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FINAL OBSERVATIONS FROM COLUMBUS

By Gary Althiser


COLUMBUS OH- To say things went well for the YSN family at the state tournament would be putting it mild
ly. In 2023, 19 wrestlers finished in the top eight, while this season the number increased to 22. Like last season, two wrestlers were crowned champions, but unlike last season one of them – East Liverpool’s Makyah Newlun – become YSN’s first female to win a gold medal. A lot of other interesting and exciting things happened over the weekend, here are a few.

Cardiac Kids

In what might have been the most exciting match of the tournament for YSN, East Liverpool freshman Paige Cowan pulled off an improbable win over Harrison’s Caiden Baird in the opening round. Down 4-2 with 12 seconds remaining, Baird was penalized with her second stalling call, giving Cowan a point, and cutting the lead to just one. With the clock ticking, Cowan took a shot near the edge of the circle, popping her head out to the side with control as time expired. The official raisedhis hand with two fingers pointing up, signaling Cowan was awarded a takedown, giving her a 5-4 win. The win proved to be an important one for Cowan as she finished 8th for the potters.

Following suit in his finals match, Cowan’s teammate on the boys side, Tristan Eckles, also pulled off a win with time expiring. Down 3-1 with 14 seconds remaining in the third period, Eckles worked from the bottom position to not only secure a reversal but also two near-fall points in the process. Those final four points gave Eckles a 5-3 win and a 7th place finish.

Heart

Louisville’s 126-pound wrestler Kolten Barker might have wrestled more minutes per match than anyone else in the tournament. Barker finished 3rd, and in his five matches, not only were there no pins, but three of the matches went to overtime, with the other two being decided by just two points each. In two of Barkers three overtime wins, the matches went to a tie breaker which means a full minute overtime period, followed by two 30 second periods after the full 6-minute match. The other overtime match went to an ultimate tie breaker, which means three 30 second periods were wrestled after the first full minute overtime. That is 36 minutes and 30 seconds of wrestling in just five matches. To put that into perspective, that’s 31 minutes and 10 seconds more than Newlun spent on the mat the entire tournament. Barker’s only defeat was a 5-3 semi-finals loss to Saint Mary’s Memorial’s Tate Hisey, the eventual state champion.

Heartbreaker

Four YSN wrestlers made it to the semi-finals, but only two came away with wins, Newlun and Garrettsville Garfield’s Keegan Sell. The other two wrestlers, United’s Dallas McCracken and Southern’s Gabriel Blissenbach, suffered defeats in overtime. Both McCracken and Blissenbach scored just before time expired in the third period to force overtime. McCracken secured a takedown that saw the 285-pounder leap over his opponent to score, while Blissenbach was awarded a stalling point with about five seconds left in the match. Unfortunately, both gave up takedowns in overtime to seal their fate. McCracken finished 5th to become a three-time state placer, while Blissenbach finished 3rd to become Southern’s first all-state wrestler.

Teammates

While they may not technically wrestle and score points for the same team, I do not think anyone will argue against using the word teammates when discussing boys and girls wrestlers from the same school. Most practice at the same time in the same wrestling room, and you can see success from one bleeding into the other. For United, McCracken was joined on the podium with two female wrestlers: Auston Brown who finished 3rd, and his sister, Dakota, who finished 7th. For Hubbard, Nick Bowser placed 4th, and Emily Flynn 6th. Howland had two wrestlers in the top eight: Adam Heckman 2nd, and Madison Burns 5th. Salem had multiple boys and girls wrestlers qualify for the state tournament, with one placer – Annika Murray who finished 6th.

68 Years

East Liverpool ended two long droughts while in Columbus, both of which have stood since the 1950’s. Newlun became the first wrestling state champion for the school since brothers Darryl and Jim Hoppel brought home titles in 1955. A year after that in 1956 was the last time three Potters placed at the state tournament in the same season until Cowan, Eckles, and Newlun accomplished the feat last weekend. The Potters girls finished 11th overall out of over 100 teams represented.

