Amherst’s Ryan Rua, a junior shortstop from Lake Erie College that played in the Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball Summer League, was named the Great Lakes Summer League’s third-best prospect by national scouting service Perfect Game USA.

Rua led the wood bat-league champion Hamilton Joe’s with a .333 average and .533 slugging percentage in 36 regular season games over the summer. He had a team-high seven triples and added a pair of home runs and drove in 22 runs. He was named MVP of the Great Lakes All-Star Game and was an All-GLSCL First Team selection.

"This is a tremendous personal accomplishment for Ryan and really a testament to the work he has put in to become a better player," Storm head coach Brian McGee said. "We’re really proud of the way he performed and handled himself both on and off the field in representing Lake Erie College and the baseball program. He has taken is natural skill set and showed the kind of work ethic character and discipline we try to instill into the players in our program. It is something he should be very proud of."

Rua is already the school’s career leader in home runs and slugging percentage after two seasons. Rua will enter his junior season with a .360 career average, 22 home runs and 87 RBIs. He hit an even .400 last year with 11 homers, 40 RBIs and a school-record tying 60 hits, earning All-Midwest Region Second Team honors from the ABCA.

"As well as Ryan played in the spring, he was just as good — if not better — in the summer transitioning to a wood bat," McGee said. "We look for him to carry that performance through the fall and winter workouts and into next season."

The Storm won a school record 18 games in 2010. They are slated to open the season March 6 in St. Augustine, Fla. at Flagler College.

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Avon Lake’s Nikki Chiricosta won a singles flight title as the Falcons completed play at the Spartan Invitational.

Chiricosta defeated Louisville’s Amelia Harris in the championship match of singles draw C, winning a three-set match. The freshman won the opening set, saw Harris even the match, and then captured the third set. All three sets were decided by the same 6-3 score.

Chiricosta defeated opponents from Chicago State, Cleveland State, Marquette and Louisville en route to her title. She now has a 6-1 singles record this year to date.

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Elyria’s Mario Walton recorded his second game with over 100 yards receiving for Heidelberg in a 35-34 loss to Otterbein in Ohio Athletic Conference play at Mayer Field on Saturday.

Quarterback Andrew Miller completed 29 of 46 passes for a career-best 423 yards. Miller’s top target was Euclid’s Mike Preston with 15 catches for 210 yards and Walton, who had eight catches for 119 yards. It was the second time in his career, that Walton has eclipsed the 100-yard mark. He opened the year with a career-best 135 yards at Alma College.

Linebackers Vaughn Klein and Keystone’s Andy Fadenholz, along with Amherst’s Tyler Levanduski and Travis Coates paced the defense.

Fadenholz had 12 tackles, while Levanduski had 10. Fadenholz and Levanduski recorded career-highs for tackles. It was the second straight outing that Fadenholz has finished with double digit tackles. Levanduski had an interception at the goal line.

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Midview’s Jay Overy, who golfs at Ashland University, finished in a tie for third place and the men’s golf team finished in fourth place Sunday at Grand Valley State’s Arendsen Invitational.

Overy ended the two-day tournament with a score of 144. He shared third place with Nate Kelly of Saginaw Valley State and Michael Schmitmeyer of Findlay. Overy was six strokes behind the individual leader, Joe McGeean of Findlay (138).

Ashland’s team score was 608. Findlay finished as the team champions with a 585. Grand Valley State (588) was second and Wayne State (593) was third. Saginaw Valley State (613) was fifth. The field included 11 teams.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke combined with junior running back Parma’s Tim Miker for 198 yards rushing as Baldwin-Wallace defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Heidelberg University, 35-20 Saturday at Mayer Field in Tiffin, improving to a perfect 3-0 this season.

O’Rourke ran for a career-high 119 yards in 10 attempts and completed 3 of 12 passes for 40 yards and a TD. Miker ran for 87 yards in 24 attempts with two TD.

