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GREGORY NAMES TO CONFERENCE USA TEAM
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- West Branch graduate and Liberty University junior Sophia Gregory has been named to the Conference USA preseason all-conference team. Gregory, who transferred to Liberty from Youngstown State, was the defensive player of the year in the Horizon League last year as she averaged 10.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.
Liberty is ranked third in the conference preseason poll. The Flames host Frostburg State on Nov. 2 to open the season.
LIONS AT STATE
KETTERING -- Minerva finished 12th in the Division I girls golf state tournament.
The Lions finished with a two-day total of 713 (363-350) in the final round Tuesday at the NCR Country Club’s North Course.
It is the second straight year Minerva was 12th at state.
Junior Peyton Beaumariage topped the Lions by placing 28th out of 72 golfers with a 19-over-par 159 (84-75). Also for the Lions, sophomore Emery Sell was 43rd with a 169 (85-84), senior Delaney Sell was 63rd with a 188 (98-90) and sophomore Savanna Bartley was 70th with a 200 (96-104). Junior Tempi Muck had a 108 on Monday and freshman Molly Fetty a 101 on Tuesday.
Olentangy junior Jodie Han was the individual champion with an 11-under-par 129 (64-65), breaking the 36-hole record by seven strokes.
Magnificat won the team title for the second time in three years with a 593 (301-292), 13 strokes ahead of Dublin Jerome.
Canfield was eighth with a 669 (343-326), two spots better than last year.
Canfield junior Laney Leeth tied for 15th with a 151 (77-74).
CLIPPERS SWEEP EOAC
LISBON -- Columbiana swept the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference junior high volleyball titles on Wednesday.
In the seventh-grade match, Columbiana beat East Palestine 25-23, 25-14 to improve to 20-12 on the season.
In the eighth-grade match, Columbiana beat United 25-17, 25-12 to move to 17-4 overall.
TRIO AT BETHANY
BETHANY, W.Va. -- A trio of Columbiana County standout volleyball players are making an impact on the Bethany College volleyball team.
Wellsville graduate Bella Poppelriter has played in 18 matches and 63 sets so far this season. She leads the team with 37 aces and 147 digs.
Wellsville graduate Presley Stokes, who transferred in from Youngstown State, has played in five matches and 20 sets. She has 80 kills on the season and has the highest kill per set ratio on the team (4.0). She also has nine aces, five blocks and 57 digs.
East Liverpool graduate Kenzie Headley has played in six matches and nine sets. Headley has four kills on the season.
The Bison are 5-13 coming into Wednesday’s match at Saint Francis.
TOUGH TO FOLLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox face quite a tough act to follow in 2027, if and when the season starts.
Chicago made history in 2026 by becoming the first team to reach the playoffs after two straight 100-loss seasons. And it wasn’t just two terrible seasons. The White Sox climbed to 84-78 this season after three consecutive 100-loss campaigns, including 2024 when they set a post-1900 era record with 121 defeats.
Still, general manager Chris Getz, who quipped his surprising young club was “playing with house money” in September, admitted Chicago’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the deciding Game 5 of their American League Division Series last Saturday series hurt.
“I do need to acknowledge that there was a sting in Cleveland when we came up short,” Getz told reporters on Wednesday.
After sweeping Houston 2-0 in a Wild Card round, Chicago raced to a 2-0 series lead against the Guardians before dropping three straight to end their playoff run.
After speaking with manager Will Venable, coaches and players following the final loss, Getz processed an abundance of mutual gratitude and “zoomed out” for a bigger picture.
“You know it was such a young player group and it’s not easy to break into the major leagues, let alone play in games of such high stakes,” Getz said. “It can’t get lost on you what these players went out there and did. They exceeded expectations, for themselves, certainly as a team.”
TOUR CHASER
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) -- Ben Kohles had one objective, and that was to lock up a PGA Tour card for 2027. He had two options and chose to follow his hunch.
Kohles, who won the BMW Charity Pro-Am the first week in June, was No. 19 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list heading into the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, where the top 20 earn PGA Tour cards for next year.
So he got on a plane to Japan.
“There was no real way of knowing what it was going to take points-wise,” Kohles said before going to the airport for the long flight home. “I was just betting on myself.”
It appears to have paid off. Kohles closed with a 3-under 68 in the Baycurrent Classic and tied for 17th, and those 48 points moved him to No. 80 in the FedEx Cup. He’s not a mathematical lock to finish in the top 100, but with only five events left in the FedEx Fall -- he’s going to play four of them -- he should be all set.
Kohles was 17th on the Korn Ferry Tour points when he chose not to play the last three events, instead going to the PGA Tour stop in Asheville, North Carolina, (tie for 15th) and Utah (tie for 13th), going from 96th to 84th in the FedEx Cup.
WAITING IT OUT
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Kai Trump’s freshman season on Miami’s golf team has hit a snag.
The granddaughter of President Donald Trump revealed on social media Wednesday that she recently had surgery to repair a left wrist injury. She did not reveal the severity and said the injury happened during her first tournament of the season.
“While I had hoped to avoid surgery, after talks with my family, coaches, and athletic training staff I know I made the best decision for my long-term health and my future in the game I love,” she wrote on social media. “It’s certainly not how I envisioned the next few months, but sometimes the journey takes an unexpected turn, and I’m choosing to embrace this one with patience, and a whole lot of determination.”
Kai Trump is one of nine players on Miami’s roster. The Hurricanes, as a team, have two tournament wins and one runner-up finish in three events this season -- currently holding the No. 7 spot in the national rankings.
CLUB COMPETITION
CHESTER, Pa. (AP) -- The U.S. Soccer federation announced Wednesday it plans a new national women’s club competition that will include teams from the National Women’s Soccer League and the Gainbridge Super League.
There is no launch date yet for the Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup, which will have a prize pool of $1.5 million. The single-elimination competition will serve as a national championship and a pathway to qualification for the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.
“We’re working very closely with both the NWSL and the Gainbridge Super League to figure out what is the optimal time to do this,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said. “Obviously, we want to put it into play as soon as possible, but we also want to be respectful of each league’s calendar and how do we best go forth and do this. And I’ve got to say, I’ve been very impressed with both leagues and how much they’re leaning in and collaborating and cooperating to make this happen.”
Parlow Cone said the competition could be open to other clubs, including amateur teams, much like the men’s U.S. Open Cup.