News

The National Trail Boys Golf team realized a dream by qualifying and golfing in the OHSAA Boys DIII State Golf Tournament. (All feature photos by Dale Barger)

SUNBURY – The National Trail boys golf team competed at the 99^th Annual Boys Golf State Tournament.  It was their first ever appearance at state and they came away with a good first-time experience finishing in 6^th place out of 12 teams in the DIII Tournament held at NorthStar Golf Club.

In the two-day tournament National Trail shot a 333 for 18 on day one and improved to 324 on the second day for a two-day total of 657. 

Senior Nick Brubaker who has been a solid player over the last 4 years, individually would finish in a tie with junior teammate Kellen Laird both in 23^rd place at the state tournament firing 162 each for 36 holes.

Freshman Josh Brubaker shot a 165 for 32^nd place, senior Justin Turner was 39^th with a 168 and senior Aidan Koehl was 66^th with a two-day round of 194.

The state appearance capped a special season full of highlights for the Blazers who broke five school records.  They won the Preble County Tournament for the 4^th straight year breaking the school record shooting a team score of 300.  They won their own Blazer invite for the first time, won the Brookville Invitational, the WOAC Conference tournament, sectional and district tournament.  They also had an individual golfer Josh Brubaker shoot a 66 in the conference tournament to break the school record and their team record at the end of the season was 130-11.

It was quite a season for National Trail and coach Ramon Rutan who was chosen as the WOAC Coach of the Year in 2024.  He noted their success has been a process.

“There has been a lot of work put in over the past four years from this group. Four years ago, this group played on our middle school club team together and we dreamed of making it to state. Accomplishing everything we have this year has really validated the process and work these guys have been willing to do,” Rutan said.

Having a middle school program has helped the Blazers develop and have kids ready to go as soon as they get into high school and was evident by the fact their JV team was also having success.

“We had a match where our entire JV team shot in the 40s. We had a JV player break 40 this year as well,” Rutan commented.

As soon as the season is over Rutan, and his staff get to work to ensure his kids have clear expectations and direction on how to improve with their off-season work.

“We make improvement plans for each player when the season ends that targets areas that we can see the biggest impact on scoring improvements,” Rutan commented.

“For the past four years we’ve looked at scoring goals for postseason tournaments to judge how close we were to being considered contenders for advancing. It’s been great to have a team that buys into the work and process of improving to achieve winning in the postseason,” Rutan explained.

“Being the first team to make state was never really anything that was talked about. We all had knowledge that no golf team from Trail had made state before. The biggest reason for that is the best teams in Trail history from the early 2000s competed in division 2 and we were more fortunate than those guys by being able to compete in division 3 this year,” said a humble Rutan.

One thing is clear, the program Rutan has put into place is yielding positive results and there is talent in the pipeline at the middle school and JV level putting in the work and hoping to step up next year to fill the holes that will be left by quality seniors graduating.

“We’ve seen amazing careers from Nick Brubaker, Justin Turner, and Aidan Koehl that has come to an end. They have been great program guys that worked to see success in the program and losing them will impact us in the future. But, we have some great young players who have been working so hard to continue the run of success we’re experiencing, and I expect to plug in new guys next year and continue to play at a high level.  We’re not backing off the standard the seniors have established,” Rutan concluded.

Congratulations to the Blazers on an outstanding year and representing yourselves, your school, community and the WOAC well.


Members of the National Trail Golf Team prior to teeing off at State Golf Tournament.
L-R: Josh Brubaker, Nick Brubaker, Aidan Koehl, Coach Ramon Rutan, Justin Turner, Kellen Laird and Assistant Coach Loren Brubaker.
_______________________________________________________________________________

The Newton Girls Cross Country Team won their first WOAC League Championship in that sport in the 4th year of the Conference. (All photos by Dale Barger)

NEW MADISON – The WOAC Girls Cross Country Championship was hosted at Tri-Village this year.  The young ladies of Newton High School won the 2024 WOAC league Meet and also claimed the top runner and coach of the year.

