Spring Sports Postseason Update
TRACK AND FIELD
Just off the podium but right where they wanted to be, several runners celebrated the end of the season at the OHSAA State Track and Field Meet the first weekend in June.
The girls 4x800 relay team and the 4x400 were the top local finishers, both taking 9th. The 4x400 team of Bella Jiovani, Cate Eberly, Finley Vining and Kenna Carter ran 4:00.89 while the 4x800 team of Morgan Dalton, Elsie Bruckart, Allison High and Carter ran 9:34.32. Carter took 10th individually in the 400, running 57.40 seconds, while High was 16th in the 3,200.
Kurtis Lefeld was 10th in the 300 hurdles as the lone boys competitor, running 40.04 seconds.
At the Regional in Troy, Carter was the top local finisher, taking second in the 400 in 57.70 seconds. Dalton was fourth in the 800 in 2:18.85. High was fifth in the 3,200 in 11:28.05. The 4x800 relay was third in 9:37.83, breaking a school record. The 4x400 relay was 4th in 4:01.58
Lefeld qualified for state by finishing fourth in the 300 hurdles in 39.47 seconds. Caden Fromm was 8th in the 800 in 1:58.9. The 4x800 relay was 6th in 8:15.07 and the 4x200 relay was 7th in 1:31.46.
DISTRICT MEET
The Bellbrook Golden Eagles came home with a handful of District titles despite the driving rain that expanded a two-day event to three.
Lefeld won the 300 hurdles in a time of 40.53 seconds. The 4x800 relay team of Nathan Fisher, Fromm, Isaac Guthrie and Josh Johnson won a District title (8:09.60). The 4x100 relay team of Ethan Cain, Josiah Wolverton, Aizeyah Lucas and Gage Cameron was second in 45.25 seconds. The 4x200 relay team of Lefeld, Wolverton, Lucas and Cameron was second in 1:33.29. The 4x400 relay team of Logan Fisher, Lucas, Johnson and Cameron was third (3:34.60).
Logan Fisher was third in the discus (133-feet, 10-inches). Fromm was third in the 800 (1:59.52). On Saturday when the weather finally cleared, Ben Slagley took third in the pole vault (12-6) and Tapp Gallagher took fourth (12-0).
The girls team had four top two finishes as Carter was second in the 400 (58.27 seconds). High was second in the 3,200 (11:28.49). The 4x800 team of Bruckart, Carter, Dalton and Olive Varvel was second (9:58.64) and Raegan Arndt was second in the pole vault (11-0).
Dalton was third in the 800 (2:21.90). The 4x400 team of Jiovani, Carter, Bruckart and Vining was third (4:14.27).
BOYS LACROSSE
The Golden Eagles await their third-round matchup in the Division II, Region 8 statewide bracket, already having defeated Waynesville, 21-3, and Turpin, 16-2, in the first two rounds. The No. 2 seeded Golden Eagles host No. 3 Fenwick at 7 p.m. May 26.
Bellbrook is 13-5 this season and a number of players have broken personal milestones. Christian Burchfield scored 61 goals this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 57 by Alex Petry. Burchfield also scored the 100th goal of his career and netted 10 goals in a single game to break that record, solidifying himself as a scoring machine.
Hayden Puterbaugh broke the school record for faceoff wins this season with 22. Cooper Redfern tallied his 100th career save in goal, and made 26 saves in a single game.
Burchfield, Paul Chiasson, Xan Gott and Redfern were named first team all-Region. Zane Kearns and Puterbaugh were named to the second team. Redfern was also named Position Player of the Year.
BASEBALL
The Bellbrook baseball team finished the regular season with a record of 21-5 and won the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title.
The second-seeded Golden Eagles will take on Franklin in their first postseason game in the Division III District tournament at 5 p.m. on May 27.
Jon Venters was named the SWBL Southwestern Coach of the Year and Landon Vennettilli was named Player of the Year. Will Dreisbach, Drew Schindler and Vennettilli were named to the first team. Landon Buttery and Preston Manchester were second team selections. Trevor Raker was an honorable mention selection.
TENNIS
Jonah Grismer qualified for the District tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Centerville sectional, but fell short in the first round, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0, ending the tennis season for the Golden Eagles on Thursday.
But there was much to celebrate. Grismer was voted the SWBL Southwestern Player of the Year, and he was joined on the first team by Parker Poole, Alexander Howell, Rithik Mall and Grant Cobb and Roshan Patel and Liam Brown. Owen Lake was an honorable mention selection.
In the sectional, Grismer won his first two matches, and then fell in the semifinals before claiming third in a 7-5, 6-3 win over Springboro’s Amir Nazarov. Poole won his first two matches at sectional and Cobb lost his first match.
Howell and Mall won their first doubles match, as did Patel and Brown before their seasons came to an end.
SOFTBALL
The Bellbrook softball team’s season came to an end on May 21 in the second round of the Division III District tournament in a 10-4 loss to Piqua.
The Golden Eagles picked up a first-round win over higher-seeded Belmont in the first round, 18-0. Bellbrook ended the year 11-17 overall in an injury-plagued season.
Mackenzie Walts was named to the SWBL Southwestern second team. Lauren Nicholson was an honorable mention selection.
GIRLS LACROSSE
The team won its first game in the playoffs with an 8-4 defeat of Carroll before falling in the second round to St. Francis DeSales on Thursday.
The team finished the season with four wins. Camryn Bayer led the team in scoring this season with 2.9 goals per game and averaged an assist per game, too.
Abi Florea recorded her 300th career save. She also recorded 26 saves in a single game to break the school record.
Florea won the SWBL Sportsmanship award and was named to the all-Region second team. Bayer and Anna Howard were all-Region Honorable Mention selections.