News

Arcanum's defense shined in the 4th quarter holding Houston to just five points.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

COVINGTON – Arcanum fought off a feisty Houston team on several occasions. With the Wildcats up 30-28 late in 3^rd quarter the Trojans scored 11 unanswered points and went on to claim a district semi-final victory 48-35.

“We knew it was going to be a battle against a competitive Houston team. They have gotten better since we last played them and it’s tough to beat the same team twice,” Arcanum coach Abbey Moore said after the game.

The Trojans on the strength of Caroline Long inside with 6 points and two triples from Matty Noe would take a 15-11 lead in the opening frame.

Matty Noe hit two big three's early on but her biggest contribution was the ability to dribble and absorb physical defenders to get them into their offense.  

Houston battled back tying the game at 18 with a minute left to play in the first half only to see Arcanum go on five-point burst on back-to-back buckets from Long and Lexy Gibbons. 

Gibbons was also sandwiched on a last second lay-up attempt and added a free throw to give Arcanum a 23-18 lead at the break.

Lexy Gibbons made big shots & timely plays to help her team advance to District Finals.

Long had 9 points, Matty Noe 6, Gibbons 5 and Brooke Anderson 3 in the first half.

Arcanum’s Long opened the 3^rd quarter with a fielder in the paint to go up 25-18 … but the Wildcats clawed back scoring 5 unanswered points of their own to close the gap to 25-23.

Brooke Anderson knocked down a triple to stop the run at the five-minute mark to go up 28-23 … but once again Houston answered this time a 7-point run for a 30-28 advantage at 3:48.


Brooke Anderson hit a couple of big shots for the Trojans in win over Houston.

There was no panic on the part of Arcanum or coach Moore because she knows her team is battle tested and can handle bumps in the road.

“You know, in that moment, we've been in those situations this year, we've been battle tested, a big part is due to the schedule we play. I told my girls, they might be disadvantaged during the season with our schedule … but I do it so at the end of the year we're going to be able to win ball games and go to a district championship,” Moore stated.

It was a battle as Avery Leeper & Emily Earl clash for a rebound. The Trojans would pull away in the 4th quarter to get the win.

Arcanum clamped down on defense the remainder of the quarter and went on an eight-point run with Gibbons leading the charge scoring seven of them for a 36-30 lead heading into the final frame.

The defense would shine only allowing just five points in the fourth quarter and the Trojans took care of the basketball, made some shots and free throws to clinch the 48-35 win.

“I'm just so proud of the grit and the determination of my team, every day that these girls’ step in the gym, our coaching staff challenges them, and we challenge them to get better,” Moore explained.

Arcanum handed Houston a 47-37 loss on the same floor at the Covington Holiday Classic … but the Wildcats were without their star player Emily Earl in that matchup.

Madison Schwartz locks in on defense and gave Arcanum good minutes off the bench.

“Coming into this game I had all the confidence in the world, in them, because I knew we'd gotten better,” Moore remarked.

“We knew Earl was a great ball player and a handful with the way she can rebound, and I told the girls, it's going to come down to keeping her off the boards in the second half, it’s a tough task to ask. But I think the change in defense kind of took her out of the equation a little bit and we did a good job keeping the ball out of her hands,” Moore commented.

Caroline Long got Arcanum going doing work in the paint.  She scored 17 and had 11 boards in win over Houston.

Lexy Gibbons and Caroline Long who have been consistent all season led the way. Gibbons had 17 points, Long 17 and 5 rebounds, Matty Noe 7 points, Brooke Anderson 6 points and 5 rebounds and Claire Hein nabbed 5 boards as well.

“Lex and Caroline have been consistent all year, and I'm just so proud of them, because they draw the pressure, the best defenders and for them to continue to perform the way they do game in and game out will go a long way for both of them,” Moore emphasized.

Arcanum now moves onto the OHSAA DVI District Final game for the first time since the 2019-20 season falling to Anna by two points.

They will face Fort Recovery for the second time this year who they defeated 34-33 the first game of year. The Indians beat 16-7 West Liberty Salem 40-31 to reach the district final game.

“We’ve got to work hard this week, because we now face Fort Recovery for the 2^nd time this season … but we are thankful because these girls earned and deserve this opportunity,” Moore concluded.

The district final game will be played on Saturday February 22^nd at 5:30pm at Covington High School.

The Arcanum bench reacts after a big play.  The Lady Trojans advance to the District Championship game with the win over Houston.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Preble Shawnee Wreslter Nolan Earles shakes hands with Dixie's Zakarie Howard after their championship match.  Earles would be named the WOAC "Wrestler of the Year"

Story & Photos by Dale Barger

NEW LEBANON – The Results are in for the Western Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament held at Dixie High School.

Preble Shawnee won the conference title for the 4^th year in a row.