Team placements: 
1st Newton   25
2nd Mississinawa Valley   62
3rd Franklin Monroe  78
4th Arcanum   81
5th Ansonia   113

The top 10 individual runners’ this year’s race ear first team All-Conference honors.

The top 10 runners all earn first team ALL-WOAC Honors.  

1st Michaela Flora  Newton   19:45.8
2nd  Taylee Woodbury  Mississinawa Valley  21:18.7
3rd Claire Stull   Newton   21:30.1
4th Cole Thompson  Newton   21.45.7
5th Emma Lavey   Bradford   22.02.3
6th Emily Flora   Newton   22.10.2
7th  Stella Fugate   Franklin Monroe  22.11.5
8th Ella Warren   Arcanum   22.22.1
9th  Olivia Creager  Ansonia   22.24.0
10th  Sydney Whalen  National Trail   22.34.6

Second Team All-WOAC
Brynn Byers - Arcanum
Gentri Deaton - Newton
Alexa Kreiner - Ansonia
Daphne Lavey - Bradford
Madison Moore - Preble Shawnee
Kira Rutan - National Trail
Zilah Strayer - Tri-Village
Hailey Turpin - Twin Valley South
Hannah Wolfe - Franklin Monroe
Tenlee Woodbury - Mississinawa Valley

The Newton girls team won the league meet pleasing Coach Aubrey Hughes who was named the 2024 WOAC Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year.  Aubrey also earned the Boys Coach of the Year honors back in 2021.

Newton Boys & Girls Cross Country Coach Aubrey Hughes would be named the WOAC Girls Coach of the Year in 2024.

Coach Hughes was pleased with her team’s performance and excited about their future especially since she has such a young team.

“The girls have been really strong most of this year and they've had a nice pack. They're all very young; freshmen, sophomores and we have some juniors so everybody will be returning next year, which is pretty awesome in itself,” Hughes stated.

The pack she talked about saw Newton take four of the top six spots which included freshman Michaela Flora who was named the 2024 WOAC Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Coach Hughes is excited for her freshman runner and although she’s having a great year, she has plenty to learn and potential to grow.

“She is still learning and has a lot to go. We started off the year at the prestigious OHSAA Early Season Invitational event in Columbus at Fortress Obetz. You know, it’s scary, you’re a freshman, and we throw her right into the big boys.  Some kids thrive on that, and some don't. She took it as, okay, now I understand what I need to do, and we saw her gain confidence.  She started focusing on our workouts, exactly what I had for her versus maybe what we have for the rest of the group. It’s individualized but I think she’s starting to realize … hmm, maybe it's okay if I run up with some of the boys now.  She's a great kid, too, great personality, a very humble kid and a strong teammate,” Hughes praised.

Coach Hughes has other talented runners that also includes sophomore Claire Stull 3^rd, freshman Cole Thompson 4^th and junior Emma Flora 6^th.

“They are hard workers they show up and not a lot shakes them, which you don't always have that often throughout a team. They came here today and knew what they had to do and all that hard work they put in this summer and in practice carried into October and has paid off, Hughes said.

But coach Hughes and the team have more they would like to accomplish.

“I’d like to see this momentum carry on into the districts and even into the regionals.  You might have to fact check me on this, but I don't believe Newton has ever taken a girls’ team to the regionals in Cross Country and that would be our goal. We're coming off meets against top teams and it's been good for us to see that competition, and we’re ready to face those challenging in post season,” Hughes concluded.


Newton Freshman Michaela Flora won the 2024 Western Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and was named the WOAC Girls Runner of the Year.
_______________________________________________________________________________

The Ansonia Boys Cross Country Team won the 2024 Conference Championship making it two in a row for the Tigers. (All photos by Dale Barger)

NEW MADISON – The WOAC Boys Cross Country Championship was hosted at Tri-Village this year.  The young men of Ansonia High School won the 2024 WOAC league Meet and also claimed the top runner and coach of the year.  The league title gives the Tigers back-to-back conference championships having won in 2023 as well.

Team placements:

1st Ansonia   54
2nd Newton    57
3rd Twin Valley South  81
4th Arcanum   82
5th National Trail   119
6th Franklin Monroe  133
7th Tri-Village   171
8th Bradford   218

The top 10 individual runners’ this year’s race ear first team All-Conference honors.


