News

The Lady Tigers made it 3-Peat winning the 2025 WOAC League Championship.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

NEW MADISON – The Ansonia Lady Tigers won the 2025 Western Ohio Athletic Conference Track Championship going away scoring 170 points.  Arcanum was 2^nd with 92 points and Tri-.Village 3rd with 80.

Ansonia made it a 3-Peat winning the track title for the third time in the four years since the conference started.  Arcanum won the initial league title in 2021-22.

 There were a number of record setting performances and standout athletes at this year’s championship event.

Milesplit the official timekeeper also tracks elite performance amongst all high school athletes for each state and the nation, and five elite performances were registered in Ohio. 

They were Ansonia’s London Reichert in Pole Vault 11’6”, Arcanum’s Faith Wooten in both Shot Put  37-9.5 and Discus 129-9, Ansonia’s Olivia Creager 17-7 and Tri-Village’s Adalynn Hines 17-10.5 both in Long Jump.

Ansonia London Reichert was 2025 WOAC Co-Runner of the Year.

Ansonia’s London Reichert won the Pole Vault, 400m, 200m and finished 2^nd in the 100m.  Along the way she set WOAC league records in three running events: 400m, 59.9, 200m, 26.2 and 100m in prelims with a 12.70 second run.

Tri-Village’s Adalynn Hines also shined in several events and found herself going toe-to-toe with Reichert in several running events as well. 

Adalynn Hines of Tri-Village was 2025 WOAC Co-Runner of the Year. 

Hines won the long jump, 100m, and was 1^st in the 4x100m relay and 2^nd in the 200m.

Hines league records included 17’-10.5” in the long jump and her 4 x 100 relay team of Heidi Bell, Emma Whaley and Jayla Coby set a record time of 51.44.

Reichert and Hines were both named 2025 WOAC Co-Runners of the Year.

Adalynn Hines and London Reichert battled a number of times and very little could separate the two in 100m and 200m races.

Arcanum junior Faith Wooten swept the throwing events to earn the 2025 WOAC Field Events Athlete of the Year. She won the shot put with a throw of 37’-09.5” and the discus at 129’-9”.

Arcanum jr. Faith Wooten would be names the WOAC 2025 Girls Track Field Athlete of the Year by way of winning both Discus and Shot Put events.

Other notable performances turned in was from Newton freshman Michaela Flora setting a new league record winning the 3200m in 11:53.40  and the 1600m in record time of 5:28.44.

The Twin Valley South relay team of Josey Butler, Grace Childers, Kelsie Maggard and Karsyn Roell set a new WOAC record of 4:20.20 in the 4x400.

The Newton relay team of Cole Thompson, Gentri Deaton, Claire Stull 10 and Michaela Flora set a new record in the 4x800 in a time of 10:32.90.

The Ansonia relay team of Rose Barga, Olivia Creager, Gabby Leeper and Lauren Warner set a new record in the 4x200 with a time of 1:47.97 10.

While Ansonia coach Craig Riethman and Clint Neil both coach the boys and girls track program together they each earned coach of the year honors. Craig was recognized as WOAC 2025 Girls Track Coach of the Year.

Ansonia girls track coach Craig Riethman accepts the 2025 Coach of the Year Award for the 3rd straight year.

“We had a really good meet, and the girls came out and did a great job of competing and did everything we asked of them,” Riethman stated.

“We got to give praise to our senior leadership on both the girls and the boys side. It has been incredible. The way the team responds to them with the themes they had throughout the year. There was a cowboy theme, ever a meet that didn’t even know about, they had a tattoo theme. They do a lot of things, it may not look the way we would have wanted it to look … but the culture is being set and excellent examples being led by the seniors,”
Riethman concluded.

Here are the are the team and individual results for the Girls WOAC 2025 Track Meet.

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Women 2025 Final Team Rankings - 17 Events Scored
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 1) Ansonia 170                                 2) Arcanum 92

 3) Tri-Village 80                                4) Newton Local 65

 5) Franklin Monroe 58               6) Bradford 54

 7) Twin Valley So. 53                   8) Preble Shawnee 27

 9) National Trail 22                       9) Mississinawa Valley 22

 11) Dixie 9                                            12) Tri-County North 4

Event 1 Girls 4x800 Meter Relay Finals
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WOAC Record - 10:32.90 5/13/2025 Newton – C Thompson, G Deaton, C Stull, M Flora =======================================================================

Newton Local 10:32.90* 10 (1st)

