Lake Center’s Ritchie qualifies for state in cross country; volleyball team caps strong postseason run

From the many, one.

A week after both the boys’ and girls’ squads qualified for the Division IV, Region 12 meet hosted by Youngstown Boardman on Oct. 25, only one runner advanced to state: Gianna Ritchie.

The senior track and field state champion placed fourth with a time of 19:05.60 to lead the Tigers to a 14th-place team finish. The journey stops here for everyone other than Ritchie, as only the top five teams and 10 individuals not on qualifying teams advance to the state meet at Columbus’ Fortress Obetz.

Other finishes by the Tigers’ top five include Lila Kirkpatrick (87th), Jillian Griffing (102nd), Nell Craig (140th) and Hannah Crissman (156th).

For the boys, the Tigers were led by Luke Gerber, who placed 44th, clocking in at 18:13.71. He was followed by Isaac Larson (47th), Joey McAboy (109th), Jaxon Shilling (111th) and Keegan Lawrence (113th).

Volleyball

Based on seeding alone, the Tigers’ Division VI Northeast 3 District Sectional final victory over Salineville Southern would be considered a slight upset, as Lake Center Christian was the No. 25 seed and the Indians were No. 23.

That was just the appetizer, as the Tigers had a much larger upset in mind when they faced third-seeded Campbell Memorial on Oct. 20 in a district semifinal match. Lake Center Christian didn’t just win — they won convincingly, sweeping the Red Devils 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16).

Sophomore Lilly Kane had a big game, recording 16 kills and three blocks, while Summer Brown added 11 service points, including five aces. Brown, Kamden Maninga and Mikenna Slayman each logged nine digs on defense. Slayman also dished out 27 assists in the victory over Memorial (20-4).

On Oct. 22, the Tigers faced No. 4 seed McDonald, ranked 17th in the state in Division VI. The Blue Devils lived up to their lofty ranking, sweeping Lake Center Christian in the district championship match 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18).

Kane again led the Tigers (13-8) with 20 kills and two blocks, while Slayman had 23 assists and 11 digs.