HOWLAND BASEBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH BRITTON TAYLOR

HOWKAND OH- The changing from winter to spring doesn’t just bring about warmer temperatures, it brings about new opportunities for every high school athlete who graces the baseball diamond.  It has also brought a fresh start to the Howland baseball program as they bring aboard first year head coach Britton Taylor.  Britton is a Howland guy through and through and calls this job nothing less than a dream come true.  He inherits a good mix of core leadership, along with young and hungry talent.  There are plenty of reasons to be excited for what the Tigers will bring to the dish this year.

Coach Taylor was kind enough to stop by YSN’s Running Point live to talk to Anthony Hartwig about what he expects from his club. They talk about instilling a culture, building relationships, and much more! Check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Britton Taylor exclusively on YSN!

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IRISH PARTY LIKE ITS 1994!

By Ty Bartell

CANTON OH- Hop in the delorean and send that baby back 30 years because The Ursuline Fighting-Irish boys basketball team is in the state final four for the first time since 1994! Following a convincing, 60-35 regional final win in a regular season rematch against The Canfield Cardinals! The Irish will now head to Dayton for the first time under 21-year head coach Keith Gunther.

The first quarter started off with Ursuline’s freshman Jaylen Gunther blowing the roof off The Canton-Memorial Fieldhouse with his 3-point shooting in the first quarter, knocking down four shots from distance, Gunther helped lead Ursuline to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter. Ursuline kept momentum into the second, as the tempo of the game changed, different players stepped up for The Fighting Irish and in the second quarter it was Jayden Payne! Grabbing a total of four offensive rebounds in the quarter, Payne also managed eight second chance points in the second quarter alone, enabling Ursuline to hold a 32-16 edge over Canfield at the halftime buzzer.

Out of the half, Ursuline continued to pile it on, increasing the lead to as much as 24 points in the third! Off the bench, The Irish got big contributions from Myles Miller who locked things down defensively and found his shot more than once offensively. Senior Jayden Payne brought the pain in the fourth quarter, opening up with the first seven points scored in the frame, Payne helped push Ursuline past the markers and book The Irish’s ticket to the state final four for the first time in 30 Years!

Jaylen Gunther and Jayden Payne earned Players of the Game honors with Gunther scoring 16 points and Payne scoring 15 points in the win. Beyond that, Ursuline had a key 12 points off the bench from Myles Miller while Geno Lucente did all the little things right to helpt the Ursuline machine run! Through adversity in the last two decades, Ursuline Head Coach Keith Gunther finally realizes a dream of a lifetime, getting his Ursuline Irish team to the state final four! Although some tough times in the past with plenty of heartbreaks and questioning of oneself in the last 21 years, Coach Gunther can finally say what he and The Fighting Irish basketball community have longed for. The Ursuline Fighting Irish are going to Dayton!

Ursuline (24-3) has now won 12 consecutive ball games this season as they will match up with The Kettering Archbishop Alter Knights (21-7) on Saturday, March 23rd with a 10:45 a.m. tip-off at The University of Dayton. Meanwhile, Canfield ends the season 23-5 as their 14 game win streak was snapped; however, a memorable and successful season nonetheless for The Cards! With legendary Cardinals Head Coach John Cullen electing to hang up the boots after this season, a decision made in the regular season, Coach Cullen coached The Cardinals from 1982-2010 and this latest stint from 2022-2024, capturing six district championships in his time with Canfield and 11 as a head coach, overall.
Thank you for keeping up with Canfield and Ursuline basketball all season long and stay tuned for continued high school athletics with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!

MOONEY ENDS THEIR RUN ON THE DOORSTEP OF DAYTON

By Ty Bartell

CANTON OH- The Cardinal-Mooney Cardinals fell in the region 9 regional final to the perennial powerhouse, The Lutheran East Falcons by a final score of 56-43. Both teams entered the Saturday afternoon contest winners of 20+ games each, with The Falcons sporting a 20-5 record and Mooney a 22-5 clip. Winners of the northeast 3 district, the #1 seeded Falcons had steamrolled their way to the elite eight with convincing victories against the likes of Cleveland Bard, Ravenna Southeast, Wellington and Fairview along the way.