 1) Cole Thompson 9, 2)Gentri Deaton 11

 3) Claire Stull 10, 4) Michaela Flora 9

Ansonia 11:02.20 8 2nd)

 1) Alexa Kreiner 10, 2) Savanna Hartings 9

 3) Camryn Winner 11, 4) Lydia Hahn 11

Arcanum 11:12.70 6 (3rd)

 1) Grace Psczulkoski 11, 2) Maci Pechie 9

 3) Kamryn Beisner 11, 4) Kennedy Hayes 9

Franklin Monroe 11:59.10 5 (4th)

 1) Andrea Kleismit 11, 2) Hailee Osborne 9

 3) Piper Hackney 11, 4) Stella Fugate 9

 Twin Valley South 12:14.20 4 (5th)

 1) Baylee Bailey 11, 2) Mary Clark 9

 3) Katie Clopper 9, 4) Hailey Turpin 9

Preble Shawnee 13:30.50 3 (6th)

 1) Faith Jessie 12, 2) Bella Adkins 11

 3) Diana Rodriguez 12. 4) Regina Rodriguez 12

National Trail 13:41.50 2 (7th)

 1) Hailey Dane 10, 2) Taygen Toothman 9

 3) Natalie Blumenstock 9 4) Kira Rutan 9

Event 3 Girls 100 Meter Hurdles 33" Final


Arcanum Savannah Miller won the 100m Hurdles.
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WOAC Record 16.30 5/13/2025 Heidi Bell, Tri-Village =======================================================================

 1 Savannah Miller 10 Arcanum 16.48 10

 2 Heidi Bell 11 Tri-Village 16.59 8

 3 Gabby Leeper 12 Ansonia 17.30 6

 4 Mia Brookey 10 Franklin Mon 17.86 5

 5 Kendall Kreusch 10 Arcanum 18.25 4

 6 Ollie Mason 11 National Tra 18.32 3

 7 Hannah Whaley 9 Tri-Village 18.40 2

 8 Maddison Caldwell 10 Dixie 18.53 1

Event 5 Girls 100 Meter Dash Final

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WOAC Record 12.70 5/13/2025 London Reichert, Ansonia =======================================================================

 1 Adalynn Hines 11 Tri-Village 13.34 10

 2 London Reichert 10 Ansonia 13.37 8

 3 Josey Butler 9 Twin Valley South 13.45 6

 4 Presley Cox 12 Franklin Monroe 13.79 5

 5 Eavy Clark 12 Franklin Monroe 13.91 4

 6 Jayla Coby 9 Tri-Village 14.01 3

 7 Avery Helman 12 Bradford 14.04 2

 8 Cole Thompson 9 Newton Local 14.07 1

Event 7 Girls 4x200 Meter Relay Final

======================================================================= WOAC: Record 1:47.97 5/13/2025 Ansonia - R Barga, O Creager, G Leeper, L Warner =======================================================================

1 Ansonia 1:47.97 10

 1) Rose Barga 11, 2) Olivia Creager 11

 3) Gabby Leeper 12, 4) Lauren Warner 12

 2 Bradford 1:51.85 8

 1) Savannah Beachler 10, 2) Piper Burgett 9

 3) Natalie Wood 10, 4) Avery Helman 12

 3 Tri-Village 1:52.86 6

 1) Heidi Bell 11, 2) Emma Whaley 11

 3) Jayla Coby 9, 4) Bella Bunting 9

 4 Arcanum 1:54.40 5

 1) Savannah Miller 10, 2) Kamryn Beisner 11

 3) Grace Psczulkoski 11, 4) Brooklynne Eley 9

 5 Twin Valley So. 1:57.87 4

 1) Karsyn Roell 11, 2) Amelia Suggs 10

 3) Clara Meyers 12, 4) Grace Childers 9

 6 Dixie 1:59.07 3

 1) Vanessa Hughes 10, 2) Rylie Green 11

 3) Sophia Clifford 10, 4) Maddison Caldwell 10

 7 National Trail 2:00.12 2

 1) Evie Hoffman 11, 2) Ollie Mason 11

 3) Megan Irvin 12, 4) Hannah Henderson 12

 8 Preble Shawnee 2:00.21 1

 1) Nora Feck 11, 2) Jillian Murphy 9

 3) Kamryn Bradley 10, 4) Josie Mondello-Garrett 9

Event 9 Girls 1600 Meter Run

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WOAC Record 5:28.44 5/13/2025 Michaela Flora, Newton Local
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 1 Michaela Flora 9 Newton Local 5:28.44* 10

