Brayden Ricketts and Laura Brubaker each took top honors at the Panther two-mile cross country race at Licking Valley in Newark.
Ricketts ran a time of 10:59.8 for the Utica boys team, beating out 57 other runners to take first place at the meet.
Jay Figgins (11:03.3) and Silas Buckenberger (11:03.7) finished third and fourth, respectively. But Utica (37 points) was edged by Lakewood (32) in the five-team event. The Lancers had five runners finish in the top 10, including Jon Holbrook (11:02.6), who edged Figgins and Buckenberger for second place.
Brubaker ran a time of 13:13.2 to beat out 33 other runners, helping Utica (66) earn a third-place finish in the four-team event behind winner Licking Valley (32).
Riley Waggoner (15:12.4) finished 10th for Utica.
GIRLS TENNIS
Two Mount Vernon singles players and two doubles teams made it out of the first round in a Division I sectional at Reynoldsburg on Oct. 8. But all of the Yellow Jackets were eliminated by the end of the second round.
Lucy Ogle defeated Pickerington North’s Kanisha Thambyrajah 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of singles competition before falling to second-seeded Paige Cornelius of New Albany 6-0, 6-2 in the second.
Emma Annett also made it out of the first round by defeating Independence’s Vilithai Phoneprakaikeo 6-1, 6-1. But she ran into top-seeded Dani Schoenly of Olentangy Liberty, who won 6-0, 6-1.
In doubles action, Justine Hull and Marah Staats beat Miami Trace’s Riley Cruea and Emma Seyfang 6-0, 6-3. Olentangy Liberty’s duo of Megan Haddow and Charvi Thumati, who were seeded sixth, topped Hull and Staats 6-2, 7-5 in the second round.
Molly Clow and Jessie Gourley, who made it out of the opening round by default, fell 6-0, 6-0 to top-seeded Helen Wang and Demi Shostak of New Albany.
Anna Dineen fell to Olentangy Liberty’s Emma Clark 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of singles competition.
BOYS SOCCER
Parker Gantt scored a hat trick to lead Mount Vernon to a 5-0 win over Mansfield Madison in Ohio Cardinal Conference play on Oct. 6 at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
Mays Gunderson added a goal and two assists for the Yellow Jackets (8-5-1, 3-3).
Christian Dean had two saves in goal in recording his second consecutive shutout for Mount Vernon, which led 2-0 at the half.
Toby Boggs also recorded a goal, and Andrew White and Jack Craigo each added helpers for the Jackets.
The Rams fell to 4-11-1 overall and 1-5 in the OCC with the loss.
GIRLS SOCCER
Emma Hinkle drew a penalty in the box and converted the ensuing kick to lift Highland to a 2-1 win at Licking Heights in non-league play on Oct. 6 in Pataskala.
Hinkle’s go-head goal came with 5:35 remaining and helped the Scots bounce back from a 5-0 loss at Columbus School for Girls on Oct. 3, which snapped their five-game winning streak.
Destiney Carpenter scored off a corner kick in the first half to even things up after the Hornets grabbed the early lead.
