The Olentangy Orange boys golf team more than held its own in its first Division I Boys Golf State Tournament appearance in program history, finishing right in the middle of the pack — sixth among the 12 teams in action — Friday and Saturday at The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.
The Pioneers, who were led by Corbin Bentley, carded a combined 312 on the first day before closing with a 317 on the second.
Bentley finished 10th among individuals with a two-day total of 152. He followed up Friday’s 79 with a solid 73 on Saturday.
Luke Johnson was also steady, finishing tied for 14th overall with rounds of 74 and 79. Jonathan Green (tied for 37th with a 160), Nathan Brown (tied for 45th with a 164) and Mitch Purdue (61st with a 175) also contributed for Orange.
Springfield’s Jordan Gilkison, who had rounds of 71 and 72, was tops among individuals while Akron Archbishop Hoban won the team title with a two-day total of 606.
Olentangy Berlin’s Mia Raines, competing in her first Division I Girls Golf State Tournament as an individual, finished tied for 10th overall with a two-day total of 152 Friday and Saturday at OSU’s Gray Course.
She followed up her opening-round 77 with a 75 to close things out.
New Albany’s Madison Spiess finished first overall, carding a one-over-par 141 to take top individual honors and lead the Eagles to the team title.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Olentangy Orange, Olentangy Liberty and Buckeye Valley punched tickets to the upcoming regional showcase, nabbing top-three showings in their respective district championship races Saturday at Hilliard Darby.
The Pioneers finished second in the Division I, Section 2 race with 127 points.
Mairin O’Brien led the charge, finishing 19th overall in 20:00.4. Medha Patria and Abby Schroff were also solid, smoothing out the team’s top three with respective efforts of 20:01.3 and 20:02.4.
Big Walnut and Delaware Hayes also competed in the Section 2 race, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively.
The Golden Eagles were led by Madi Yano (41st in 20:48.3) while the Pacers got a boost from Brynn McGrail (33rd in 20:30.3).
In the Division I, Section 3 race, Liberty’s Elizabeth Okonak, Julia Bockenstette, Audrey Piero and Haley Kruest finished in a pack just behind the leaders to lift the team to runner-up honors.
Okonak and Bockenstette finished 10th and 11th with respective times of 19:49 and 19:52.3 while Piero and Kruest finished 13th and 14th in 20:01.1 and 20:08.6, respectively.
Olentangy finished 11th in Section 3, getting a boost from Cara Wilson, who finished 22nd in 20:16.7.
Buckeye Valley, meanwhile, finished third in the Division II, Section 2 race.
Chloe Dawson was the Barons’ top performer, finishing third overall with an effort of 19:34.7. Bailey Kreft also notched a top-1o finish, crossing the line sixth in 19:52.
Olentangy Berlin, competing in the Division I, Section 1 race, was also solid. The Bears finished fourth to become the final Delaware County team to punch a ticket to the upcoming regional showcase.
Ava Vaught and Grace Dahlke led Berlin, finishing 16th and 20th in respective times of 19:57.9 and 20:29.6.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Olentangy Orange finished fourth and Olentangy closed right behind in fifth to keep their seasons alive with solid showings at Saturday’s Division I, Section 2 race in Hilliard.
The Pioneers had three runners finish in the top 10 — Jake Ethridge closed sixth in 16:28, Bryan King was seventh in 16:29.2 and Saketh Rudraraju finished ninth in 16:34.3.
The Braves, meanwhile, were boosted by the duo of Johan Rosgaard (20th in 16:55.8) and Jackson Schultz (22nd in 16:57.9).
Olentangy Berlin and Olentangy Liberty, competing in the Division I, Section 3 race, also punched tickets to the regional championship meet. Berlin, led by Jack Dunlop (11th in 16:30.7), finished fifth in the final team standings while R.J. LaRosa (25th in 16:49) led Liberty to a sixth-place showing.
Big Walnut and Delaware Hayes also competed in the Section 3 race, finishing 18th and 19th. The Golden Eagles were led by Christopher Lee (31st in 17:03.4) while Ryan Gray (84th in 18:04) paced the Pacers.
In the Division II, Section 2 race, Buckeye Valley’s Liam George finished 14th (17:25.2) to advance to the regional meet while the Barons finished sixth as a team.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Northmor def. Delaware Christian 26-24, 25-13, 25-22 (Division IV sectional final).
BOYS SOCCER
Jonathan Alder 2, Buckeye Valley 1, 2OT (Division II sectional final); Olentangy Orange 3, Franklin Heights 0 (Division I sectional final).
GIRLS SOCCER
Buckeye Valley 7, Heath 1 (Division II sectional final); Olentangy Liberty 10, Groveport-Madison 0 (Division I sectional final); Olentangy 8, Franklin Heights 0 (Division I sectional final); Big Walnut 2, Westerville North 1 (Division I sectional final); Olentangy Orange 5, Newark 0 (Division I sectional final).