Team Placements
1) Preble Shawnee, 158 points
2) National Trail, 95.5 points
3) Dixie, 75 points
4) Twin Valley South, 72.5 points
5) Arcanum, 45 points
6) Tri-County North, 38 points

Here is the list of winners by weight class

106#

Champion – Robert Allen, Preble Shawnee
Second – Sawyer Barnes, Tri-County North

113#

Champion – Jarrod Fox, National Trail
Second – Kyle Bruno, Preble Shawnee
Third – Dylan Landis, Twin Valley South

120#

Champion – Ross Wagner, Arcanum
Second – Beau Garnett, Preble Shawnee

126#

Champion – Max Woodgeard, Twin Valley South
Second – Remy Longfellow, National Trail
Third – Jackson Finch, Preble Shawnee
Fourth – Aydin Ryan, Dixie

132#

Champion – Nolan Earles, Preble Shawnee
Second – Zakarie Howard, Dixie
Third – James Meyers, Twin Valley South
Fourth – Cameron Hogg, Tri-County North

138#

Champion – Nathan Metcalf, Dixie
Second – Henry Roberts, National Trail
Third – Will Beiser, Arcanum
Fourth – Micah Winburn, Twin Valley South

144#

Champion – Hunter Delver, Preble Shawnee
Second – Brayden Hamlett, Dixie
Third – Ross Garber, Twin Valley South

150#

Champion – Landry Broyles, Dixie

157#

Champion – Henry Toschlog, National Trail
Second – Charlie Million, Preble Shawnee
Third – Joseph Shewman, Twin Valley South
Fourth – Jared Shives, Arcanum

165#

Champion – Bryson Doran, Preble Shawnee
Second – Luke Bowers, National Trail

175#

Champion – Ethan Scott, Preble Shawnee
Second – Rylan Haney, Tri-County North
Third – Julian Zaragoza, Dixie
Fourth – Owen McKee, Twin Valley South

190#

Champion – Zach Lawson, National Trail
Second – Elijah Parker, Preble Shawnee
Third – Mason Kendig, Arcanum

215#

Champion – Jayden Bradley, Twin Valley South
Second – Montgomery Back, Tri-County North

285#

Champion – Ryder Taylor, Preble Shawnee
Second – Roger Neff, Arcanum

Congratulations to all wrestling participants and winners.


WOAC Commissioner Frank Carr present the Wrestling "Coach of the Year" award to Preble Shawnee's Kage Worley. 
___________________________________________________________________________________

Preble Shawnee won the 2025 WOAC Wrestling Championship their 4th in 4 years.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

NEW LEBANON – The 2025 Western Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship was held at Dixie High School on Saturday, February 15^th.  At the end of the day, it was the Preble Shawnee wrestling team claiming the league championship.

Since the WOAC began as a conference four years ago the Arrows have dominated as a team and made it a clean sweep earning their fourth title in a row.

Arrows coach Kage Worley would be named the WOAC Wrestling Coach of the Year and senior Nolan Earles earned WOAC Wrestler of the year.  Both took time to talk to us after the meet.

Preble Shawnee coach Kage Worley now in his third year as wrestling coach for the Arrows said the key to their success has been having good kids and leaders stepping up pushing the younger kids when it’s their turn.

In fact, the Arrows have had the top grappler for three straight years with Nolan Earles earning Wrestler of the Year in 2025 and is a good example of a leader stepping up.

“Yeah, he's big in the locker room. I mean, he's one who always pushes the guys, and a lot of the younger guys look up to him and in a way, kind of strive to be that level of a wrestler,” coach Worley stated.

“Nolan has always been a tough wrestler. I mean, freshman year on up, he's been solid … but this year he really has turned over a big leaf and made a lot of improvements,” Worley praised. 

“He’s a super tough kid, super technical, and we think he's going to go really deep in state and might even have him in the state finals. We'll see if it shakes out the way we want it,” Worley added.

Nolan was pleased to follow in the footsteps of Riley Stevenson and Brayden Doran who were wrestlers of the year the last two seasons.

“I know guys from our teams in previous years have earned wrestler of the year, they've been coming in here and helping me get to  where I need to be and I came in here today having put in the work with the expectation of following in their footsteps and happy to win this trophy,” Earles commented.

Wrestling at 132 lbs senior Nolan Earles has a 36-5 record and was named the WOAC "Wrestler of the Year".

“This year, I'm hoping to go to the state tournament and place or get to a finals match Earles,” added.

There is evidence to back it up when you compare his record from last year where he ended the year with 11 losses and now having a record of 36-5 heading into the post season.

Nolan gives credit to his coaches Kage Worley, Brian Carter, Tyler and his brother Zarrin who’s his drill partner.

