Ohio High School Athletic Association

In cross-country competition last week, Fredericktown, Highland, Loudonville and East Knox placed well, and Loudonville’s Tess Schultz finished second in the girls race at Ashland.

Saturday, September 2: Centerburg varsity volleyball at Worthington Christian, 11:15 a.m., Danville varsity volleyball at Delaware Christian, 1 p.m., Fredericktown varsity volleyball vs. Licking Valley, 12 p.m., Highland varsity volleyball at Loudonville,12:30 p.m., Loudonville varsity volleyball vs. Highland, 12:30 p.m.

Coming off a strong 2022 in which the Mansfield Tygers went 10-3 overall and 5-1 in conference, head coach Chioke Bradley is preparing the team for a run at what he hopes will be the school’s first OCC championship since 2017.

High School Football Aug. 18: Ashland 26, River Valley 20; Centerburg 34, Utica 7; Danville 55, Worthington Christian 21; East Knox 14, Northridge 0; Elgin 30, Cardington-Lincoln 0; Highland 35 Fredericktown 0; Loudonville 35, Mapleton 20; Mount Gilead 15, Triad 8; Mount Vernon 45, Marion Harding 20

Official high school football practices started July 31 and non-league games begin this weekend. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has mandated that the regular season will run from Aug. 14 through Oct. 21 and playoffs will go from Oct. 27 through Dec. 2, with all playoff games scheduled for Fridays.

Sports Calendar

Mimicking Major League Baseball's PitchCom devices used by catchers and pitchers, the use of a one-way communication device between a coach in the dugout and a team’s catcher for the purposes of calling pitches will be permitted in high school baseball beginning in 2024.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has clarified rule changes for the 2023 high school football season, with an emphasis on helping the runner, improving communication between coaches and game officials and game management.

Last season, 17 Knox County wrestlers from eight schools earned a spot in the 2023 OHSAA state tournament, and eight of them reached the podium. In high school wrestling tournaments during the season, match-limit rules affected outcomes and finishes. Recent rule changes aim to address the issue.

The 2023 high school softball season saw skilled performances all season long, and four local players were rewarded by the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association with All-Ohio honors.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the football divisional breakdowns and playoff regions for the 2023 season and all local teams remain in the same competitive balance Division and Regions as they did for 2022.

Eleven student-athletes won the the ATHLETE of the WEEK honor more than once, two won it three times and one competitor took home the honor five times. The finalists: Dane Nauman (Highland), Grant Bentley (Northmor) and Nathan Streby (East Knox). And the MVN Male ATHLETE of the YEAR is Dane Nauman.

Central Ohio communities saw stellar play this season from its high school baseball student-athletes. Local teams had four athletes named to All-Ohio first teams.

In the June 10 edition of the Mount Vernon News, we ran a recap of the OHSAA 115th annual boys, and 48th annual girls state track and field tournament, June 2-3, 2023, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. In the article, we referred to first-, second- and third-place finishes in the traditional gold, silver and bronze results.

This week, the spotlight is on the 27 male student-athletes who were selected as Athletes of the Week.

Highland’s Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, who wins gold in groups of four, quadrupled again at the state level. She won four golds at the Division II, Region 6 meet at Lexington and also quadrupled in the MOAC championship. She tripled at the Westerville Divisional meet.

Six local schools, represented by 18 student-athletes, will have their banners and logos flying at the OHSAA 115th annual boys and 48th annual girls state track and field tournament, set for June 2-3, 2023, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Ohio State University, Columbus).

Laracuente-Huebner triples, ties state record in 200M at Westerville; Three Lady Jackets and relay team win at Districts; ​14 local gold medals won at Granville

OHSAA sectional baseball playoffs began two weeks ago, with 10 local teams in contention in four divisions and five regions.

The season came to a close for all coverage-area high school softball teams in the OHSAA softball championships. Highland advanced to the regional semifinals but was eliminated; Mount Vernon, East Knox and Danville lost in the district championships.