 2 Lydia Hahn 11 Ansonia 5:44.46 8

 3 Claire Stull 10 Newton Local 5:55.01 6

 4 Emma Lavey 12 Bradford 5:57.79 5

 5 Mackenzie Woodrey 9 Tri-County N 5:59.11 4

 6 Stella Fugate 9 Franklin Mon 6:12.85 3

 7 Kayaa Mote 10 Mississinawa 6:13.08 2

 8 Sydney Whalen 11 National Tra 6:16.22 1

Event 11 Girls 4x100 Meter Relay

======================================================================= WOAC Record 51.44 5/13/2025 Tri-Village,  H Bell, E Whaley, J Coby, A Hines =======================================================================

 1 Tri-Village 51.44* 10

 1) Heidi Bell 11, 2) Emma Whaley 11

 3) Jayla Coby 9, 4) Adalynn Hines 11

 2 Ansonia 52.04 8

 1) Autumn Best 9, 2) Lauren Warner 12

 3) Gabby Leeper 12, 4) Olivia Creager 11

 3 Preble Shawnee 53.08 6

 1) Aunaleisa Newhart 12, 2) Nora Feck 11

 3) Sallie Montgomery 11, 4) Bailey Garnett 10

 4 Arcanum 55.81 5

 1) Lexi Dillman 9, 2) Mazie Rose 10

 3) Kendall Kreusch 10, 4) Brooklynne Eley 9

 5 National Trail 55.88 4

 1) Annabelle Mackie 10, 2) Hallie Rogers 9

 3) Evie Hoffman 11, 4) Hannah Henderson 12

Event 13 Girls 400 Meter Dash
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WOAC Record 59.90 5/13/2025 London Reichert, Ansonia =======================================================================

 1 London Reichert 10 Ansonia 59.91 10

 2 Rose Barga 11 Ansonia 1:00.39 8

 3 Cole Thompson 9 Newton Local 1:02.09 6

 4 Karsyn Roell 11 Twin Valley 1:02.76 5

 5 Savannah Beachler 10 Bradford 1:04.29 4

 6 Bella Bunting 9 Tri-Village 1:05.05 3

 7 Josie Mondello-Garrett 9 Preble Shawn 1:05.07 2

 8 Vanessa Hughes 10 Dixie 1:05.95 1

Event 15 Girls 300 Meter Hurdles 30"

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WOAC Record 46.85 2023 Torie Richards, Tri Village =======================================================================

 1 Savannah Miller 10 Arcanum 46.90 10

 2 Presley Cox 12 Franklin Monroe 49.10 8

 3 Mia Brookey 10 Franklin Monroe 50.03 6

 4 Gabby Leeper 12 Ansonia 50.10 5

 5 Olivia Creager 11 Ansonia 52.39 4

 6 Ollie Mason 11 National Trail 52.99 3

 7 Sallie Montgomery 11 Preble Shawnee 53.47 2

 8 Maddison Caldwell 10 Dixie 54.41 1

Event 17 Girls 800 Meter Run
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WOAC Record 2:27.45 2022 McKenna Downing, Newton =======================================================================

 1 Lydia Hahn 11 Ansonia 2:29.34 10

 2 Taylee Woodbury 12 Mississinawa 2:30.80 8

 3 Megan Wood 12 Bradford 2:32.69 6

 4 Grace Psczulkoski 11 Arcanum 2:34.64 5

 5 Michaela Flora 9 Newton Local 2:39.90 4

 6 Camryn Winner 11 Ansonia 2:41.93 3

 7 Claire Stull 10 Newton Local 2:45.81 2

 8 Stella Fugate 9 Franklin Monroe 2:50.56 1

Event 19 Girls 200 Meter Dash
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WOAC Record 26.20 5/13/2025 London Reichert, Ansonia =======================================================================

 1 London Reichert 10 Ansonia 26.47 10

 2 Adalynn Hines 11 Tri-Village 26.80 8

 3 Rose Barga 11 Ansonia 26.95 6

 4 Josey Butler 9 Twin Valley South 27.07 5

 5 Cole Thompson 9 Newton Local 27.81 4

 6 Hannah Wolfe 10 Franklin Mon 28.04 3

 7 Avery Helman 12 Bradford 28.05 2

 8 Jayla Coby 9 Tri-Village 28.33 1

Event 21 Girls 3200 Meter Run


Newton Freshman Michaela Flora proved to be a force in the long distance events dominating with records in the 3200m and 1600m runs plus a win in a relay race.

