Buck Bailey wrestling

WELLSVILLE — The annual Buck Bailey Memorial Wrestling Tournament will be held Saturday at Wellsville High School.

Twenty-four schools are scheduled to compete in the one-day tournament that begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. It is expected to run through at least 5 p.m.

Local teams include host Wellsville, Beaver Local, Columbiana, East Palestine, Leetonia, Minerva, Oak Glen, Salem, South Range and United.

Other schools entered are Boardman, Brookfield, Central Valley (Pa.), Chippewa, Conotton Valley, Dover, Indian Valley, Liberty, Magnolia, Norwayne, Toronto, Tuscarawas Valley, Tri-Valley and Youngstown Chaney.

Hitting the road again

There are several cross country races coming up in the area.

The You Complete Me 5K is a “couple race” on Feb. 14 at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

The inaugural Samrock Run will be held March 8 at Salem’s Waterworth Memorial Park with donations going to the dog park there.

The Donut Dash 2 Mile will be held March 22 at Canfield High School with donations going to the school’s cross country team.

The second Bunny Hop will be held April 4 with a 5K race starting and finishing at the Columbiana County Park District garage.

Register online for races at runsignup.com.

Mount Union flag football

ALLIANCE — The University of Mount Union named Rick Hairston, Class of 1985, as the first head coach of its new varsity women’s flag football program.

A decorated athlete, M Club Hall of Fame inductee and veteran educator and coach with than 30 years of coaching experience, Hairston will guide the women’s flag football team that will be Mount Union’s 26th intercollegiate sport beginning in the spring of 2027.

He was a four-year letterman in both football and track for the Purple Raiders. He ran on the 1983 NCAA Division III national championship 400-meter relay team and earned seven All-American honors in track. In football,, he was a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and a 1983 AP Division III All-American as a wide receiver.

He was a varsity and head freshman football coach for in the Alliance and Canton City school districts, was head coach of the Canton McKinley boys track team from 1990-2000 including an Ohio Division I state championship in 1997 and was head basketball coach at Canton Timken (2000-15) and Canton McKinley (2016-18), beging named the Ohio 2008 Division I Coach of the Year.