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Northeast 8 staying with seven schools

West Branch and Salem are out of luck ... for now. The Northeast 8 announced on Friday that it will not be seeking any more members. The Warriors and Quakers were seeking a conference new home after Minerva, Carrollton and Marlington decided to leave the Eastern Buckeye Conference for the new Northeast Senate League. The Northeast 8 will remain at seven members including Struthers, Poland, South Range, Girard, Niles, Lakeview and Hubbard. “The Board of Directors of the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference met regarding its current vacancy and unanimously, after lengthy ...

SPORTS BRIEFING

Laurel captures first state title DAYTON — The Shaker Heights Laurel girls basketball team beat a pair of state champions on the way to its first state championship. The Gators won the Division IV state title Friday by topping defending champion Bellevue, 60-58, at University of Dayton Arena, a day after beating defending Division III state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian, 56-54, in overtime in the semifinals. Laurel junior and UNVL commit Tristan Williams made two free throws with four seconds left to give the Gators the victory after being state runners-up in 2024. Williams ...

Sacrifices pay off for area grapplers

By MICHAEL S. BURICH Assistant Sports Editor The road to the state tournament for area wrestlers isn’t always a smooth one. Adversity of all kinds can pop up. This season a snowstorm on Jan. 24 into Jan. 25 produced more than a foot of snow for many places in the area. That meant ...

BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Heartland’s next test on Friday BARBERTON — The Heartland Christian basketball team is making history as the first Columbiana County boys team to capture a district title since Columbiana in 2008. The Lions can add a regional title with one more win. Heartland (22-4) will play Jeromesville Hillsdale (19-7) in a Division VII regional championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Barberton High School. It is a rematch of last year’s district championship game that saw the Falcons overpower the Lions in the second half for a 73-54 win. Hillsdale’s top player is sophomore point guard ...

Lions roar into regional final

BARBERTON — When the game is on the line, the Heartland Christian boys basketball team has all the faith in junior Collin Kalaher. “He’s our guy,” Heartland coach Josh Scott said. “These kids know to get the ball in his hands. I’m sure the other teams know by now.” Kalaher ...

Girls road to state not any easier

It’s the fourth official edition of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s girls wrestling tournament and things are still changing at a rapid pace for the growing sport. “It’s been around for a few years now, but what I noticed is every year they get better,” West Branch ...