Braves’ Cross Country travels to Eaton
Talawanda’s varsity cross country teams competed at the Ed Leas Fall Classic in Eaton on Saturday, Oct. 8. Both boys’ and girls’ teams placed sixth overall.
The Braves David Krausher was the top finisher on the boys’ side placing 21st in 18:08. He was followed by Connor Schlade in 24th place (18:17). Joshua Ferneding placed 32nd with a time of 18:33. Josh Huddleston, 41st, and Alex Bowie, 72nd, rounded out the boys’ scoring.
The Lady Braves were led by Lizzie Sawdai in 20th place (21:39). Ashley Baxter followed closely behind in 22nd (21:51) and Jazz Bennett placed 24th (21:57). Mary Kate Huddleston placed 46th and Nina Stahr finished 50th.
Talawanda will host the Southwest Ohio Conference cross country championships on Saturday, Oct. 15. The girls’ high school race will start at 9:30 a.m. with the boys’ race to follow at 10:15 a.m.
Volleyball wins four, stays on top in SWOC
Talawanda’s varsity girls’ volleyball team remained a half-game ahead of Little Miami in SWOC standings going into the final week of the regular season. They picked up four wins last week, pushing their overall record to 17-3.
The Lady Braves ended the week at 9-1 in the Southwest Ohio Conference, with LM at 9-2. Talawanda has two conference matches remaining, Northwest and Ross, while Little Miami will face Edgewood in their final SWOC match.
Talawanda picked up two SWOC wins last week, along with two non-conference victories. They defeated Mount Healthy at home on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in three games (25-12, 25-16, 25-12). Then travelled to Edgewood where they picked up another win, also in three games (25-10, 25-17, 25-21).
Against Mount Health, junior Valerie Green finished with seven Kills, and five assist; senior Gabriella had six kills, nine digs and six assist; senior Katlynn Woodruff had 12 assist and ace and five digs. Senior Miklaye Smith had five service aces and 13 digs.
Senior Jordan Chase finished the match with Edgewood with one ace; six kills and two digs; Junior Valerie Green had seven service aces, five kills and five digs; Junior Jessica Dingledine had six kills; Senior Olivia Lauer had five kills and six digs. Senior Katlynn Woodruff had 25 assist and seven digs and Senior Gabriella Lindley lead the team in digs with 12.
The Lady Braves picked up two non-conference wins before and after the SWOC matches. They opened the week with a win over Eaton (25-12, 25-14, 25-15). They closed the week with a win over Graham (26-24, 25-16, 25-18).
Talawanda will finish the regular season with two final SWOC matches, both at home. They were scheduled to play Northwest on Tuesday, Oct. 11, and will host Ross on the following Thursday.
“This is the last week of the regular season the Braves.” coach Ruchelle Dunwoody said. “We will face conference foes Northwest on Tuesday at home on Volley for the Cure night and play cross-town rival Ross on Thursday for Senior Night. We will graduate seven seniors, Olivia Lauer, Lauren Baker, Miklaye Smith, Gabriella Lindley, Jordan Chase, and Katlynn Woodruff. This class will be greatly missed.”
Football
The Talawanda Braves’ football team took on an unbeaten squad from Mount Healthy on Friday, Oct. 7. The Owls came into the game 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the SWOC.
Mount Healthy used big plays to defeat Talawanda, 35-10. The Owls scored touchdowns on plays of 34, 35, 42 and 27 yards. The Owls defense, meanwhile, kept Talawanda in check holding them to only a field goal until late in the game.
Talawanda fell behind early trailing 14-0 at the end of the first period. They were able to hold Mount Healthy to one score in the second period and added a field goal from Kevin Engelhard to trail 21-3 at the half.
The Owls scored two more times in the third period to take control of the game. Talawanda added a late fourth quarter touchdown as quarterback Logan Kamphaus connected with Englelhard from 8 yards out for the touchdown.
Kamphaus completed 13 or 22 passes for 131 yards. The Owls’ defense, however, was able to control Kamphaus on the ground, allowing only 28 yards on 24 attempts. The Braves’ quarterback had rushed for more 100 yards in his two previous games.
Andrew O’Donnell led the team in receiving with 54 yards on six catches.
Talawanda will return home on Friday, Oct. 14, to take on another team unbeaten in SWOC play. The Braves will host Edgewood who is 3-0 in conference and 5-2 overall. The game will be Talawanda’s final home contest as they end the season at Northwest and Ross.
Soccer
The Talawanda boys’ soccer team holds the slightest of edges in the SWOC standings after playing Little Miami to a 0-0 tie on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Braves are now 3-0-1 in conference play, just ahead of Ross, 3-1, in the standings.
The Braves pushed their conference record to 3-0 on Thursday, defeating Northwest, 6-1. The tie on Saturday sets up a “winner-take-all” match between the Braves and Ross scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 13, at Talawanda.
(Some information provided by the Southwest Ohio Conference website)