======================================================================= WOAC Record 11:53.40 5/13/2025 Michaela Flora, Newton Local =======================================================================

 1 Michaela Flora 9 Newton Local 11:53.40* 10

 2 Claire Stull 10 Newton Local 12:36.30 8

 3 Emma Lavey 12 Bradford 12:50.50 6

 4 Kayaa Mote 10 Mississinawa 13:19.20 5

 5 Stella Fugate 9 Franklin Mon 13:21.10 4

 6 Sydney Whalen 11 National Tra 13:22.00 3

 7 Olivia Schmitmeyer 11 Ansonia 13:32.80 2

 8 Hailey Turpin 9 Twin Valley 13:54.50 1

Event 23 Girls 4x400 Meter Relay
=======================================================================WOAC Record 4:20.20 5/13/2025 Twin Valley  J Butler, G Childers, K Maggard, K Roell =======================================================================

 1 Twin Valley So. 4:20.20* 2 10

 1) Josey Butler 9, 2) Grace Childers 9

 3) Kelsie Maggard 10. 4) Karsyn Roell 11

 2 Arcanum 4:25.67 2 8

 1) Kamryn Beisner 11, 2) Maci Pechie 9

 3) Grace Psczulkoski 11, 4) Savannah Miller 10

 3 Mississinawa Valley 4:25.73 2 6

 1) Taylee Woodbury 12, 2) Syenna Purdin 12

 3) Marley Purdin 10, 4) Paige Emrick 11

 4 Bradford 4:30.73 2 5

 1) Savannah Beachler 10, 2) Megan Wood 12

 3) Emma Lavey 12, 4) Piper Burgett 9

 5 Tri-Village 4:31.46 2 4

 1) Lauren Porter 12, 2) Hailey Lovett 9

 3) Aubrey Eley 9, 4) Bella Bunting 9

 6 Ansonia 4:34.14 2 3

 1) Lauren Warner 12, 2) Olivia Schmitmeyer 11

 3) Camryn Winner 11, 4) Lydia Hahn 11

 7 Dixie 4:39.65 1 2

 1) Vanessa Hughes 10, 2) Sophia Clifford 10

 3) Rylie Green 11, 4) Maddison Caldwell 10

 8 Franklin Monroe 4:42.06 2 1

 1) Alainah Hess 9, 2) Mia Brookey 10

 3) Hailee Osborne 9, 4) Andrea Kleismit 11

Event 25 Girls Discus Throw
=======================================================================WOAC Record 141-07 2024 Sierra Brinson, Dixie =======================================================================

 1 Faith Wooten 11 Arcanum 129-09 3 10

 2 Alexis Moody 11 Ansonia 112-08 3 8

 3 Leah Clark 10 Bradford 98-02 3 6

 4 Mya Hundley 10 Twin Valley 92-03 3 5

 5 Gabrielle Wooten 9 Arcanum 91-03 2 4

 6 Zoe Ayette 10 Tri-Village 89-00 3 3

 7 Leana Metzcar 12 Tri-Village 88-09.50 3 2

 8 Kaitlin Schweizer 12 National Tra 88-00 3 1

Event 27 Girls High Jump


Franklin Monroe senior Presley Cox clears 4'11 to win the High Jump Competition.  

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WOAC Record 5-00 2022 Maria Petry, Tri Village =======================================================================

 1 Presley Cox 12 Franklin Monroe J4-11.00 10

 2 Autumn Best 9 Ansonia J4-10.00 8

 3 Brooklynne Eley 9 Arcanum J4-10.00 6

 4 Hailey Lovett 9 Tri-Village J4-08.00 4

 4 Megan Wood 12 Bradford J4-08.00 4

 4 Olivia Schmitmeyer 11 Ansonia J4-08.00 4

 7 Aunaleisa Newhart 12 Preble Shawnee J4-08.00 2

 8 June Cooke 12 Arcanum J4-08.00 1

Event 29 Girls Long Jump


Adalynn Hines soars in a league record jump of 17-10.50.