“All of them have helped me out when I need to stay after to get in extra work. They're always there, helping me to get to where I need to be,” Earles credited.

Although Nolan has his own individual goals … he was very happy for the team as they took pride in being able to defend and win another conference team championship.

“This is our fourth time winning the championship and we did that by coming into the wrestling room every day and we put in the work, getting after it, going hard and then being smart on the mat when it was time to wrestle,” Earles summed up.

Coach Worley talked about the team and their mindset coming into the league meet.

“You know, we are a smaller league, but we never underestimate guys coming in.

“Even though we're coming in here winning four years in a row I'm always trying to look at scores and look at what we can do to improve and try to stay on top of stuff.  We’ve got a tough group of guys and tough group of coaches … but unfortunately, everybody across the board was dealing with some injuries this time and maybe if some of those guys were out there it would have been a little closer, but we never underestimated anyone,” Worley emphasized.

Now that Preble Shawnee has completed the regular season they are setting their sights on the sectional tournament.

“It’s always a tough sectional. I think we got a solid shot this year of performing well and  sending a lot of guys through to district level in Troy.  It's a tough district but I think even from there, we’ve got a few tough guys who can really make a strong push to move onto to state,” Worley championed.

“Nolan is one of them and younger brother could be one. John Nestor is a big one going through at 150, Bryson Doran coming up at 165, so we got some solid guys and also, younger guys that are developing and working hard.  All in all, we have a solid program, and tough guys and I couldn't ask for anything better,” Worley concluded.

Congratulations to Preble Shawnee Wrestling Team, Coach Kage Worley and Nolan Earles.


Preble Shawnee Coach Kage Worley was named the 2025 WOAC Wrestling "Coach of the Year".

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Lady Blazers celebrate their tournament win over Tri-County North extracting revenge after falling to the Panthers twice in the regular season.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

VERSAILLES – The National Trail’s girls’ basketball team lost twice to Tri-County North this season including a 42-36 loss just four days ago. Third time was a charm for the Lady Blazers who avenged the previous two games by securing a tight 28-24 tournament win.

With three minutes left on the game clock and Tri-County North ahead 24-23 their leading scorer Bella Cherry fouled out and would be a pivotal moment in the game.

It was the play of two National Trail seniors Hannah Henderson and Josie Stiner coming up big down the stretch that turned the game in their favor.

Senior Hannah Henderson captured the lead late in the 4th quarter on two free throws for National Trail.

Henderson was fouled on three-point attempt made 2-of-3 free throws to capture a 25-24  lead for the Blazers with 1:38 to play.

National Trail got a stop and North fouled Stiner who calmly swished both free throws with 23 seconds to play to go up 27-24.

After another stop it was Stiner going back to the line, she missed the first but made the critical second toss to make it a two-possession game with just 18 seconds to go and the Blazers held on to extract revenge with a 28-24 win.

After the game Josie Stiner shared how excited she and her teammates were winning the game.

“It actually feels great, because in our conference we lost to them, then on senior night we lost to them again,” Stiner stated. 

Senior Josie Stiner who struggled at the free throw stepped up confidently in crunch time and drained them the it mattered the most for her team.

“This tournament game meant a lot to us, and we came ready to play.  It was super close, and I was a bit nervous when I went up to the free throw line. During the season, I had a slump in my free throws, so I was just like, I really need to just calm down and make these,” Stiner exclaimed.

Stiner is the leading scorer for National Trail this year had 9 points in the game but was 0-3 before toeing the line.  But she stepped up, took a deep breath, focused with a determined look in her eye and calmly sank both tosses.

“When I made them, it just felt so great, smiled Stiner, then added I just want to go into that locker room and cheer loud and proud with my teammates.”

Folks will often remember how games end but there were other keys to the Blazer win that started with their defense.

Panther guards Bella Cherry and Leinani Garcia are two of the top scorers in the WOAC conference and National Trail coach Garrett Denlinger employed a triangle and two defense to try and slow them down and it would prove to be effective.

North's Leinani Garcia played her last game for the Panthers and got a rare look from deep in the 4th quarter ... but the Blazers defense clamped down on Garcia and Cherry all night.

Garcia was held scoreless up until the 4^th quarter and scored just two points in the game to give North a 24-20 lead.

Cherry who averages 17 a game had just 10 points when she fouled out in the 4^th quarter and the question was where will the points come from?

“We've got a lot of athletes that are long and can move and that's why we put Josie Stiner at the top of triangle to use her length to get hands on the ball and tip passes. Then wherever Cherry and Garcia went we just stepped out and helped take away that threat of the three from Garcia and Cherry,” Denlinger said.

Denlinger was pleased with how well his team worked together and executed.

Senior Belle Anderson goes up an gets a rebound in game with Tri-County North.

