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October 8, 2020 — Bulldog Sports Round-Up
- Published: October 7, 2020
Cross country
Runners show toughness
The Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle School boys and girls cross-country teams hosted their second of three home meets this past Saturday, Oct. 3.
Sophomore Cheyan Sundell-Turner re-emerged with a season best time of 21:53 over the 5K course and earned a second-place finish in the girls high school race. On the boys side, the Bulldogs had seven runners that toed the start line, with sophomore J.P. Anderson running a career best time of 19:01, earning him a fourth-place finish. Senior Gideon Naziri finished in ninth place with a time of 21:33, which was also a personal record for him. Maddox Flatt and senior Rilo Oberg crossed the line in 11th and 12th places, while the ninth-grade trio of Jack Horvath, Malik Booth and Kael Cooney rounded out the team effort with season best times.
In a crowded field of competitors from Carroll, Clinton Massie and Dayton Christian, the McKinney boys team sent the largest squad to the starting line with nine runners wearing the Bulldog blue. Seventh grader Ted Horvath ran to a fourth-place finish on the 3K course with a time of 13:26. He was complimented by Jia Sundell-Turner, who ran to an eighth-place finish. Kyle Johnston (11th) and Isaac Lewis (18th) demonstrated the toughness of the McKinney squad. Noah Diamond, Javin Obringer, Phoenix York, Evan Galarza and Kanon Flatt added depth to the solid performance by the boys squad.
The McKinney girls trio of Sasi Johnson-Drees (14th), Lilliana Herzog (17th) and Astryd Martinson (19th) finished well in a tough field. Each of them showed flashes of potential as first-year runners.
Mills Lawn fifth grader Sierra Sundell-Turner ran to an impressive first place finish in a combined two-mile boys-girls fifth/six grade race.
The Bulldogs will host their final home meet of the season this Saturday, Oct. 10, beginning at 10 a.m. The event will include the annual Mills Lawn One Mile Bulldog Chase, which is open to all students. Seniors Gideon Naziri and Rilo Oberg also will be recognized Saturday.
On Oct. 16, the squads will compete in the annual Metro Buckeye Conference meet at Cedarville University.
—John Gudgel, assistant coach
Soccer
Boys display strength
Yellow Springs High School boys soccer head coach Ben Van Ausdal reports that in the past couple of weeks, the Bulldogs have had four wins, one loss and one tie.
The tie came Thursday, Sept. 17, against Dayton Christian, “a very strong team,” ranked fifth in the area, Van Ausdal said. Senior Kaden Bryan scored the team’s two goals in the game that ended 2–2. Senior Finn Bledsoe earned one assist, and goalie Krishan Miller, a sophomore, had nine saves at the net.
The Bulldogs came out on top Tuesday, Sept. 22, with a score of 3–1, in a game against Miami East, then ranked fourth in the area.
“It was probably one of the best games we’ve had,” Van Ausdal said. Bryan made two of the goals, and freshman Isaac Grushon made the third. Sophomore Cedar Palmer was credited with an assist, and goalie Miller was credited with 10 saves.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the boys finished 8–1 against Jackson Center. Bryan had five goals and two assists, sophomore Eli Eyrich had two goals and one assist and Luca Sage-Frabotta also made a goal. Additional assists were credited to Bledsoe, with two; and Palmer, Ben Espinosa and Cameron Harris, with one each.
“This was a team I thought was going to be a little more challenge,” Van Ausdal said of the Jackson Center squad.
Saturday, Oct. 3, was senior night, with a home game against Greenview, “one of our big rivals,” the coach said. The final score was 6-1 in the Bulldogs’ favor, with Bryan leading the team with four goals and one assist. Eyrich scored the squad’s other two goals, and was also credited with two assists. Espinosa and Henry Smith-Heston each earned an assist as well.
Going into the team’s next game Tuesday, Oct. 6, Bryan was leading the Metro Buckeye Conference in number of scored goals, with 27. Eyrich was third in the conference with 15. On the defensive side, Miller was also leading the conference with 103 saves for the season so far.
Van Ausdal said that the team’s recent wins came from a combination of strong offense and defense.
“Defense doesn’t get a lot of credit because they don’t get to score,” but the defense line is critical, the coach said.
Van Ausdal said the team has coalesced into a strong unit.
“I just have so much confidence in these boys now,” he said. “It’s been amazing to watch these boys play — the way they move the ball around. They’re communicating with each other. They’re much more aggressive [than earlier in the season], and the defense is tight.”
—Carol Simmons
Mighty girls play hard
The small, but mighty, YSHS girls soccer team faced a tough Greeneview Rams team on Saturday, Oct. 3. Despite being outnumbered almost two to one on the bench and playing down a player most of the second half, the Bulldogs gave the Greenview Rams a competitive contest.
Goalkeeper Shaylee Smith had some truly spectacular saves throughout the game with 19 saves from goal. Defenders Carina Basora, Myrah Burton, Natalie Galarza and Eliza Minde-Berman contributed to holding off the Rams. Basora had several goal line saves, winning several air balls over Greenview’s offense.
Midfielders Annlyn Foster, Sophie Lawson, Halee Sparks and Bre Wallace made incredible runs up the field to support offensive opportunities while hustling back to help out on defense. During one play of the game, Foster sprinted down the field like a bolt of lightning for a goal line save.
Offensively, Aaliyah Longshaw, Tahlia Potter and Galarza broke through the Rams defense and had shots on goal, but unfortunately, none were able to find the back of the net. The final score was 7–0 Greeneview.
After the game, the Bulldogs celebrated their four seniors — captains Galarza and Smith and newcomers to the game this year, Foster and Wallace. Each senior has gained skills and made many solid contributions to the team, both on and off the field.
The team thanks Operations and Athletic Director Jeff Eyrich and the Eyrich family for the wonderful evening, as well as Naomi Hyatt for the beautiful sashes for each senior and her announcements during the game.
The Bulldogs faced Tri-County North on Tuesday evening — after the press deadline — and will play National Trail at home on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. for their last game of the season.
—Jonina Kelley, head coach
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