=======================================================================WOAC Record 17-10.50 5/13/2025 Adalynn Hines, Tri-Village =======================================================================

 1 Adalynn Hines 11 Tri-Village 17-10.50* 2 10

 2 Olivia Creager 11 Ansonia 17-07.00 2 8

 3 Sallie Montgomery 11 Preble Shawn 17-05.50 2 6

 4 Autumn Best 9 Ansonia 16-03.50 2 5

 5 Amelia Suggs 10 Twin Valley 15-03.00 2 4

 6 Hannah Wolfe 10 Franklin Mon J15-03.00 2 3

 7 Hannah Henderson 12 National Tra 14-11.00 2 2

 8 Paige Emrick 11 Mississinawa 14-10.00 2 1

Event 31 Girls Shot Put


Faith Wooten won both throwing events and puts the shot 37-09.50.

=======================================================================WOAC Record 41-11 2024 Sierra Brinson, Dixie =======================================================================

 1 Faith Wooten 11 Arcanum 37-09.50 3 10

 2 Annie Wendel 9 Ansonia 31-10.75 3 8

 3 Zoe Ayette 10 Tri-Village 31-07.75 3 6

 4 Brylii Day 11 Twin Valley 31-03.50 3 5

 5 Mya Hundley 10 Twin Valley 31-02.00 3 4

 6 Gabrielle Wooten 9 Arcanum 30-08.00 3 3

 7 Alexis Moody 11 Ansonia 30-05.00 2 2

 8 Rae Brodie 9 National Tra 30-02.50 3 1

Event 33 Girls Pole Vault
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WOAC Record 12-02 2024 Colleen Steinmetz, Ansonia =======================================================================

 1 London Reichert 10 Ansonia 11-06.00 10

 2 Rose Barga 11 Ansonia 9-00.00 8

 3 Piper Burgett 9 Bradford J9-00.00 6

 4 Kamryn Beisner 11 Arcanum 8-06.00 5

 5 Adia Leal 12 Newton Local 7-06.00 4

 6 Bailey Garnett 10 Preble Shawn J7-06.00 3

 7 Jillian Murphy 9 Preble Shawn 7-00.00 2

 8 Sophia Clifford 10 Dixie J7-00.00 1


Ansonia Sophomore London Reichert pushes the pole away as she clears 11'6" in to win the Pole Vault.
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The Tri-Village Lady Patriots Softball Team clinched the WOAC 2025 Softball Championship with one league game remaining on the schedule.

NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Patriots varsity softball team defeated Preble Shawnee via an 18-0 run rule to improve 21-0 overall and 10-0 in the WOAC.  The win clinched the Western Ohio Athletic Conference 2025 softball championship giving the Patriots back-to-back titles.

With the Thursday night conference win and a 9-6 loss by the second-place Arcanum Trojans to the Newton Indians, Tri-Village clinched the 2025 Western Ohio Athletic Conference title.

The Lady Arrows struggled on the mound, passing out eight walks while Tri-Village banged out nine hits in four innings at the plate for the 18-0 run rule win.

Elizabeth Poling has been perfect this year in the circle winning all 17 starts and leads the league in several categories. 

Elizabeth Poling was perfect on the mound for Tri-Village where she faced the minimum 15 batters in five innings of work, allowing no hits and no walks to earn the win. Poling a junior has missed a few games this year due to injury, but picked up her league leading 17th win this season with no losses.  She also leads the league with a 1.96 earned run average and is 4th in the conference with 109 strikeouts.

Sophomore Emma Greer is having an outstanding season at the plate.

Emma Greer paced Tri-Village at the plate, going 4-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Greer a sophomore plays 3rd base and is at the top of the league in several categories this year.  She is currently hitting .600 at the plate, 2nd best in conference, has 10 home runs and is 4th with 34 RBI’s.

Hailey Burk was 1-2 with 2 walks, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Burk a junior catcher is 5th in the conference in both Home Runs (5) and RBI’s (30). 

Camryn Osborne sends one deep and leads the league with 11 home-runs.  

Camryn Osborne went 1-1, scored 4 runs and the junior shortstop leads the WOAC with 11 home runs and 7th with 29 RBIs..

Aereonna Baker went 1-1 with 2 walks, 2 runs and the junior outfielder is among the league leaders in doubles with 7.

Emma Cantrell the lone senior on the Patriots softball team was recognized prior to their final regular season home game vs Preble Shawnee.

Emma Cantrell was 1-3, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 2 runs. Cantrell is the only senior on team and was recognized prior to the game for senior night. She currently is 2nd in the league with 20 stolen bases.  Emma recently signed to play softball next year at University of Northwest Ohio.

Addy Wright a junior went 1-2, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored.

Kash Mead a freshman drew a walk and scored 2 runs in the win.

