SPORTS
OCTOBER 26, 2011 • CIN-MMA • A7
Editor: Melanie Laughman, mlaughman@communitypress.com, 513-248-7573
HIGH SCHOOL | YOUTH | RECREATIONAL
Eagles win Clermont clash of the titans
COMMUNITY
PRESS
CommunityPress.com
REDHAWK VICTORY
By Ben Walpole
bwalpole@communitypress.com
In a battle of arguably the two best girls soccer teams in Clermont County, Milford posted a 4-1 victory against Amelia, Oct. 20, in the Division I sectional semifinals. The Barons – two-time defending Southern Buckeye Conference American chamipions – entered the game with a sparkling 15-2 record but struggled to contain the Eagle attack. Kat Bare, Kayla Byrnside, Tara Claus and Morgan Wolcott each scored goals. Carli Fallon had two assists. The Eagles improved to 14-2-1 with the win. They played Oak Hills in the sectional title game, Oct. 24, after Press deadlines. Other local highlights from last week’s tournament action included:
Oct. 18. Senior Jeff Johnson scored for the Rockets. » Goshen’s season ended with a loss to Norwood in the Division II sectional semifinals, Oct. 22.
Cross country
Girls soccer
» The Goshen girls nearly qualified for regionals as a team. They finished fifth in the Division II district meet, Oct. 22, at Voice Of America Park in West Chester. The top four teams advanced. The Warriors did advance two individuals. Freshmen Brittany Clark (ninth in 20:35.42) and Courtney Turner (15th in 21:20.89) each earned regional berths. The regional meet is Saturday, Oct. 29, in Troy. Sophomore Sterling Briggs was the top Goshen boys finisher. He placed 21st in the Division II boys district race, with a time of 18:37.78. » Milford, too, fell just short of moving on to the regional meet. The Eagle girls took fifth place in the Division I district meet race B. Freshman AnneE Dalziel earned an individual regional berth, after finishing fourth in 18:48.30. Seniors Lorin Conti (22nd), Kristen Brady (25th) and Sara Savitz (33rd) closed their careers with solid outings. Senior Trevor Chase ran a 17:14.21 as the top Milford finisher in the Division I district meet race A.
Boys soccer
» Milford opened tournament play with a 10-2 thrashing of Winton Woods, Oct. 19. Sam Rodgers, Kyle Grothaus and Rodolfo Castillo each scored two goals to lead the rout. The Eagles followed with a 5-0 win against Anderson in the semifinals, Oct. 22. The two teams tied 3-3 when they played during the regular season. Rodgers scored two more goals, and Jonathon Taylor had the shutout. Milford (13-3-2) played Moeller, Oct. 25, in the sectional finals after Press deadlines. » Clermont Northeastern lost to New Richmond 2-1 in the first round of the Division II sectional,
Milford High School senior Trevor Chase hits the home stretch in the Division I district meet race A, Saturday, Oct. 22, at Voice Of America Park in West Chester.BEN WALPOLE/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
» Clermont Northeastern advanced to the Division II sectional championship game with a 2-0 win against Georgetown, Oct. 20. Kylie Sumner and Callie Willis each scored goals. Jessica Kirby made five saves to earn the shutout. The Rockets played No. 3 seed Summit Country Day for the sectional title, Monday, Oct. 24, after Press deadlines. » Goshen bowed out of the Division II sectional in the first round with a loss to Taylor, Oct. 17.
Volleyball
» Milford rallied from two games down to beat Sycamore 2426, 23-25, 28-26, 25-21, 15-11 in the Division I first round, Oct. 20. The Eagles lost to Kings in the semifinals, Oct. 22. They ended the year with a 12-12 record, good for fifth place in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference East. » Goshen’s season ended with a tough five-game loss to Ross in the first round of the Division II sectional, Oct. 15. The Warriors finished the season with a 14-7 record, the runners-up for the Southern Buckeye Conference American Division title, behind Western Brown. “Our goal was to win the league,” Goshen head coach Lisa Smith said. “But they (Goshen) made a great effort, and Western Brown has a great team.” Senior setter Kelly Parriman led the team with 475 assists. “She was pretty much the heart and soul of the team,” Smith said. Senior Kiley Collins was the top hitter, with 161 kills. » Clermont Northeastern lost to third-seeded Jamestown Greeneview in the Division III sectional, Oct. 20, 25-15, 25-9, 25-14. The Rockets had previously scored a four-game win against Waynesville in the first round.
Gridiron struggles continue Week nine was unkind to the high school football teams in northern Clermont County.
Blanchester 35, Goshen 13
The Warriors dropped their fourth straight game to go to 4-5 overall. The team closes the season, Friday night, Oct. 28, at Greenville.
East Clinton 34, Clermont Northeastern 8
Junior quarterback Derick Schmidt passed for 101 yards, in-
cluding a touchdown toss to Dallas Miracle. The Rockets fell to 2-7 with the loss. They host Blanchester, Oct. 28, in the season finale.
Harrison 44, Milford 0
Harrison continued its march toward the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Buckeye title with its sixth straight win. Senior Bryan Kerber rushed for 71 yards to lead the Eagles (2-7). Milford plays its final FAVC game, Oct. 28, at home against Loveland.
