Colonel Crawford, Harding's Sebasian Lisiecki led the team with his short game, according to coach Rose Cunningham.

Cross Country

● The 11-team Northmor Invitational kicked off the start of the season with Highland finishing second as a team with 99 points. The hosts put up 116 points for third, followed by Pleasant's 120 for fourth and Cardington's 230 for ninth. Winning the race with a 17:01 was Highland's Matthew Miller, while Ridgedale's Brogan Weston was runner-up at 17:05. Others from the area who finished in the top 25 were Pleasant's Will Lichtenberger (fourth, 17:47), Elliot Weston (fifth, 17:48), Northmor's Vinton Naylor (eighth, 18:11), Pleasant's Joey Dietsch (ninth, 18:11), Pleasant's Elijah McGinniss (13th, 18:20), Highland's Cael Gilmore (18th, 18:33), Highland's Henry Spence (21st, 19:06), Cardington's Dylan Compton (24th, 19:14) and Northmor's David Blunk (25th, 19:15).

● At the 13-team Upper Sandusky Icebreaker, Mount Gilead rolled to the win with just 17 points as Will Baker won it in 15:15 followed by Owen Hershner (second, 16:44), Tommy Emberg (third, 17:05), Henry Bartlett (fifth, 17:33), Nolan Hershner (sixth, 17:38), Gage Bowersmith (14th, 18:14) and Ethan Turner (16th, 18:26). Also at the meet, Harding's Andrew Tackett was 13th in 18:08 to help the team to a sixth-place finish. River Valley's Kael Swartz was 30th in 19:06.

● Mount Gilead also won the Seneca East Tiger Classic's White Division, besting 18 other teams. Baker again won in 15:11 as Owen Hershner was fourth in 16:29, Bartlett 10th in 17:14, Nolan Hershner 11th in 17:18 and Emberg 12th in 17:18. Brogan Weston ran in 16:38, and Elliot Weston posted a 17:06 for the Rockets.

● North Union's Felix Plouck paced the team with a 10th in 18:08 at the BV Baron Blast.

● Highland took sixth at the Newark Catholic Invitational as Miller was 10th in 16:51, Spence 35th in 18:19, Gilmore 39th in 18:37 and Ethan Harmon 45th in 18:47 to round out the top 50 in the race.

● The Colonel Crawford Kip Kinn Invitational welcomed 15 teams with Northmor ending fourth with 117 points, Pleasant fifth with 148, Harding sixth with 219 and Cardington 10th with 272. Breaking 19 minutes from the area were Blunk (third, 16:43), Lichtenberger (fifth, 16:55), McGinniss (12th, 17:23), Naylor (14th, 17:33), Tackett (15th, 17:48), Dietsch (20th, 17:58), Compton (25th, 18:13), Harding's Peyton Ward (30th, 18:25), Northmor's Levi Hunter (34th, 18:35), Northmor's Owen Yunker (35th, 18:37), Northmor's Dane Creswell (37th, 18:44) and Harding's Sebastian Swihart (39th, 18:57).

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Marion Star Boys Best of the Week Performer Poll

● Pleasant soccer's Rodric Gomez lit up the scoreboard with five goals in a win over Mohawk.

● North Union's No. 6 golfer Hudsyn Wilson posted a 43 to help his team to a tiebreaker win over Kenton Ridge.

● Highland cross country runner Matthew Miller won the Northmor Invitational with a time of 17:01.

● Ridgedale cross country runner Brogan Weston was the runner-up at the Northmor Invitational in 17:05.

● Mount Gilead cross country runner Will Baker took the Seneca East Tiger Classic White Division race in 15:11.

● In last week's boys poll, Marion Harding soccer's Jackson Shipley earned 305 of 759 votes (40 percent) to win it. He recorded a hat trick in a loss to River Valley. Other nominees were River Valley golfer Chase Smith, North Union golfer Jaxon Jolliff and Pleasant golfer Dylan Moore.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Boys Best of the Week: New Marion Harding head coach gets meaningful win in soccer