The top 10 runners all earn first team ALL-WOAC Honors.  

1st Bennett Lehman Ansonia  15:52.8
2nd Tucker Denlinger National Trail  16.51.5
3rd Collin Day  Dixie   17:08.4
4th Ethan Sparks  Ansonia  17:46.0
5th Evan Jackle  Dixie   17:54.0
6th Tanner Long  Newton   17:57.0
7th Hunter Todd  Twin Valley South 17:59.0
8th Samuel DeHart Twin Valley South 18:03.1
9th  Hibiki Matsumoto Twin Valley South 18:06.9
10th Micah Arbogast Arcanum  18:08.0

Second Team All-Conference WOAC Runners
Chris Brinley - Tri-Village
Dennis Hall - Preble Shawnee
Sam Haney - Franklin Monroe
Daniel Hartzell - Mississinawa Valley
Eli Hoffman - Bradford
Garrison Hughes - Newton
Brayden Lee - National Trail
Luken Longenecker - Ansonia
James McNew - Dixie
Logan Mershon - Twin Valley South
Malachi Wright - Arcanum

The Ansonia boys took the top spot but had to hold off a strong performance by Newton  running in a tight pack to win the league race by 3 points 54-57.

Ansonia Boys and Girls Cross Country Coach Jason Wright earned the 2024 WOAC Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year.  Wright also won the award in 2023 as well and talked about the team’s performance.


Ansonia Cross Country Coach Jason Wright picked up WOAC Coach of the Year.

We've been very fortunate here at Ansonia, we've had some great teams, great athletes. We're really excited with how this season has progressed and on winning back-to-back conference championships,” Wright stated.

“I think when you look at all of our runners, I'm talking junior high, the guys, the girls and in high school, we couldn't have been prouder of our athletes today. We had a lot of PRs on the course, and these kids have worked so hard the last few months and even before this season kicked off. You know, they've put so much heart and effort into getting themselves ready for this race today and I couldn’t be prouder of their efforts,” Wright exclaimed.

Coach Wright is not one to take credit and heaped it back at his athletes and assistant coach Allen Newbauer who has been instrumental in helping prepare runners both mentally and physically.

“Listen, I'm riding the coattails of greatness. All the credit goes to the kids, they are fantastic, they have the right attitude, the right work ethic. And yeah, of course I'm going to bring up coach Newbauer. I mean, he has been the key that's unlocked the full potential of our kids,” Wright explained.

When I asked about the Tigers recent meet at Coldwater and the success they had there, coach Wright praised coach Newbauer on setting it up and preparing the kids for that event and the league meet.

Coach Newbauer talked about his role in helping the team to prepare for big meets.

“The Coldwater event was almost preparation for like a district type field. The goal was to go out and really have success individually and kind of see where we landed as a team and we kind of used that to springboard back to come here today at the league meet,” defined Newbauer .

In that meet Ansonia sophomore Bennett Lehman ran a 15:24.71 a blistering time that met the 2^nd team MileSplit standard in the United States. Also, senior Ethan Sparks turned in his best time at that event as well with a time of 16:57.60 achieving the goals set for the event.

But at the league meet Newbauer stated the gameplan was different.

“Here we know it wasn't just about times ... but more about place, right? And we did exactly that. Everybody kind of had their own assignment to do. Bennett's assignment was to go out and lead the race, and everybody else's assignment was to go out and understand where they needed to be and go after certain people that we needed to beat to win the conference and they all did just enough to help us win,” Newbauer clarified.

Bennett Lehman would lead the field from start to finish and in fact won the event by a minute with a time of 15:52.8 and would be named the 2024 WOAC Runner of the Year.

Good luck to all the Cross Country Teams as they prepare to run in post season.

Ansonia's Bennett Lehman is having an outstanding year so far and was named the WOAC 2024 Runner of the Year.  
_______________________________________________________________________________

The Arcanum girls volleyball team won back-to-back league championships. They would go 11-0 this year and win it outright.  

ARCANUM – The Lady Trojans Volleyball Team completed a perfect season in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference running the table going 11-0 in the league to earn an outright Conference Championship and their 2^nd title in the last two years.