Undefeated Redhawks: The Milford Redhawks 12UA softball team finishes their 2011 SOGFSA league season undefeated. For some of the girls, this is their second undefeated season with this team, but their first as an A-Level team. Every time they put on their uniform they play as a team, have fun, and play to win. The team is very thankful to the sponsors in our community including Rinaldi Orthodontics, Mike Castrucci Ford, New Attitudes Hair and Tanning Salon, Schottmiller’s Auto Body and Auel’s Fine Chocolates. The team will play 14UA next season. In back are Coach Randy Gilman, Clare Cartheuser, Val Thompson, Amanda Zanola, Olivia Zamudio, Abby Swensen and coach Scott Bullock. In front row are Taylor Caldwell, McKinley Dumm, Kelly Carraro, Tori Gilman, Emily Stamper and Hannah Bullock.THANKS TO RANDY GILMAN
CNE’s Sumner excels on pitch, in barnyard By Ben Walpole bwalpole@communitypress.com
Summer mornings before soccer practice usually found Kylie Sumner awake early. The Clermont Northeastern High School soccer star entered her senior season as one of the most highly regarded soccer talents in the area – a Division I college recruit. So it’s not surprising that her work ethic had her greeting the dawn. She would awake very early in June. Like 6 a.m. early. She had a very specific schedule. A warmup jog? Individual skill drills before team practice? No. First she had friends to visit. Friends down on her grandparents’ farm – Stone Valley Farm – in Batavia. Her hogs. “You have to take them for a morning walk,” Sumner explains. See, Sumner isn’t just one of the area’s best soccer players. She also shows award-winning hogs in the Clermont County Fair. “It really showed me the responsibility it takes to do anything,” Sumner said. “I had to put a lot aside. It’s just an amazing experience.” Sumner has been showing animals, mainly hogs and goats, at the Clermont County Fair since she was 9, following in the footsteps of her parents, Tracey and Jim Sumner, and older brother, Tanner. Her mom has been with her every step of the process, as an adviser for the fair, helping organize the Stonelick Shamrocks 4-H Club, even helping her walk the hogs during those early summer mornings. Whereas many kids’ interest in the animals tends to wane as they get older, Tracey said, Kylie’s passion for the fair has only increased. The last two years Kylie’s hogs – Petrie in 2010 and Bobby McGee in 2011 – won Grand Champion Market Barrow honors, judged on everything from their weight to their muscle tone to their behavior. “I went to the fair this year, and I saw her pigs,” CNE head girls soccer coach Misty Goetz said. “Kylie’s definitely responsible to her team just as much as she is to her animals. Responsibility and dedication would carry
Clermont Northeastern High School senior Kylie Sumner is a Division I college soccer recruit, but she lets her hog, Bobby McGee, know where her true passions lie.THANKS TO TRACEY SUMNER
over to both of them.” Kylie was a senior captain for the Rockets this season. After earning league player of the year honors last season, she garnered all the attention of opposing defenses this fall. As a result, her scoring (22 goals as a junior) went down but her assists went up – especially helpful to CNE’s very talented freshman class. “The teams we’re playing know how good she is,” Goetz said. “Just about every game she’s had two marks on her, so she’s been the playmaker. Her assists have given a lot of opportunities to other players to score.” The coaches at Indiana State University were impressed enough to offer Kylie a scholarship. She picked the Sycamores over Ohio University and the University of Dayton, among others. When Kylie was younger, as it became clear that her talents on the soccer field might warrant playing year-round, the family had to discuss the possibility of cutting back on her time with the animals. “Definitely not,” said Kylie, still adamant about the choice all these years later. “I would never take back showing.” Tracey remembers talking about it. “She said, ‘I don’t want to stop showing my pigs.’ So we explained it to her coaches going in. They understood. They were very supportive. And fortunately the schedule was OK,” she said. “She was able to balance it. She’s
a pretty determined kid when she puts her mind to something.” Those summer days that started at 6 a.m. would often include a morning CNE soccer practice, a practice in the evening with her club team and multiple trips to her grandparents’ farm in between to tend to the hogs. Safe to say many of her Cincinnati Soccer Alliance Elite club teammates, hailing from more urban high schools like Ursuline Academy and St. Ursula, were not checking in on their pigs in between practices. “None of them get it,” Kylie said. “They’ve never seen a pig show. But I’m proud of it.” Kylie gets her new set of pigs every spring. She gives them all names – this year’s theme was old-time country music names. And then they are sold at the end of the Fair in late July. “Every year when I would have to sell my hog, I would cry and cry and cry,” Kylie said “They’re basically like my pets for three to four months.” This summer’s fair was especially emotional for the family. Kylie’s college soccer commitments next summer will likely make it impossible for her to show hogs at the 2012 fair – a fact that dawned on mother and daughter this past summer. “When we went and did the final cleaning for the pigs,” Kylie said. “We were like, ‘This is the last time.’ And of course me and my mom started crying.” Kylie said she still plans to stay involved as an adult adviser for the fair in the future. She also will help her friend Maria Hill breed pigs at the Hills’ farm in Batavia. “It’s going to be hard,” Kylie said. “I have been to fair every year since I was born.” Fittingly, her two passions cross paths, on the calendar at least, next summer. The first week of her new life as a member of Indiana State’s soccer team – a team-bonding retreat – falls on fair week. “She works very hard at both of her things that she’s in love with. And it paid off,” Tracey said. “If you’re going to do something, you do it 100 percent or you don’t do it at all. And she has been able to put 100 percent into both of them.”