Tai Mize a junior drew 2 walks and scored 2 runs. The junior second baseman has 7 doubles and scored 21 runs so far this year.

Mylee Bierly a sophomore outfielder walked twice and scored a run in the win.

Tri-Village has one regular season/conference game remaining on Tuesday at Twin Valley South where they will focus on finishing off the league and regular season perfect and then will turn their attention and focus on the post season.

The Patriots are currently ranked 2nd in the state softball coaches poll for DVI behind Danville and just in front of 3rd place West Jefferson.

Tri-Village is currently the number one seed in the OHSAA DVI Southwest District 1 and will play the winner of Franklin Monroe vs West Liberty Salem game.  The Patriots will host the winner at home on May 15th, at 5pm.


Hailey Burk shown in game at Greenville after hitting a home run, is an emotional leader for the PATS as they gear up for what should be an exciting post season run.

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The Arcanum boys baseball team clinched at least of share of the 2025 WOAC Baseball League Title with a 3-1 win over previously undefeated Newton. 

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

ARCANUM – The Arcanum baseball team closed out WOAC league play with a 3-1 win over undefeated Newton to claim at least a share of the Western Ohio Athletic Conference Championship.

In the 4^th year of the league the game between Arcanum and Newton has decided the league champion three times.

In 2021-22 Arcanum and Newton shared the title, in 2022-23 Arcanum beat Newton to win the title outright.  In 2023-24 Dixie defeated Newton to win the title.

Arcanum’s win Thursday night guarantees them at least a share of the WOAC title as they finished 10-1 in the conference.

Newton 7-1 in the conference still controls their shot for a share of title but they have to win their last three league games verses Tri-County North, Ansonia and Preble Shawnee.

Arcanum defeated Tri-County North 10-0 the previous night and coach Baker made sure to emphasize the importance of that game to be in the position they were in.

“I told our guys yesterday we had to win last night's game to get the privilege of playing in these big games. That's what you work all season for and now to at least have a share of a championship and maybe win a title outright, that’s why we play the game,” Baker stated.

Lucas Miller doubles in 1st inning to score Derek Longstreth.

Arcanum struck first with a leadoff hit from Derek Longstreth to left field.  Lucas Miller hit a double scoring Longstreth and that was followed by hot-hitting Luke Stephens with a single to right field plating Miller for the quick 2-0 lead.

“The start by our team was huge in a game like this and we talked about that, here lately we haven't been getting off to good starts and getting those two runs was huge,” coach Baker commented.

Luke Stephens has been swinging a hot bat and plated the 2nd run in the 1st inning with this single to right field.

It also doesn’t hurt to know that you’re sending out junior pitcher Regan Christ to the mound.  Christ struck out two of the three hitters in the top of the 1^st inning and all three in the 2^nd.

Regan threw a complete game going the full 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits, 4 walks and had 12 strikeouts, but gave up one run in the top of the 5^th inning.

After walking the leadoff hitter Bronson Van Culin, an error in the field allowed Van Culin to advance to third base and Cole Alexander to second. Rhett Koffer then drew a walk to load the bases with no outs giving Newton their best opportunity to do some damage.

Regan Christ threw a two hitter and worked his way out of a jam in the 5th inning to help guide Arcanum to a win over Newton.

Christ struck out to the next batter for the 1^st out.  Will Bowser followed and was able to push a run home with a long fly ball to right field to score Van Culin making it 2-1.

Arcanum wasn’t out of the woods yet, with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd and two outs the Indians still had a chance to tie or take the lead. Christ was able to buckle down and get a strikeout to end the inning for a narrow 2-1 lead.

Baseball is a game of momentum and Arcanum went to work to try and wrestle it back.

Jace Mote led off the bottom half of the 5^th inning with a base hit to center.  Longstreth picked up his 2^nd hit of the game to 3^rd base and Arcanum had two on with no outs.

Newton pitcher Cole Alexander coaxed a ground ball to get a force at 2^nd base for the 1^st out and the Trojans had runners on 1^st and 3^rd.

Luke Miller was able to get Mote home on a fly ball to right field taking the run back for a 3-1 lead heading into the 6^th inning.

“When they (Newton) got that run and we answered right away that was really huge, to get momentum back in our dugout,” Baker emphasized.

Arcanum's Bishop Cartwright made an acrobatic catch to save extra bases and get the Trojans out of the inning. 

The Trojans behind Christ closed the game out strong to earn the victory and at least a share of the WOAC Championship.

