Claymont's Wallace will end stellar season at state cross country

Claymont’s girls cross country team won’t get to run in the state meet in Obetz this weekend. Kali Wallace, though, will make sure her teammates are well represented.

Wallace, a junior, was runner-up in the girls Division III Regional race last weekend at Pickerington, easily earning a berth in the final meet of the season, where she will be among the favorites and in good position to earn All-Ohio status.

Wallace finished in 18:23.16, a little more than 12 seconds behind champion Alanna Williams of Martins Ferry and four seconds clear of Minerva’s Makenzie Beavers, who finished third.

The Mustangs finished 20th among 36 girls teams. The top eight earned berths in the state meet.

Wallace heads to Obetz looking to better a 10th-place finish in 2024, when she finished in 18:37.

Wallace nearly had company on the trip to state. Senior Grace McPherson finished 37th in the regional in 20:12.91, about five seconds shy of earning an individual berth to the state meet. She was 18th among those whose teams did not make it, leaving her two spots short of moving on.

Freshman Emma McPherson also was not too far behind. Her time of 20:43.83 left her in 52nd place. That was about 42 seconds away from qualifying for state.

Junior Heidi Johnson finished 216th with a time of 24:57.38, and junior Madelyn Dean was 257th, finishing in 26:52.86. The Mustangs needed all five to make it to regionals.

Claymont’s boys finished 18th among 33 squads in their race, which was won by Minerva. Junior Braxtyn Myers was the Mustangs’ top finisher, placing 96th in 17:54.5. He was followed closely by classmate Korbin Burkholder (99th, 17:55.22).

Also scoring for Claymont were sophomores Hunter Messer (135th, 18:25.55) and Tucker Armstrong (141st, 18:27.83), and junior Waylen Peterson (148th, 18:35.54). Juniors Kaden Bache (223rd, 19:31.69) and Rocco Scalambrino (225th, 19:35.49) got some solid experience for an all-underclassmen lineup that looks to have a strong 2026 ahead of it.

Needing a top-eight finish to earn a state team berth, Indian Valley’s girls finished 15th among the 36 Division III teams at Pickerington. The Braves totaled 438 points. Tusky Valley won the team title with 114, edging out Minerva (121).

Tops for the Braves was freshman Rowan Harshey, who finished 39th in 20:17.42, making her the sixth-fastest ninth-grader in the region. Harshey needed to be in the top 16 runners not on a qualifying. She missed out on that group by less than 10 seconds and three spots.

Also scoring for the Braves were junior Jillian Welch (68th, 21:10.72), sophomore Blaire Harshay (95th, 21:52.29), freshman Bailey Herbert (98th, 21:58.46) and freshman Sam Wales (192nd, 24:11.21). Junior Sadie Holbrook (195th, 24:20.16) and freshman Ellie Holbrook (213th, 24:48.10) also got big-meet experience for the all non-senior group.

For the boys, junior Nolan Patacca was Indian Valley’s lone representative. He placed a solid 41st in a 279-runner field. He was about 16 seconds shy of earning an individual state berth, which went to the top 16 runners not on qualifying teams.

Newcomerstown’s girls competed in the Division IV race, finishing 21st among 23 teams. The Trojans were led by freshman Clara Allen, who finished 81st in 23:07.11.

Junior Kalyn Kinsey was next in 25:11.09, placing 135th. She was followed by sophomore Liliana Lopez (150th, 26:10.13), senior Maggie Smith (163rd, 27:16.08) and sophomore Ariah Gamble (181st, 31:22.38).

Volleyball

Indian Valley’s season stretched to an Oct. 21 Division IV East 2 District semifinal, where the Braves lost 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 to second-seeded River View, which went on to beat No. 3 Lisbon Beaver in a four-set district final. Junior Lily Lewis led the Braves with 14 kills. Junior Gionna Miles had a team-high five aces. Junior Reese Polenhad 26 digs and three blocks and junior Brooklyn Abbuhl had 33 assists. The Braves, who did not have a single senior record a statistic in the match, should return a strong group in 2026 after finishing this season with a 13-11 overall record and an Inter-Valley Conference runner-up finish.