Meanwhile, the #4 seeded Cardinals had a similar run with five playoff wins prior to the regional final against teams like Cleveland Campus International, Brookfield, Mapleton, South Range and Canton Central Catholic.

Lutheran East started off the first quarter on the right foot with Mooney struggling to find offense, feeling at times like a lid was on the basket for The Cardinals. The Falcons utilized the missed attempts and turned several of them into quick offense the other way, finding themselves ahead of Mooney 16-8 after the first quarter. The offensive struggles continued for The Cardinals into the second, with Mooney missing seven open-look layups in the first half, Lutheran East promptly took advantage. Posting a 12-6 second quarter, doubling the offensive output from The Cardinals two consecutive quarters in a row, leading it 28-14 at halftime.

Out of the second half, The Cardinals still found themselves trying to wake up their offense, with a variety of shots not falling for Mooney as they typically would. However, The Cardinals defense kept them within striking distance, holding The Falcons to just 11 points in the third as a part of an 11-3 third quarter. With Lutheran East leading 39-22 at the start of the third, Mooney was left with no choice but to leave it all on the floor for the final eight minutes, and that they did! Spearheaded by Ashton O’Brien, The Cardinals came out swinging in the fourth

with AOB posting 10 points in the fourth quarter alone, helping draw Mooney back to within six. However, Lutheran East managed to survive the spurt from The Cardinals and managed to settle momentum down en route to a 56-43 win, despite being outscored 21-17 in the quarter.

Lutheran East spread the love around offensively, with multiple names sharing similar numbers on the offensive side. Leading the scoring for The Falcons was Ronald Taylor who ended with 10 points, followed by Chris Hill and Jesse McCulloch who each had 9 points, and rounding things out were both Alan Mallory and Anthony Bruce each finishing with 8 points for The Falcons. Meanwhile, Mooney was led by Ashton O’Brien, who led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, followed by Jibri Carter who had 13 points and Rocco Turner who ended the contest with 7 points.

Lutheran East (21-5) will now make the trip to Dayton as a part of the state final four! As for Mooney (22-6) they ended another successful season in heartbreaking fashion, on the doorstep of Dayton with their second elite eight finish in the last three years with both losses coming to Lutheran East.
Thank you for keeping up with Mooney basketball all season long and stay tuned for continued Cardinal-Mooney Cardinals athletics with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!

RICHMOND HEIGHTS STILL RUNS THE REGION

CANTON OH- In a display of dominance, Richmond Heights reaffirmed their status as the top contender in the region on Friday night, bringing an end to Warren JFK’s season with a convincing 95-61 victory. The Spartans wasted no time asserting their authority, seizing control early to establish a commanding 30-11 lead after the first quarter.

Although Warren JFK managed to rally in the second quarter, narrowing the gap and igniting hopes for a comeback, Richmond Heights refused to relent, maintaining their composure and intensity throughout the second half.

Leading the charge for Warren JFK was Nick Ryan, who poured in an impressive 22 points, showcasing his offensive prowess in a valiant effort. Michael Condoleon contributed 16 points of his own, while Nico Ciminero added 6 points to the scoreboard.

CANFIELD SOFTBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH MIKE KERNAN

CANFIELD OH- They say the closer you get to the championship the harder it is to come up short, last year Canfield got as close as you can. The 2023 state runners up come into the new season with fuel and drive to get themselves ready for a second chance at the state trophy.  The Cardinals graduated 8 seniors which would be a heavy hit on everyone.  However, they also return plenty of key pieces that got them to the state final last season, including 1st team All-State pitcher Malena Toth.  With plenty of goals locked and loaded the Cardinals are ready for a fun spring on the softball diamond.

Head coach Mike Kernan took the time this week to catch up with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig.  They talk about the fuel that getting a state championship gives the team to get back, who is stepping up to the leadership plate this season, and much more. Check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Mike Kernan exclusively on YSN!