There was no drama in the final league game as in seasons past for ladies’ volleyball with the Trojans going undefeated ... but there were a few games this season that provided competitive and athletic challenges along with great atmospheres and rivalries that the Trojans were able to overcome.

“I think one of the most memorable moments of the season so far was the Mississinawa Valley game. It was such a fun environment with our fans and the MV fans, as well. Those types of games are the ones that the girls will remember most because of just how loud and fun it was for both teams,” Jacie stated.

The Arcanum Girls Volleyball team celebrate a big point in win at Mississinawa Valley this year.  (All Feature Photos by Dale Barger)

“Another great moment for us this season was winning the Greenville Federal Invitational again - but to make it even sweeter, winning it in six sets. For the girls, the highlights of the season will always be playing Newton, Tri-Village, and Franklin Monroe, as well...those are always big games for us,” Holman added. 

Probably the biggest challenge for Arcanum and coach Jacie Holman now in her 3^rd year was figuring out how to overcome graduating six talented seniors from last year’s district semi-final team.


Sophomore Matty Noe stepped up this you to help fill the void of six seniors graduating from last year's team.  

“After losing 6 seniors last year, I don't think many people expected us to be at the top of the league this year.  This summer the girls put in the extra time - I don't think there was a day in August where girls weren't coming in before practice and staying after practice to better themselves,” Holman explained.

“Winning the league title outright this year was a goal for us this year. Being co-champions last year was a huge accomplishment for the program; however, the girls had decided in June we wanted to push ourselves further this year and be THE league champions - and not sharing the title with anyone,” Holman commented.

The Lady Trojans goal was accomplished and is helping bring the vision that coach Holman had for the program to light.


Junior Outside Hitter Grace Psczulkoski rises up to take a swing for her team.

“For the program and me, I think the last two years have really set the tone for Arcanum Volleyball. One of my goals when I took over the program was to develop a program - where when we looked at our banner in our gym, it would be filled with league championships, district titles, and hopefully even state championships. And the girls have bought in - which is why we have had the success we have had the last couple of years. The girls want those titles just as much as I do and I know that's why we are getting the results we are,” Holman exclaimed.

Holman’s approach is making sure that every player realizes their effort and contributions matter and collectively is what makes the program successful. 


Senior MacKenzie Burns puts down a kill in big game with Mississinawa Valley earlier this year.

“The key figures for our team are every single girl!!! We would not have the success we have had without every single girl on this team. A key focus for us this year has been acknowledging we wouldn't have any success without each other. For example, when we get a kill, the girl immediately points and acknowledges her setter, who then acknowledges her passer. Our success doesn't rely on one person - but it's a team effort. The girls have also done a great job of stepping up when another girl may be off that night. For us, it has been key that we don't just have one solid player - we have 13 girls who can step up to play at any time,” Holman amplified.

Arcanum 17-3 overall will now set their sight on post season after earning the #1 seed in the OHSAA DV Volleyball tournament. 

Holman is looking forward to expanding their tournament success this year.

Arcanum volleyball coach Jacie Holman expressed the importance of all 13 girls buying in and doing their part to make the program and team successful.

“Each year, we have gained one more tournament game win - and that's our goal here...PLUS additional games! When we met in June, the girls made the goal to win districts this year - and I feel like this is the year! The #1 seed was a huge moral boost for the girls. To be acknowledged by the teams in our district, we greatly appreciate it...we felt our record should speak for itself (after only losing to two very high state-ranked teams), but to have our fellow WOAC coaches support us meant the world. We understand  each tourney game won is a privilege - and we aren't taking that for granted even with our #1 seed. We are taking each game one at a time - very similar to how we have handled the season. But we also realize  we could have a BIG game in our district semi-final against Fort Recovery. Fort Recovery is a good team who plays a tough regular season schedule; however, our team has only continued to improve - and I think we are finally playing some of our best volleyball of the season, especially as a team! With that being said, I am looking forward to that game...and if we play like we know how, I am even more excited to see us get one step closer to achieving another one of our goals for the season,” Holman concluded.

