SPORTS BRIEFING
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SPARTANS TOP REBELS
COLUMBIANA -- The Boardman volleyball team hasn’t been stopped since losing its first three matches.
The Spartans captured their 11th straight win by sweeping Crestview, 25-18, 25-15, 25-15, Saturday.
The Rebels (11-2) were led by Sarah Hively with seven kills and one block and Sophia Noling with seven kills. Cam Davidson had 14 assists.
The Crestview junior varsity team improved to 13-0 with a 25-17, 25-20 win. Tori Griffith had three blocks and two kills and Piper Harvey five kills and one aces for the Rebels.
Crestview won the freshman match, 25-17, 27-25, to move to 13-0 on the season. Lauryn Gaydos had three aces, five kills and 13 assists and Sydnee Irvin two aces and six digs for the Rebels.
Both teams play Tuesday with Crestview at Brookfield and Boardman at Howland.
STRUHARIK GETS ACE
ALLIANCE -- Practice makes perfect for Columbiana sophomore Luke Struharik.
Struharik hit a hole-in-one at Tannenhauf Golf Club during a practice round Sunday. He used a 7-iron to ace the 165-yard 11th hole.
The Columbiana boys golf team was practicing for the district tournament, which will be held at Tannenhauf on Oct. 5.
EAGLES ATTACK
LEAVITTSBURG -- United Local improved to 7-4-1 with a 10-0 win over LaBrae on Saturday.
Leading the Eagle attack were Jude Andrea with two goals and six assists and Dylan Williams and Gavin Coffee each with two goals and one assist.
Stephen Sutliff and Anthony Russo each contributed a goal with the remaining two goals being own goals by LaBrae. Ziggy Williams tallied an assist. Aiden Gundersen made five saves for his third shutout of the season.
Girard drops to 5-6.
United travels to Columbiana at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
WARRIORS ROLL
BELOIT -- Sophomore Elli Colian scored two goals and set the single-season school record in leading the West Branch girls soccer team past Poland, 3-1, Saturday.
Colian has 26 goals on the season.
Caiden Schroeder also scored a goal for the Warriors. Nanna Burchardt had an assist.
West Branch improves to 12-0 and Poland’s goal was the third of the season against the Warriors.
Poland has lost three of its last four matches to drop to 8-1.
West Branch also won the junior varsity match, 1-0, on a Carleigh Sanor goal.
The Warriors play at Minerva today.
COUNTY MEET
COLUMBIANA -- The 2026 Columbiana County Cross Country Meet will be held Tuesday at East Palestine City Park.
Salem has swept the boys and girls team titles the last 11 years.
Tuesday’s schedule includes high school boys at 4:30 p.m., high school girls at 5:05 p.m., junior high boys at 5:45 p.m., junior high girls at 6:10 p.m. and a fifth- and sixth-grade race at 6:30 p.m.
YSU STANDOUTS
CANFIELD -- Three former Columbiana County standouts and current Youngstown State standouts earned top 10 finishes at the third annual Youngstown State Cross Country Meet on Saturday.
Salem High School graduates Maggie Hopple and Megan Stafford, finished sixth (22:35.03) and eighth (22:57.62), respectively out of 85 women’s 6k runners on the YSU Gorby Family Course.
Wheeling Jesuit junior Alex Arnott from Oak Glen ran unattached and was 62nd (29:19.20).
Youngstown State freshman Maddox Roach from East Liverpool was ninth out of 64 men’s runners in 27:16.42 on the 8k course.
Owen Yoder from Minerva ran unattached and finished 13th (27:37.17).
DESHIELDS LEADS KSU
KENT -- Dru DeShields threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Kent State to a 26-13 win over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
DeShields, a West Branch graduate, engineered a pair of 11-play drives in the first half, covering 74 and 89 yards, and the Golden Flashes (2-2) ended a four-game losing streak against the Cardinals (1-3).
DeShields was 16-of-25 passing for 189 yards, opening the scoring with a 7-yard toss to Brandon White. DeShields had 76 yards on 13 carries, including a 7-yard touchdown run.
Sean Leonard drilled a 53-yard field goal as time expired in the first half for a 17-0 lead.
BRUNGARD STARS
YOUNGSTOWN -- Beau Brungard ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns, Lynn Wyche-El scored twice on the ground, and Youngstown State rolled past South Dakota 47-28 on Saturday.
Brungard also threw for 159 yards and one touchdown on 13-of-17 passing.
The Penguins (2-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference), ranked 11th in the Stats Perform poll, outgained the eighth-ranked Coyotes (3-2, 0-1) 502-332.
Youngstown State scored less than three minutes into the game, as Wyche-El scored his first touchdown from 10 yards out to cap a seven-play, 75-yard opening drive.
Brungard gave the Penguins the lead for good with 7:26 remaining in the first on a 2-yard rush, and Wyche-El tacked on a 41-yard dash to the end zone early in the second quarter.
NAGY LIFTS TITANS
WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Westminster junior Sean O’Shea ran for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns while sophomore Gaven Nagy from South Range blocked an extra point attempt with 2:14 remaining to help the Titans escape with a 21-20 Presidents’ Athletic Conference victory over Waynesburg on Saturday afternoon at Wiley Stadium.
Nagy, a sophomore defensive back, totaled five tackles.
Westminster (1-2) will host Case Western Reserve at 1 p.m. Saturday.