Lake Center Christian’s Rainieri ties for sixth at Division III state golf tournament

Compared to his Division I counterparts, Lake Center Christian’s Jacob Rainieri had a longer drive to make — literally. While others only had to head to Firestone Country Club, Rainieri traveled to Columbus’ NorthStar Golf Club to compete in the OHSAA Division III state tournament Oct. 13-14.

The junior made the most of the trip, finishing tied for sixth overall. On the first day, Rainieri shot a 5-over 77, placing him seven strokes behind leader Jack Mast of Berlin Hiland and in ninth place.

He improved in the second round, carding a 3-over 75 for a total of 8-over 152. Rainieri closed his round with a birdie on the 18th hole, moving up the leaderboard to secure a tie for sixth place.

Cross country

As a junior, Gianna Ritchie won a state title in the 800-meter run at the OHSAA Division III state track meet. Now a senior, she’s chasing more hardware after winning the Division IV district championship at GlenOak on Oct. 18.

Thanks in large part to Ritchie’s effort, the Tigers advanced to regionals by finishing second as a team with 89 points, edging Rootstown by one. Columbiana won the team title with 59 points.

Ritchie’s time of 18:44.49 was about four seconds ahead of runner-up Rebecca Geiss of Heartland Christian. Sophomore Lila Kirkpatrick joined her in the top 20, placing 16th in 23:10.11. Sophomores Jillian Griffing (23:55.87) and Nell Craig (24:39.71) finished 21st and 32nd, respectively, while freshman Aleyna Woods (25:03.52) rounded out the scoring in 35th.

In the boys’ race, the Tigers also advanced to regionals after placing fifth with 128 points. Rootstown claimed the team title with 63 points.

Junior Isaac Larson led the Tigers, finishing 12th in 18:34.24. Junior Luke Gerber followed in 18th (19:04.05), while juniors Joey McAboy (19:49.87) and Keegan Lawrence (20:01.62) placed 32nd and 37th. Sophomore Levi Ritchie rounded out the scoring in 40th with a time of 20:05.18.

Volleyball

On paper, Salineville Southern appeared to have the advantage entering the Division VI Northeast 3 District sectional final, ranking 23rd to Lake Center Christian’s 25th.

On the court, however, it was all Tigers, who swept the Indians 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-20).

Mikenna Slayman recorded 29 assists, and Kamden Maninga led the defense with 17 digs for LCC (12-7). Lilly Kane dominated at the net with 29 kills and two blocks, while Maninga, Kane and Savannah Brown each served three aces.

Boys soccer

The Tigers pushed No. 15 seed Wellington to the limit in a Division V Northeast 1 District sectional final Oct. 16, falling 4-3.

Freshman Cam Adam scored two goals for 20th-seeded Lake Center Christian, which was outscored 3-2 in the second half. Trever Hayberg added a goal and an assist, and Tanner Slabaugh recorded an assist. Oliver Baker made three saves in goal for the Tigers.

Girls soccer

Eighteenth-seeded Apple Creek Waynedale jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and went on to defeat Lake Center Christian 5-0 in a Division V Northeast 5 District sectional final Oct. 15.

The 29th-seeded Tigers finished their season 3-9-3, while the Golden Bears improved to 9-8-1. No additional match details were available.