Cope Invitational on Friday

SALEM — The 32nd annual F.E. Cope Invitational will be held Friday at Sebo Stadium.

Action will start at 4 p.m. with the boys discus and long jump, girls shot put and high jump and the 3200-meter relay final.

Sixteen schools are entered including host Salem, defending boys and girls team champions Wadsworth, Akron Coventry, Alliance, Austintown Fitch, Beaver Local, Canfield, Carrollton, Crestview, Girard, Howland, Lowellville, McDonald, United, Youngstown Chaney and Youngstown East.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students.

Salem X-Tra Mile Club meets

SALEM — The Salem X-Tra Mile Club will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the high school cafeteria.

Lisbon, Southern still playing

LISBON — The second game of Tuesday’s Lisbon-Southern softball doubleheader was not ruled complete. It was suspended by darkness in the fourth inning with Southern leading 6-5. It will be completed at a later date.

Beaver Local seeks assistants

CALCUTTA — Beaver Local has multiple varsity assistant football coaching positions available. If interested contact head coach Mike McKenzie at mike.mckenzie@beaverlocal.org.

Leetonia Athletic Hall of Fame

LEETONIA — The Leetonia Athletic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Class of 2025. Induction of new members will be held the weekend of Aug. 29-30. Nomination forms are available ate www.leetonia.k12.oh.us and the administration office and should be mailed to Leetonia Athletic Hall of Fame 450 Walnut St., Leetonia, OH 44431. Deadline for nominations is May 31.

Southern Athletic Hall of Fame

SALINEVILLE — The Salineville-Southern Local Athletic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Class of 2025. Induction of new members will be held the weekend of September 19-20. Nomination forms are available at www.southern.k12.oh.us and administration office and should be mailed to Deborah Boyd, 5893 St. Rt. 164, Leetonia OH 44431 Deadline for nominations is June 1.

Clemente opens at 2-under

From Staff and Wire Reports

EVANS, Ga. — Former Warren, Ohio, resident Gianna Clemente is off to a good start in her third consecutive appearance in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Clemente, who celebrated her 17th birthday last week, is tied for 13th after the first round Wednesday at Champions Retreat. She had a 2-under-par 70 and is six strokes off the lead.

Her family moved from Warren to Estero, Florida, in 2022 to further her golf career.

Clemente tied for fifth last year and 14th in 2023.

Megha Ganne set the Augusta National Women’s Amateur record on Wednesday with a 9-under 63, giving her a two-shot lead over defending champion Lottie Woad, who did her best to track down Ganne.

The scoring was lower than usual at Champions Retreat, where the opening two rounds are held before the top 30 who make the cut play the final round at Augusta National, which hosts the Masters next week.

The weather was warm and turf was still relatively soft, and Ganne took advantage with a bogey-free round. Playing early and starting on the back, the Stanford junior ran off three straight birdies early and saved par with an 18-foot putt on the fifth hole, her 14th of the day.

The only disappointment was a three-putt par on the par-5 ninth hole.

“Believe it or not, I had a dream last night that I shot 61,” Ganne said on Golf Channel. “I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to set bad omens in the air.”

And she nearly got there until the three-putt on her final hole, though Ganne had few complaints. Her 63 broke by two shots the mark previous held by Rose Zhang, her former Stanford teammate who won the ANWA two years ago.

Woad more than held her own despite seeing such a low number on the board before she even made the turn.

“I saw she was at 9 under and thought I needed to get something going,” Woad said.

She had four birdies on the back nine, missing out on one chance at the par-5 14th but making up for that with a 45-foot birdie putt on the 15th.

No one has won back to back since the ANWA began in 2019 and quickly became one of the premier amateur championships for women. That’s largely because the entire field gets a practice round at the home of the Masters on Friday before those who make the cut play Augusta National for the title on Saturday.

Anna Davis, who won the ANWA three years ago at age 16 and now plays at Auburn, said Ganne setting the tone early probably contributed to the low scoring. For most players, the goal is to make the cut and have a chance to compete at Augusta National.

“Now it’s not, ‘Want to make the cut.’ It’s just trying to catch her,” Davis said after a 69.

Kiara Romero, Farah O’Keefe and Amanda Sambach were each at 67. They were among 29 players in the 71-player field who broke par. U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Rianne Malixi had to withdraw because of a back injury.

Ganne is playing the ANWA for the fifth time, having advanced to the final round each of the last two years. She has been around long enough to realize there’s still a long road ahead.

“Enjoy today and take the rest of the week as it comes,” Ganne said. “But today was pretty special.”