Norwalk XC teams open the season

LORAIN — The Norwalk High Schol boys and girls high school and middle school cross country programs opened the season Monday at the annual Keystone Icebreaker Invitational held at the Lorain County Equestrian Center. The NHS girls team placed sixth among 19 teams. Saige Konik was second overall in 20:03.05, while teammate Olive Leavitt was sixth in 21:02. Grace Norris was next for the Truckers in 26th with a time of 23:21.2. She was followed by Raelyn Konik (26:00.72) in 74th; Anna Whaley (26:38.2) in 82nd; Allison Konik (26:48.57) in 84th; and Olivia Brown (31:08.67) in 125th. On the boys side, Norwalk was ninth among 24 teams and paced by Nolan Jones with a time of 18:58.69, good for 38th overall. Clay Heyman (19:20.1) was 47th, and Alex Christophel (19:20.4) was 48th. Also for the Truckers, Casey Kromer (19:32.5) finished 54th; Adam Slate (19:52.47) was 65th; Anthony Hall (20:00.4) was 67th; and Isaiah Kelsey (20:08.93) was 72nd. Both NMS teams finished eighth among 19 teams competing in the junior high races. For the boys, Drew Hamernik (12:16.91) was 11th and Zane Daniels (13:39.8) was 48th. Ethan Jones (13:48.2) was 53rd, followed by Parker Nickoli (13:51.17) in 57th. Rounding out the top seven were Caleb Cross (15:45.89) in 114th; Parker Good (16:30.89) in 130th; and Madden Sigg (16:46.21) in 134h. Layla Koch finished 13th overall in 14:00.97 for the girls team. Ivy Leavitt (14:47.77) was 24th, while Malaynya Sullivan 915:51.41) was 45th, and Aubrielle Cruey (16:07.3) was 52nd. Finishing out the scoring was Krista Bergman (19:04.57) in 90th; Lilana Mora (22:26.73) in 119th; and Autumn Compton (22:54.57) in 123rd. The Truckers and most area teams return to action Saturday at the Seneca East Invitational in Attica. BOY SOCCER Upper Sandusky 3, Norwalk 2 UPPER SANDUSKY — The Truckers came up one goal short in Monday's non-league season opener against the host Rams. Trailing 2-0, the Truckers tied up the match with two minutes remaining. First, Landon Ferkel scored a header off a corner kick by Jack Pittenger midway through the second half. Derionne Johnson then tied up the match when he scored on a goal that deflected off a defender and past the Upper goalkeeper. Norwalk visits Mansfield Madison in another non-league match Saturday. VOLLEYBALL Willard 3, Seneca East 0 WILLARD — The Crimson Flashes improved to 2-0 with Monday's non-league sweep over the host Tigers. Willard won with scores of 25-12, 25-17, and 25-21. The Flashes were balanced at the net, as Natalie Slone and Leah Weiss each had eight kills, while Camryn Wiers added six. Slone also had three blocks, and Weiss had two, while Teagan Schaffer had three kills and three blocks. Alexis Rettig finished 17-for-18 serving with two aces, which included a 12-point run in the first set. She also had eight digs to pace the defense. Weiss was 12-for-13 serving with five aces and seven digs, while Wiers was 10-for-11 with an ace, seven digs and seven assists. Also for Willard, Emelia Tallman and Mya Stephens had nine and seven assists, respectively. "We started off trading points and not able to establish any momentum," Willard head coach Ashley Bond said. "When Alexis went back to serve, she turns things around for us and that was huge. They have a strong outside hitter, and we had to find ways to take her out of getting a long runway for her approach. "Our block did a nice job of slowing things down at the net. It was good to see us staying composed in the third set when they made their run. We were able to swing the momentum back our way." JUNIOR HIGH NMS volleyball starts BERLIN HEIGHTS — The Norwalk seventh-grade volleyball team started its season with a three-set win Monday over host Edison. After a 25-23 loss, the Truckers won 25-19 and 25-18. Addie Hance, Lexi Schmidt and Adelinn Sitterly led the way from the service line for Norwalk. Kayla Naseman set up the hitting for her teammates, including Ella Ames, who led the team at the net in kills.