We (both teams) know this game is big, we circle them, I'm sure, they circle us, and the nice thing is, we play them late in the year which builds up to this point of being a big game with two quality programs battling it out.  They are very fundamental, and they do things right. They're pitching was excellent tonight, so it was key for us to get off to the kind of start we did,” Baker concluded.

Newton's Cole Alexander delivers to home plate, he threw well but the Indians offense was unable to score runs to help the cause.  

Cole Alexander pitched well enough to win most games throwing six innings, he gave up 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and struck out 9 hitters.

Newton coach Jordan Kopp was pleased with Alexander and the game he pitched. 

“That's a good baseball game, 3-1.  Two of the top teams in the conference.  Cole threw awesome, he was on it … but they have a really good pitcher who made it tough on us today,” Kopp explained.

“You know, when you spot them two runs, it makes it difficult, but our kids didn't back down. We got runners on base a few innings right after that and we scored a run late. The big thing for us is we didn't really get the timely hit. A couple strikeouts with guys in scoring position didn’t put too much pressure on them defensively to make plays. But it’s a credit to Randy and their guys, that's a good ball club,” Kopp complimented.

“You know we have three league games left but we still have an opportunity to share the conference title, we got some work to do but our kids are excited for the challenge,” Kopp concluded.

Arcanum improves to 13-5 overall and 10-1 in the WOAC.  They will back in action on Monday at Franklin.

Newton fell to 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the WOAC.  They will host Covington Friday night.

Jace Mote scores in the 5th inning to wrestle back the momentum for Arcanum to erase the one run scored by Newton at the top of the inning.
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Arcanum Softball Team improved to 9-1 in WOAC with big win over Tri-County North 3-2. 

Story & Photos by Dale Barger

LEWISBURG – The Arcanum baseball and softball teams both got big wins at Tri-County North Wednesday night. The Trojans baseball team run-ruled the Panthers 10-0 and the softball team came from behind with a dramatic 3-2 victory in softball.

Arcanum and North softball both with one loss in WOAC play needed a win to stay just one game back of Tri-Village.

Two of the top pitchers in the WOAC went toe-toe in this one that saw the Lady Panthers jump out on top of Arcanum taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd inning.

North scored both runs with two outs. Mya Pinion’s sacrifice bunt moved Jordan Pinion to 2^nd base, and she would score on single to right field from Kiley Adkins. Chloe Jackson followed with a double that plated Adkins to give them a 2-0 lead.

The Trojans quickly responded to getting those two runs back in the top of the 3^rd inning.

Jordyn Garbig doubled to center field scoring Marli Morris who walked to start the inning. Then with two outs a hard-hit ball to shortstop from Kenzie Byrne scored Garbig to tie the game 2-2.

Both pitchers then settled in for the next 3 innings holding each team in check … but Arcanum would manufacture a go ahead run in the top of the 7^th inning.

Leadoff hitter Ella Warren got a hit to fall over 2^nd base and just in front of the centerfielder to get the inning going. Marli Morris then bunted her to 2^nd base and followed by a sacrifice to the pitcher from Cam Garbig moving Warren to 3^rd base.

Ella Warren led off in the top of the 7th Inning with a hit and would score the winning run.

Jordyn Garbig then delivered the go ahead run with a single to center and the Trojans held a 3-2 lead with the Panthers having one last chance in the bottom of the 7^th inning.

Cam Garbig would strike out the first two hitters and coaxed a grounder to close the door on any comeback by the home team and the Arcanum would escape with a 3-2 win.

Cam Garbig picked up the win throwing a complete game, giving up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and had 5 strikeouts and picking up her league leading 16^th win of the season.

Cam Garbig delivers to the plate, she picked up the big win over Panthers and leads the league with 16 wins.

Kasidi Daugherty threw well enough to win but came up short. She gave up 3 runs, 4 walks, 5 hits and had 6 strikeouts in the loss.

The win improves the Trojans overall record to 17-6 and 9-1 in the WOAC, just one game behind the Patriots. TV has two league games remaining and the Trojans will need help from Preble Shawnee or Twin Valley South in order to capture a share of a league title.

Arcanum still has to play a good Newton team at home Thursday.

Senior Gracie Hemp on senior night raps a hit to try an rally her team.

Tri-County North fell two games back in the league standings now at 6-2 in the WOAC and they still have games to play with Ansonia, Dixie, and Newton.

