Claymont boys and girls cross country teams qualify for regionals at Pickerington North

Junior Kali Wallace and her Claymont cross country teammates will run this weekend in the Division III Central Regional at Pickerington North, thanks to stellar performances last Saturday at the Cambridge District.

Led by Wallace’s individual runner-up finish, the Mustangs finished 10th in the 18-team field to snag one of the 13 team qualifications. Claymont finished with 246 points. State power Minerva won with 44. 

Wallace finished in 18:56, just 11 seconds behind district champ Alanna Williams of Martins Ferry. Senior Grace McPherson finished 23rd for Claymont, followed by freshman Emma McPherson (45th), juniors Heidi Johnson (91st) and Madelyn Dean (106th) in a 132-runner field.

Claymont’s boys also earned a trip to Pickerington, finishing a solid fifth in a 17-team field. The Mustangs were led by a 23rd-place finish by junior Braxtyn Miles. Junior Korbin Burkholder placed 38th, three spots ahead of sophomore Tucker Armstrong. Sophomore Hunter Messer checked in 48th, while junior Waylen Petersson finished 59th to round out the scorers. Juniors Rocco Scalambrino (74th) and Kaden Bache (81st) finished things out for the all-underclassmen Mustangs. 

Indian Valley finished seventh to gain a regional berth. The Braves were paced by a 22nd-place finish by freshman Rowan Harshay. Junior Jillian Welch placed 32nd for the Braves, while sophomore Blaire Harshey (43rd), and freshmen Bailey Herbert (50th) and Sam Wales rounded out IV’s scorers. Junior Sadie Holbook (77th) was just seconds behind Wales, while junior Sophia Doerr finished 113th among 132 runners.

In the girls Division IV race, Newcomerstown earned one of the six team berths with a sixth-place finish. The Trojans got a 23rd-place finished from freshman Clara Allen to lead the way. Junior Kaylyn Dorsey (39th), sophomore Liliana Lopez (49th), senior Maggie Smith (52nd), and sophomore Ariah Gamble (58th) also contributed to the team score. 

In the boys Division III race, Indian Valley junior Nolan Patacca finished 16th to earn an individual regional berth. Sophomore Ayden Colaner (104th) and senior Hunter Stuckey (128th) also ran for the Braves. 

Senior Trenton Rice was Newcomerstown’s lone boy runner. He placed 26th in Division IV. He narrowly missed an individual regional berth, missing by three spots and roughly half-a-minute. 

Volleyball

Indian Valley stretched its season into the Division IV East 2 District semifinals. The No. 7-seeded Braves topped No. 12 Philo 25-13, 25-13, 25-19 in a sectional opener on Oct. 14, behind12 kills from junior, Lily Lewis, 17 digs and eight aces from junior Reese Polen, and 24 assists from junior Brooklyn Abbuhl. Indian Valley, which improved to 13-10, was set to play at No. 2 seed River View on Oct. 21. The winner was to take on with No. 3 Lisbon Beaver or No. 6 Minerva in the district final on Oct. 23.

Newcomerstown saw its season come to an end with a straight-sets defeat against top-seeded Hiland, 25-16, 25-12, 25-11 in an East Division VI District semifinal on Oct. 16. The seventh-seeded Trojans, who finished 10-14, were led by junior Briley Little’s seven kills, sophomore Diane Raber’s 15 digs, and senior Maggie Collins 11 assists. 

Claymont gave No. 2 Martins Ferry all it could handle in a Division V East Sectional final but the No. 6-seeded Mustangs eventually fell 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 on Oct. 16. Claymont, which finished 10-14, got 12 kills from senior Lily Riker, 10 digs from Sydney Ronald and 13 digs from senior Jill Poletti in their final matches. Sophomore Elah Davis led with 14 digs.