Overall, B-W ran for 285 yards in 57 attempts compared to 114 for Heidelberg in 35 carries.

B-W had a 14-0 lead with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter when its defense created a turnover. On a first-and-10 play, Heidelberg quarterback Andrew Miller was dropped for a nine-yard loss by Elyria’s Sonny Hazelwood, fumbled the ball at the 25 yard line, and Amherst’s Ryan Kish picked up the loose ball and ran 23 yards for a touchdown.

B-W extended its lead to 21-0 right before halftime as O’Rourke threw a 33-yard TD pass to Aaron Manders. The TD was O’Rourke’s fourth of the season.

On defense, Hazelwood led the Yellow Jackets with six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a caused fumble.

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Elyria’s Danny Noble hauled in his second-career touchdown pass for Toledo, in its 31-20 rout over Purdue on Saturday.

Noble’s TD was just one of Austin Dantin’s touchdowns on the day. Dantin threw two and ran for two more to lead the Rockets.

Dantin hit Noble in the back of the end zone from seven yards out. That put the Rockets up 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Noble finished with six catches for 46 yards. Toledo improved to 3-1.

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Amherst’s Courtney Jarvis was named the MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week after her performance at the Colgate Invitational.

Proving to be one of the most consistent players in the league, Jarvis once against led the Zips in all three wins over Colgate, Cornell and Connecticut last weekend.

Averaging 4.82 kills per set posting 53 total, Jarvis had only nine errors in 121 attempts for an outstanding .364 hitting percentage.

Comparably as dominant defensively, Jarvis had a double-double in each match posting 50 digs on the weekend while also registering seven service aces and two assists. Named to the all-tournament team, Jarvis’ best match came against tournament host Colgate as she had a season-high 27 kills and 23 digs in the five set win.

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Southview graduate Derek Conti is a sophomore linebacker at Ashland University.

Conti hasn't recorded a tackle yet this season as he learns the Eagles' defense.

Conti earned All-Lorain County honors as a defensive end his senior year at Southview. He was a three-time letterwinner in football and a two-time letterwinner in baseball.

Ashland is currently 1-2 with its only win coming against Bloomsburg, 24-14. The Eagles' two losses are to Indianapolis (17-12) and Hillsdale (27-17).

Their upcoming game is Saturday at Northern Michigan.

Keystone’s CJ McArthur was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his outstanding play on Saturday.

McArthur, a senior safety, blocked a Marietta punt in the second quarter that the Muskies recovered for a touchdown. The block marked the second-straight game that special teams have blocked a punt. McArthur ended the game with three tackles, one pass break-up and one block.

McArthur’s play helped lead Muskingum to its second-straight Shrine Game win against the rival Pioneers and propelled the Muskies to their first 2-0 overall and 1-0 start in the league since the 2003 campaign.

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Avon's Dan Smith, a junior, was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week, while running cross country at Ohio Northern.


Smith led the Polar Bears to a fourth-place finish at the Calvin College Knight Invite. ONU outran 11 other teams, including OAC rival Baldwin Wallace.

In the 8,000-meter race, the junior placed 14th in a quick 26:16. Smith narrowly beat out senior Jacob Schoelien, whose 26:17 time was good for 16th place.

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Amherst’s Ryan Bartizal caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Kensy in Mercyhurst’s 28-20 win over C.W. Post.

The touchdown was his first career college touchdown. He now has four catches with 31 yards on the season.

Bartizal scored midway through the second quarter, giving the Lakers a 14-7 halftime lead.

Last year as a freshman, Bartizal played in five of 11 games, recording one reception for 14 yards.

At Amherst, he earned All-Southwestern Conference First Team and All-Lorain County First Team honors and All-District Honorable Mention. He also earned All-SWC and All-Lorain County in baseball.

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An Illinois football spokesman reports that Oberlin graduate Hugh Thornton, an offensive lineman, suffered a strained neck during Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois.