 “Once we started kind of figuring out what they were doing and communicating defensively, things started clicking and we did a good job of slowing down a good Tri-County North Team to get a good win for the program, that is so big,” Denlinger commented.

“None of these girls have had that first round tournament win. So, for them, it gives them confidence, even going into next year to know we have the ability to play with these teams, and we can do it. They just have to believe in themselves,” encouraged Denlinger.

“We couldn’t have done it without our senior leadership. They've been good all year and kept this group together, that leadership has been the cornerstone of this program,” Denlinger concluded.

Tri-County North season ends with a 10-13 record and 5-6 in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference. 

National Trail was led by Morgan House with 10 points, Josie Stiner 9, Hannah Henderson 5 and Ollie Mason with 4 points.

The Blazers improved to 10-13 and moves on to the OHSAA DVI District Semi-Final game at Versailles High School to play Anna on Wednesday February 19^th at 6pm.

Jr. Morgan House led the Blazers with 10 points in big win over the Panthers.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Twin Valley South coach Kerry Crouch and team react after a big bucket in game with Riverside.  The Panthers won their first tournament game in 15 years.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

NEW CARLISLE – The Twin Valley South girls’ basketball hasn’t won a post season game in 15 years and snapped that losing streak by defeating Riverside 42-36 in what used to be the OHSAA DVII Sectional Final. 

First year Panthers coach Kerry Crouch was excited for his team and glad to see the success they had this year spill over into the post season.

“I believe the last tournament win here was 15 years ago, and the last sectional title win, even though the state doesn't recognize it anymore, was 43 years ago. So, this was a big deal for us, we're going to recognize it as a sectional championship and go back and cut the nets down. We’ll get a sectional banner and put the numbers up. I think the kids deserve it. They've been playing great all year,” Crouch stated.

The 13-10 Lady Panthers record this year marked a stark contrast from their 1-22 record last season.  In fact, the senior class has only won 5 games over the last 3 years which gives them plenty of reason to celebrate.

Twin Valley South battled Riverside to an 8-8 tie in the opening quarter then erupted for 18 points in the second frame to build a 26-17 halftime lead.

Jordan Ritchie had the hot hand in the first half scoring 10 points, she got help from Grace Childers and Madison Nelson both hitting triples in the second quarter.

Freshman guard Grace Childers saw lots of action in game with Riverside and knocked down a big triple in the 2nd quarter.  

The Pirates didn’t lay down after the break employed an extended zone defense taking away shots and slowing South’s offense down to win the third period 10-6.

Twin Valley’s points came from Ritchie with 5 and a free throw from Childers with the Panthers owning a 32-27 advantage going into the final stanza.

South extended their lead back out to 12 points at the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter on a stick-back rebound from Brylii Day.  Day snagged 24 boards in the contest to establish a new school record for the most rebounds in a game.

Junior forward Brylii Day pulled down a school record 24 rebounds in a game and had 6 points in win over the Pirates.

With the large lead Twin Valley South chose to try and take time off the clock … especially since they had a few players in foul trouble.

Riverside then made a furious rally over the next four minutes closing the gap to 39-36 making it a one possession game with1:15 to play.

“I kind of wanted to kill some clock because we had some kids out there who aren't used to being on the floor at that time … but we still had three good ball handlers and I felt like we would be able to run some time off the clock,” coach Crouch said after the game.


Sophomore guard Kelsey Maggard hit some big free throws late in the game to seal a win for the Panthers.

South’s Kelsey Maggard who spent much of her time in the 2^nd half on the bench with foul issues saved the day for the Panthers by knocking down 3-of-4 free throws late to seal the historic 42-36 win.

Jordan Ritchie didn’t score in the fourth quarter but led South with 17 points in the game and drew praise from coach Crouch

“I thought Jordan Ritchie really has stepped up, she's a senior and can handle the pressure, and our kids look for her,” Crouch praised.

Overall, Crouch was pleased with the contributions from all his kids.

Junior guard Madison Nelson made two treys to contribute to Twin Valley South tournament win.

“We had a bunch of kids that made some key shots. Grace Childers came off the bench and made a couple of baskets. Maddie Nelson hit some threes when we needed them, Brylii Day had a lot of rebounds and Kelsey Maggard down the stretch made some free throws. So, I mean, overall, it was just a great team effort,” Crouch complimented.

Scoring for the Panthers was Kelsie Maggard 5, Grace Childers 6, Madison Nelson 6, Jordan Ritchie 17, Maci Arndts 2 and Brylii Day 6 points.

Twin Valley South will now advance to the District Semi-Final game and play #1 seed Fort Loramie on Wednesday, February 19^th, 6pm at Tecumseh High School.

Senior guard Macie Arndts attacked the basket to help break down Riverside defense to open up her teammates.
___________________________________________________________________________________