The Trojans baseball team stayed one game behind the league leading Newton with their 10-0 win over a good Tri-County North squad.

Back-to-back four run innings in the 3^rd and 4^th by Arcanum put them in complete control.

Arcanum's Reagan Christ got things going against Tri-County North with this deep hit for a double.  He would score on a double by Lucas Miller to go up 1-0.  

Reagan Christ, Lucas Miller, and Luke Stephens each had 2 rbi’s to lead the offense. Christ was 3-for-4 including a double, Miller was 2-for-4 with a double and Stephens 2-for-3. Seth Fearon and Jace Mote each had a hit and Mote walked twice and scored 3 runs.

Miller picked up the win giving up just one hit and striking out 8 hitters.

Arcanum baseball moves to 12-5 overall and 9-1 in the WOAC and will square off at home tonight against undefeated Newton.

Lucas Miller doubles and goes 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI's. He also threw a one-hitter to pick up the win for Arcanum
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Arcanum's Reagan Christ slides into home in game vs Twin Valley South.  The Trojans would run rule the Panthers 10-0 to improve to 7-1 in the WOAC.

Story & Photos by Dale Barger

ARCANUM – The Trojans baseball team weren’t gracious host as they run-ruled visiting Twin Valley South in WOAC league play and picking up their 3^rd win in a row.

Arcanum got a superb pitching performance from Sophomore Lucas Miller who struck out 12 batters in five innings, gave up 4 walks and 3 hits and picking up a shutout win over the Panthers.

Miller struck out 12 batters on the day, he gave up four walks, three hits and zero runs over five innings.  Miller is the league leader with 5 wins, 58 strikeouts and 2^nd in earned run average at 0.23.

Miller started the game well and seemed to lose rhythm when the rains came walking a few hitters … but found his form again drawing praise from Arcanum coach Randy Baker.

Arcanum's Lucas Miller leads Arcanum to win over TV South.  He also leads the league in 3 categories, Strikouts, Wins and ERA. 

“Lucas threw a really nice game, I don't think anybody really hit him hard, other than the Dustin Miller kid. At one time he threw 15 straight strikes. So, when he's on like that, he's tough to hit,” Baker stated.

“But you know I like for him not to get his pitch count up so much, but he strikes out a lot of guys so his pitch counts going be up … but nobody really scored on him and that's what we're looking for from him as a pitcher,” Baker added.

A single by Mote plated Quigney to get the scoring started in the bottom of the second for Arcanum.

They then scored six runs on four hits in the bottom of the third inning.

Luke Stephens singled, scoring Derek Longstreth and Reagan Christ to go up 3-0.

Sophomore Luke Stephens plated two rbi's with this single to center field.

Then Ethan Kearney tripled, scoring Lucas Miller and Stephens for a 5-0 lead.

Bryce Kramer’s deep ball to center field sacrificed Kearney to give the Trojans a 6-0 lead. 

Jace Mote knocked a base hit with Bishop Cartwright advancing to 3^rd base and then Mote continued around 1^st heading to 2^nd and proceeded to get in a run-down that eventually allowed Cartwright to steal home before getting tagged out to end the inning with Arcanum leading 7-0.


Jace Mote went 2-for-2 at the plate and got into this run-down to get a run home to put the Trojans up 7-0.

Wampler stepped on the bump first for Twin Valley South. The hurler gave up seven hits and seven runs over three innings, striking out one and walking three.


Twin Valley South Tyler Wampler show his high leg kick before delivering to home plate.

South changed pitchers and MJ Macy drove in run number 8 with a single to center field.  With the bases loaded Robby Denniston was hit by a pitch to score Kramer, that was followed by a walk to Cohen Protzman allowing Macy to score and end the game with 10-0 run rule in the bottom of the 5^th inning.

Stephens and Kearney were tough to handle back-to-back in the lineup, as each drove in two runs. Mote also had two hits in two at-bats.
Ethan Kearney had two rbi's for the Trojans in win over South.

Dustin Miller led Twin Valley South with two hits in three at bats from the leadoff position.

Twin Valley South fell to 5-10 overall and 2-5 in the WOAC.  They will play at Dixie (6-6, 4-2) on Thursday.

Arcanum improves to 10-4 overall and 7-1 in the WOAC a game behind Newton.  They will host Franklin Monroe on Thursday.

South's Dustin Miller robbed Arcanum's Bryce Kramer of extra bases with this over the shoulder catch.  He had a good day at the plate with two hits as well.

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