Thornton underwent tests at a local hospital after being carted off the field during the third quarter. Brown says all the tests were negative.

Thornton was blocking ahead of running back Mikel LeShoure when he appeared to drop his head and make helmet-to-helmet contact with a Northern Illinois defender.

Athletic trainers on the field took several minutes to stabalize his neck before teammates helped lift the stretcher onto the cart.

Thornton pumped his fist as the crowd applauded on his way to the locker room.

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Mount Union scored on each of its first four possessions and forced three John Carroll turnovers in the first half and the Purple Raiders went on to a 51-7 rout in a Ohio Athletic Conference opener Saturday in Cleveland.

Quarterback Neal Seaman completed 20 of 25 passes for 260 yards with three touchdown passes as he led Mount Union to a 2-0 start and the nation’s best 45th consecutive regular season victory.

Elyria’s Tyler Almeida kicked field goals from 34, 22 and 23 yards to send the score to 51-0. He also kicked six extra points.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke and Parma Senior’s Tim Miker each ran for more than 100 yards as Baldwin-Wallace defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Heidelberg University, 35-20 at Mayer Field in Tiffin on Saturday.

The win improves the Yellow Jackets to a perfect 3-0.

O’Rourke ran for a career-high 119 yards in 10 attempts and completed 3 of 12 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. Miker ran for 101 yards in 24 attempts with two TDs. Overall, B-W ran for 285 yards in 57 attempts compared to 114 for Heidelberg in 35 carries.

On a 1st-and-10 play, Heidelberg senior quarterback Andrew Miller was dropped for nine-yard loss by Elyria’s Sonny Hazelwood, fumbled the ball at the 25 yard line, and Amherst’s Ryan Kish picked up the loose ball and ran 23 yards for a TD.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Amherst's Lauren Percival, a sophomore playing volleyball at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, is featured on the team's website as a blogger. The blog is called Quick Sets ... with Lauren Percival.

To check it out, go to: http://www.mvnu.edu/sports/nazvb/news/blog.asp

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Left: Angelica Meggitt, Right: Katie Finley

Vermilion’s Katie Finley made four saves as goalkeeper and earned her second win of the season in the net as Baldwin-Wallace defeated Hiram, 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday.

Finley played all 93 minutes as goalie and is now 2-0 as a starter. Rocky River’s Lindsey Mikula scored her second match-winning goal this season. Mikula’s match-winning came at the 93:00 minute mark of the first overtime. The goal was her third of the season. Mikula also scored the match-winner on Sept. 5 in a 2-1 overtime win versus host Penn State Behrend (Pa.) in the consolation match of the Behend Tournament.

Finley, who also plays softball, transferred from Defiance College.

Another area athlete on the team is Amherst’s Angelica Meggitt, a junior forward. Meggitt started all 20 games as a sophomore and played in 13 games as a freshman. Her first career goal came on Oct. 17, 2009 against Muskingum.

At Amherst High School, Meggitt was the Comets’ Offensive Player of the Year in all four years there.

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Amherst’s Nikki Kulasa finished with an 18-hole total of 162 (84-78) and was one stroke from being the medalist as Walsh won the six-team Walsh University Fall Classic, with a two-day total of 652. The Cavs finished 36 strokes ahead of second place Ohio Northern University.

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Wellington’s Greg Stawicki scored a goal at the 17:44 mark of the first half, helping lead Ohio Northern to a 2-0 victory over host Wittenberg on Tuesday night in Springfield.

It was Stawicki’s first goal of the season.

With the win, the Polar Bears improve to 4-2 overall and extended Northern’s winning streak to four games in a row.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Wellington’s Christian Huelsman was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men’s soccer for the week of Sept. 7-12, announced Monday.

Huelsman earned the honor for scoring four goals and assisting on another in the Polar Bears’ three wins last week. He recorded a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win at Earlham (Ind.), then followed up with his hat trick against Hanover (Ind.) in the ONU Invitational last Friday.