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CANFIELD SLOWLY BUT SURELY PUSHES THEIR WAY TO REGIONAL FINAL

Canfield’s relentless march through the tournament continued on Thursday as they surged past Warrensville Heights with a commanding 68-46 victory, edging ever closer to a coveted spot in Dayton for the state semifinals.

Fueling Canfield’s triumph were standout performances from key players, with Tony Russo leading the charge with an impressive 17 points, showcasing his scoring prowess when it mattered most. Not to be outdone, Dom Cruz contributed 16 points of his own, while Drew Shapiro added 10 points to bolster Canfield’s offensive firepower.

With their sights set on the ultimate prize, Canfield now sets its sights on the Regional Finals, where they will clash with Ursuline in what promises to be an electrifying showdown. The highly anticipated matchup is slated for Saturday at 7:00 PM at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

URSULINE’S OFFENSE PLANTS THEIR FLAG IN REGIONALS

CANTON OH- In a dominating performance, Ursuline’s offense unleashed its fury on Thursday night, powering the team to a resounding 85-44 victory over VASJ in the regional semifinals. From the opening tip, the Irish seized control and never looked back, establishing a commanding 21-9 lead after the first quarter and extending their advantage with each passing minute.

Leading the charge for Ursuline was Jaylen Gunther, who erupted for 24 points, showcasing his scoring prowess with a stellar performance. Joining Gunther in the scoring barrage were Jayden Payne with 14 points and DaShaun Will with 12 points, further fueling Ursuline’s offensive onslaught.

With the emphatic win, Ursuline secures a spot in the Regional Finals, set to take place on Saturday at 7:00 PM against Canfield. The highly anticipated matchup will unfold at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, promising another thrilling showdown as Ursuline continues its quest for a trip to Dayton.

BOARDMAN SOFTBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH FRED MOOTZ

BOARDMAN OH- Spring is in the air, the weather is turning and that means that softball is right around the corner.  In Boardman Fred Mootz returns for another season heading up a talented Spartan team hungry for success in 2024.  With a lot of experience returning, especially in the infield Boardman feels like this year will be a big step up.  They finished the season 10-15 a year ago, but feel a lot of those losses can easily be turned into wins.

it’s time to turn the lights on and preview the upcoming season. Coach Mootz took the time to chat with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig to talk about the experienced roster the Spartans have, the tough league they play in, and much more. Check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Fred Mootz!

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KNIGHTS REPEAT HOPES GET LEFT IN AKRON

By Ty Bartell

 

AKRON, Ohio — The Archbishop Hoban Knights boys’ basketball team saw their season come to a close as they fell to the Garfield Heights Bulldogs with a final score of 52-43 in the Division I regional semi-final game on Friday night at The James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron.

Hoban came out strong, particularly from beyond the arc, thanks to the efforts of freshman standout John Johnson. Johnson’s sharp shooting helped the Knights take a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, Garfield Heights found their stride in the second quarter, capitalizing on turnovers and scoring in transition to outscore Hoban 16-9 in the period, claiming a 27-22 halftime advantage.
The third quarter saw both teams trading blows evenly, with each side tallying 11 points. Free throws dominated the scoring, with the game remaining tightly contested from start to finish. In the fourth quarter, Hoban fought hard to close the deficit to one possession multiple times, but Garfield Heights ultimately made key plays down the stretch. The Bulldogs sealed the victory with a 14-10 final quarter, securing their spot in the elite eight.

Leading the charge for Garfield Heights was Marcus Johnson with 17 points, supported by Deandre Jones and CJ Little, who contributed 13 points each. On the other side, Hoban was paced by freshman sensation John Johnson, who also finished with 17 points, while Jonas Nichols added 15 points.

As the season comes to a close, fans can reflect on the thrilling moments and memorable performances from Archbishop Hoban basketball. Stay tuned to Your Sports Network (YSN) for comprehensive coverage, including live games, scores, stats, stories, and more.

Game Photos HERE: https://ysn.smugmug.com/3-13-b-bb-hoban-garfield-heights/3-13-b-bb-hoban-garfield/106EOS1D