New Philadelphia boys claim Division II indoor state title

With high school track season still a few weeks away, New Philadelphia’s boys team has reason to feel good about things. The Quakers will head into the season as Division II champions at the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches indoor state meet held last weekend at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva.

New Philadelphia compiled 29 points, tying for the top spot with Butler. Amherst Steele was third with 23, one point ahead of the Quakers’ Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Lexington.

Winning individual state titles for New Philadelphia were seniors Wyatt Lendon and Marcus Adelman. Lendon won the 1600-meter run, finishing in 4:17.63, about 1.5 seconds ahead of West Geauga’s Ian Res. Adelman won the 3200 in 9:27.93, about eight seconds ahead of Canal Winchester’s Grant Hamilton.

Senior Alec Adelman finished fourth in the 1600 in 4:22.75. Adelman also competed in the 3200 but did not finish.

Those efforts gave New Philadelphia all the points it needed to finish atop the team standings.

In other action involving area teams:

New Philadelphia wrestling

Tyler Ulmer will represent the Quakers at the state wrestling meet after the senior 132-pounder worked his way to a fourth-place finish in Division I district action at Wadsworth last weekend. Ulmer won his first-round match but lost in the quarterfinals, then won three consecutive consolation matches, including a thrilling 8-5 sudden-victory win over top-seeded Liam Montgomery of Louisville in the blood round. Junior 175-pounder Zayne Kozelka also competed for the Quakers, winning one of three matches. For the girls, Quakers junior Isabelle Ramirez placed fourth at 190 pounds and will compete in the state tournament this weekend.

New Philadelphia boys basketball

Unable to get much offense going throughout, the Quakers fell 53-36 to Marietta on March 4 in the East Southeast Division III District 1 championship game at Ohio University’s Convocation Center. The Tigers, who lost to the Quakers earlier this season, won their first district title since 1977. The Quakers trailed 15-9 after one period and 27-20 at halftime. They were still within eight points with a quarter to play, but a 7-0 run early in the period by Marietta put the game out of reach.

Dover wrestling

The Tornadoes had a solid showing at the Perrysburg District but could get only one wrestler to state, and that as an alternate. Senior 113-pounder Brock Reynolds finished fifth to gain state alternate status. Reynolds won his first-round match before losing in the quarterfinals. He won his first two consolation matches but lost his “go-to” match, then won the fifth-sixth match. Dover finished with 24 points, tying for 16th place among 44 teams that had at least one wrestler in the field.

Junior 106-pounder Frank Ramirez also qualified, as did freshman 126-pounder Mason Shull, sophomore 157-pounder Patrick Moran, junior 175-pounder Jackson Criner and Jackson Herrera, one of just three freshman 285-pounders in the field. Ramirez went 2-2. Criner won one of three matches.

Newcomerstown wrestling

The Trojans will have a representative at the state tournament at the Schottenstein Center next weekend. Junior Martin Hernandez finished second at 285 pounds at last weekend’s Coshocton Division III District to secure a trip to Columbus. The heavyweight recorded a technical fall and two pins on the way to the championship match, in which he fell 4-0 to Heath Thomas of Toronto.

Sophomore Chase Norman and senior Gage McGinnis placed sixth at 106 and 190 pounds, respectively. Norman was a semifinalist but could not get the third win he needed. He lost to eventual champion Rayden Crossen of Alexander, then fell to Bryce Myers of Chesapeake in the blood round. McGinnis won three of five matches but fell in the blood round to Dillon King of Garaway. The Trojans finished with 54.5 points, good for 12th place among the 56 teams in the field, 44 of which scored at least one point. Freshman Marshal Ellis and sophomore Chris Adamik (132) also competed. Ellis went 2-2 while Adamik won one of three matches.

Sandy Valley wrestling

Three Cardinal wrestlers earned trips to Columbus for the state tournament, with two guaranteed to see action. Sophomore Owen Simpson was Sandy Valley’s top finisher, placing third at 132 pounds to earn a state berth. Simpson started with two wins before falling 9-3 to eventual champion Cooper Schlaegel in the semifinals. He rebounded with a pin and a major decision to place third and improve his record to 42-4.

Junior Asher Crissey finished fourth at 120 pounds. He won twice to reach the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Jaxon Aberegg of Barnesville. Crissey rebounded in the blood round with a 16-2 major decision over Brayden Jenson of Meadowbrook before falling 9-4 to Ethan Amens of Northmor. Senior Aiden Douglas placed fifth at 113 pounds to earn alternate status. He lost his quarterfinal match, won two consolation bouts, then dropped a 6-4 decision to Lukas Miller of Garaway in the blood round. Sandy Valley scored 52 points, finishing 14th among 56 teams.

Tusky Valley basketball

Tusky Valley fell 67-56 to top-seeded St. Clairsville in a Division V, East 2 District semifinal March 5 at Cambridge. Izaak Matthews and Brody May each scored 14 points to lead the Trojans, who finished the season 11-13.