He leads Northern so far this season offensively with 12 points on five goals and two assists.

Last season as a sophomore, Huelsman was named OAC Player of the Week twice.

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Jazzminn is on the bottom left.

Southview graduate Jazzminn Richey-Obey is part of the Hampton University bowling team that was recently recognized by the NCAA.

The bowling Lady Pirates were recipients of the NCAA Public Recognition Award.

The honor is bestowed on those teams that have a Division I Academic Progress Rate in the Top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.

Richey-Obey bowled on Southview’s first bowling team and bowled all four years of high school. She averaged a 178 her senior season. She is also a three-time Pepsi-Cola Scholar Athlete. She helped the Saints qualify for the state tournament in 2007, placed second in the County and third at Districts.

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Avon Lake’s Tani Lopez, who is just a freshman, scored a goal and assisted on another in Ashland’s first two wins, including a GLIAC win over Lake Erie on Wednesday.

Bay’s Jamie Greene gave the Eagles a commanding 2-0 lead in the 67th minute, firing a goal from 15 yards out. Ashland tacked on the final goal in the 75th minute when Lopez headed home a perfect cross from teammate Maria Lackey to provide the final score.

In a win over Drury, Lopez assisted on Ashley Drago’s goal as time expired in the first overtime to send the Eagles to a thrilling 2-1 win in the first game ever played at Ferguson Field.

Lopez carried the ball down the left side as the clock scrolled under 10 seconds. She lifted a cross to Dragos, who was sprinting down the right side just inside the penalty box. Dragos knocked the ball to the keeper’s right just as the clock struck 0:00 in the first overtime period. The Eagles’ sideline erupted, and once the goal signal was given, tore after Dragos on the field.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke was named this week’s Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in last Thursday’s 38-14 season-opening victory against The College of Wooster at The George Finnie Stadium in Berea.

O’Rourke, who transferred to B-W from NCAA Division III Slippery Rock University last winter, completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns in his first game as a Yellow Jacket. He threw TD passes of 40 yards to Keith Darbut on the first play of the game and 59 and 19 yards to Brett Jensen, who is also from Avon. O’Rourke and Jensen were both teammates at Avon and at Slippery Rock before both transferred to B-W last winter.

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Vermilion’s Melanie Fortner finished in 15th place (155) at Ferris State’s Tom Kirinovic Classic, as Ashland won the two-day tournament, which was held at the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, MI.

The Eagles ended the event with a team score of 603. That was enough to outdistance Grand Valley State and California, which finished tied for second. Both of those teams shot 608. Indianapolis (614) secured fourth place and Ferris State (631) was fifth. The field consisted of 14 teams.

Ashland’s Erin Misheff and Holly James finished in a four-way tie for third place. Both players shot 149. Ashland’s third player in the Top 10 was Annie Miles. She finished in a tie for eighth place, shooting 151.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

PICTURED AT LEFT: North Ridgeville's Shane Friend

Notre Dame (Ohio) notched the program’s first win on Saturday, a 14-10 victory over Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).

Khalid Harrison and Pedro Powell had rushing TDs to lead the Falcons and their defense held up, only allowing 10 points.

Notre Dame and Lindsey Wilson are the NAIA’s two newest entrants among 93 programs.

"It feels good to get one under our belt’" Notre Dame head coach Adam Howard said. "Getting to this point has been a lot of work for two years, really. And work on the part of a lot of people at our College, both on and off the field. To get a win and get the momentum building is huge for our program."

Down, 3-0, Notre Dame started what would become the first scoring drive in program history late in the first quarter after a diving interception by free safety John Hyde. Dak Britt engineered a 12-play drive that was capped off with a 10-yard TD run by Harrison. Britt completed two passes on the drive and had a 16-yard run as well. Harrison had five carries for 41 yards, as the Falcons grabbed their first lead of the season after being shutout, 23-0, in their opener against Mercyhurst (Pa.) last week.

