Area sports notebook: Gilbert sparks Triway, Carr resets Smithville record

Taking a look around the area sports landscape, there is a lot to take in from football, soccer, tennis, golf and cross country. Here's a quick peek at the latest headline.

Renewed rivalry and competition

With three nonleague games for many area football teams, the goal is to sharpen themselves as the motto goes, "Iron sharpens iron." One hasn’t had to look far to see that across the gridiron here early as Smithville and Tuslaw locked up in a 3-0 slobberknocker in week one. West Holmes duked it out with Triway in a narrow 23-21 setback, then bounced back with a 28-21 win over Orrville as it went 1-1. The Titans locked horns with Norwayne in week two for the two teams' first encounter since 2000 and earned a 34-16 victory at home. The result is each team learned something about itself and improved as each looks to prepare for some fun league and conference races.

T.J. Watt playing for the Titans?

No, sadly, Pittsburgh Steelers superstar T.J. Watt isn’t donning the purple and white for Triway, but senior Roman Gilbert is. For Titans opponents, it may seem like Watt is after them, as Gilbert has made a name for himself, pitching tents in opposing backfields. Last year Gilbert earned second-team All-Ohio and finished with 18 tackles for loss, five sacks and 30 solo tackles. This year he has just picked up where he left off. On Aug. 29 he racked up 11 tackles, four sacks and four tackles for loss and now has a team-high 15 tackles, 12 solo, six tackles for loss and four sacks in just two games.

Displaying brute strength, flashy speed and quick hands, Gilbert will only get better as the season goes on and will be central to Triway's success this fall.

“It was a dominant performance,” Titans coach Cody Kelly said. “He has been one of our hardest workers for years, and his effort is paying off. Having a defensive lineman who gains that much attention frees up others to make plays.”

Record-breaking fast

Smithville senior Kaitlyn Carr is no stranger to breaking records, as she entered the weekend as the program’s all-time record holder for girls cross country. Well, she wasn’t satisfied with that as she torched her own school record of 17:49.86 set just last year by 18 seconds. On Aug. 30 at the Hot Summer Bash held at Hilliard Davidson High School, she fired out a time of 17:31.86.

“I am so proud of her,” Smithies coach Greg DeRodes said. “It’s great to see her hard work and dedication pay off, but I am not surprised. She’s amazing and determined. Let’s hope it’s the start of a memorable senior year.”

Historically, Carr is currently sitting second all-time next to former Norwayne standout and now a Cornhusker at the University of Nebraska, Jaylee Wingate. Not too long ago, Wingate blazed a time of 17:15 in 2022 to set the area’s all-time record, but like they say, "Records are meant to be broken."

Fast starts

Wooster, Norwayne, Smithville, Dalton, Triway, Orrville and Central Christian volleyball have all started their respective league/conference slates unbeaten. The Generals enter September at 4-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference and 4-0 overall behind Indiana-bound Sara Snowbarger, who has 87 kills, and standout setter Brianna Hewitt with 137 assists.

The Bobcats (4-0), Smithies (5-2) and Bulldogs (4-1) are all 2-0 in the Wayne County Athletic League entering the new month. Leading the way are standouts Sara Geibel (82 kills), Ava Maibach (58), Kiersten Ross (56) and Faith Lengacher (51) at the net. Running the show for the leaders' setters are C.J. Moore (64 assists) and Layla Smithberger (40) for Norwayne, Leah Keib (157) for Smithville, and Mya Geiser (178) for Dalton.

In the Principals Athletic Conference, Triway and Orrville are both 2-0, with the Titans sitting at 5-2 overall and the Red Riders at 5-1. Central Christian is 2-0 in the Mid-Buckeye Conference and is 5-1 overall. Pyper Hamilton (83 kills), Mia Mariola (71), Maddison Kraft (58), Knorelle Hamilton (50) and Maclaren Fry (171) lead the array of hitters for the leaders. Setting them up are Hannah Croskey (184 assists) for the Red Riders, Taylor Mathis (224) for the Titans, and Sommer Shue (58) and Ellie Rohr (56) for the Comets.