If you haven’t seen the Lady Trojans play you might want to catch them in action as they open up tournament play at Noon on Saturday October 19^th where they will host Tri-County North at home.

The Lady Trojan celebrate a teammates big play in game verses Preble Shawnee this year.

The Dixie Boys Soccer Team celebrate winning their 3rd consecutive league title.
(All Feature Photos by Dale Barger)

NEW LEBANON – The Dixie Boys Soccer Team pulled off the trifecta beating Preble Shawnee 3-0 in their last regular season game giving them an undefeated WOAC record and their third straight Western Ohio Athletic Conference Championship in Soccer.

After winning back-to-back titles the Hounds graduated a lot of talented players in 2023 and there were some questions on whether Dixie would be at the level they had played in those previous two seasons which prompted coach Charlie Miller to talk about the keys to their success in 2024.

“The key to this season was the chemistry that these boys have together. We came into this season having graduated 6 seniors the year before, so a lot of guys had to step up. We did not have an established goalkeeper, were short 2 defenders and lost midfielders and a strong forward. We had underclassmen who stepped into roles they were not used to playing and a freshman who stepped up to become our goalkeeper. This group of young men work well together, support each other, push each other, and have been able to do whatever it takes to win, this year,” Miller explained.


Dixie senior Nate Emrick leads the league in goals with 39 this year.

Some of those key players would end up leading the league in many statistical categories.

“Nate Emrick is leading the league with 39 goals and 9 assists, he is a strong player, he has scored several goals off of set pieces.

Evan Marker is second in goals in the league with 22,  he also has 9 assists, he is strong in our offensive end. Braden Hall is leading the league in assists with 19 , he has been a strong play maker with his passes and his powerful throw ins.


Evan Marker lines up to take a goal kick.  He 22 this year.

Our defensive end consists of JR Bemis, Paul Hickey, Noah Gentry, and Albert Lamb, they have greatly contributed to Aiden Hammond, our goalkeeper's success .

Hammond currently leads the league in saves with 123 and 7 shutouts.

However, when it all comes down to it, it’s been a team effort and all 18 boys on the roster have contributed to the individual success of these boys,” Miller noted. 

Although, there were many memorable moments of throughout the  season, Coach Miller ranks winning the league title as the top highlight.

Dixie coach Charlie Miller wasn't able to escape the gatorade bath after his team won the league championship.

“The other thing that sticks out … and maybe the most important to me is that this team fights hard even in the games when the score is against us, these boys do not give up, they persevere and they leave it all out on the field,” Miller praised.

They say once you win three titles you’ve created a dynasty and Dixie Boys Soccer has become a dynasty in the WOAC with three league titles in the 1^st four years of the league.

Miller smiled when I told him that and then proceeded to give credit to others.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the help from my
assistant coach Dan Marker, the boys' soccer team, all the fans, my daughter Cooper Miller for taking stats , our 4 consistent ball boys Mo, Red, Jackson, and Isaac they have been with us for all three championships,” Miller exclaimed.

Miller also heaped praised on his seniors.


Dixie coaches and seniors pose to celebrate all being a part of three league championships.

“They have great work ethic a strong desire to learn, teach , and have created a family dynamic and each one has contributed to the success of the team and to winning three league championships. They inspire the underclassmen to set their goals high,” Miller stated.

Coach Miller can now turn to the post season but doesn’t want to get too far ahead of themselves and will focus on taking it one game at a time.  Dixie now stands at 13-1-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the league earned the 6^th seed in the OHSAA DV District Tournament and they will host at home the #9 seed Emmanuel Christian on Saturday October 19^th at 7pm.

No matter what happens in post season winning three league titles in a row means you are doing some things right and coach Miller hopes those accomplishments will account for something going forward.

“I am hoping that we have built a strong culture that inspires our younger students to be motivated and continue to want to build our soccer program. With winning the league 3 years in a row, our community support has grown, and hopefully it continues to grow stronger, and we thank them for being there for us,” Miller concluded.


Dixie is your 2022, 2023 and now 2024 WOAC Boys Soccer Champions!

_______________________________________________________________________________