Westlake’s Kam Abed, Elyria Catholic’s Jared Schuster and Vermilion’s Logan Wright are starting offensive lineman, while North Ridgeville’s Shane Friend plays linebacker. Friend has made eight tackles in two games.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Elyria's Danny Noble started at tight end for Toledo in a 41-2 blowout loss to Arizona on Friday.

The Rockets offense never really got anything going and Noble didn't record a reception in the loss.

Noble started 10 games last year as a sophomore. He was third on the team with 26 receptions. He had a career-high five receptions against Colorado and Ohio State. His 8-yard TD vs. Colorado is his only career touchdown thus far.

His freshman year (2008), he played in seven games, but didn't have a reception.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

North Ridgeville’s John McGraw helped get the Yellow Jackets off to a good start, gaining 65 yards on 13 carries in Baldwin-Wallace’s 38-14 win over Wooster on Thursday.

McGraw, who missed virtually the 2008 season with injury after a solid freshman season in 2007 in which he rushed for 211 yards. After having work done on his meniscus on the first day of camp last year, he returned in Week 2 and got a few carries, but the next week in practice, he tore his ACL and needed another surgery.

"I actually had knee surgery my sophomore year in high school too," McGraw said. "I said if it happened again, I was done (with football). But the second time having been through it before, I knew what I had to do to get back. It was hard. A lot of hard work to get back and I had people supporting me through it."

McGraw bounced back after surgery to lead the Yellow Jackets with nine rushing touchdowns in 2009 and piled up 486 yards on the ground. He also caught 14 passes.

"I don’t mind it (playing in the slot back)," McGraw said. "I’m getting used to it, but it took some time because I’ve always been a running back. Last year, I was sent in motion, running sweeps and catching bubble passes.

"It was like a glorified running back but teams started to key on that. So in spring ball, I started practicing running wide receiver routes, just to confuse the defense and give them another look. I’m excited to see where I’ll be this season."

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Huron's Sara Sage tied a career high with 11 kills, hitting a personal-best .667 with just one error in 15 swings, as 14th-ranked UCLA swept San Jose State on Thursday at the SJSU/SMC Tournament at Spartan Gym. Scores were 25-13, 25-18, 25-17.

The Bruins never trailed in the opening set. Tied at one, UCLA scored the next five to go ahead 6-1. Sage had a kill, which was followed by back-to-back San Jose State attack errors, an ace by Reeves and a kill by Kidder. After a Spartan sideout, Sage, McGraw and Van Orden had consecutive kills, followed by a SJSU attack error, to make it 10-2. UCLA’s lead reached double figures for the first time at 14-4 after a Reeves spike.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke made an outstanding debut Thursday night, throwing three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Wooster.

O’Rourke completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards, including the three scores in his first game as a Yellow Jacket.

O’Rourke, who transferred to B-W last spring from NCAA Division II Slippery Rock (Pa.) University, threw a 40-yard TD pass to Keith Darbut on the game’s first play and tossed a pair of TD passes to his former Avon and Slippery Rock teammate Brett Jensen of 59 and 19 yards, all in the first half.

Jensen finished with two catches for 78 yards and the two TDs, while North Ridgeville’s John McGraw finished with 65 yards on the ground in 13 carries. Amherst’s Ryan Kish led the defense with nine tackles.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

courtesy of Tiffin's athletic website

Vermilion’s Mike Virgin, a defensive back, ran back an 84-yard interception for a touchdown to give Tiffin a 31-14 lead Thursday night en route to a 31-21 win over Malone University in their season opener.

Virgin had an outstanding game, registering nine tackles with two interceptions in the game.

As a freshman, Virgin registered 22 tackles, recorded an interception, had a pass defended and recovered a fumble.

swalker@MorningJournal.com