Gahanna grad returns to stardom at Kent State

Four years since his last outdoor track competition, Riak Reese celebrated his long climb back with a trip to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last week.

A two-time 100and 200-meter state champion and school record-holder at Gahanna, Reese entered Kent State in 2014 with high expectations. But after a promising indoor season in which he won a Mid-American Conference 60-meter dash title, Reese was ruled academically ineligible and left school.

After sorting things out back home during a year-and-a-half sabbatical, Reese attended a community college for a semester in hopes of enrolling at Ohio State, but he didn’t meet its academic requirements. So Reese began a lengthy reinstatement process at Kent State.

Reese made his long-awaited return and was named Most Outstanding Track Performer and MVP of the MAC Indoor Championships, winning the 60 (6.73 seconds) and the 200 (21.27).

Outdoors, he won titles at the prestigious Drake Relays and Tennessee Relays before repeating as outstanding performer at the MAC meet, winning the 100 (10.16), 200 (20.51) and anchoring the winning 400 relay (40.19). He advanced to the NCAAs in the 100 but was stymied in the preliminary round despite a schoolrecord, career-best time of 10.14.

Reese is on target to graduate this summer and plans to compete professionally. In other track news: • Michigan State senior Katelyn Daniels, a former state champion at Olentangy Orange, qualified for the NCAAs in both the shot put and discus, turning in season bests of 53-5 and 189-4½, good for second in the Big Ten. She also threw the hammer 178-1.

• Sophomore Chasatea Brown of Westerville South was MAC runner-up in the 400 hurdles for Bowling Green, achieving the No. 3 time in program history (1:00.11).

• Olentangy Liberty grad Grant Cartwright capped his career at Michigan with a career-best toss of 64-4 in the shot put for 11th place in the NCAA Championships.

• Former Buckeye Valley and River Valley standout Savannah Amato set Austin Peay and Ohio Valley Conference records in the pole vault (13-8¼) while gaining a spot in the NCAA regional.

• Dublin Coffman grad Joey Murray posted a 9-2 record with a 2.45 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 95 innings pitched in helping Kent State (40-18) to its fourth 40-win season this decade. The junior right-hander, who made third-team All-America and is a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, was an eighth-round draft choice of the Toronto Blue Jays.

• Junior Sam Bordner of Bloom-Carroll went 1-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 18 innings as the closer for Louisville (45-19), which was eliminated in the NCAA regional championship round. He was drafted in the 14th round by the Florida Marlins.

• Olentangy Liberty grad Cameron Comer batted .261 with four homers, 15 RBI and 28 runs scored while splitting time as catcher and infielder for Virginia.

• Otterbein sophomore relief pitcher Colin Hoffman of Olentangy was selected to the AllMideast Region team by two outlets. Hoffman went 8-2 with five saves and a 2.97 ERA. He had 40 strikeouts and only four walks. The Cardinals (31-14) won the Ohio Athletic Conference regularseason title.

Four area players helped Ohio University (40-17) reach an NCAA regional final series.

Junior infielder Taylor Day of Hilliard Bradley made first-team AllMideast Region and All-MAC after batting .333 with 12 homers, 44 RBI and 42 runs. Senior infielder Mikalya Cooper of Delaware made first-team AllMAC after batting .333 with 11 homers, 45 RBI and 47 runs. Senior infielder Taylor Saxton of Logan Elm was secondteam All-MAC after batting .269 with 33 runs. Junior outfielder Michaela Dorsey of Central Crossing made third-team all-region after hitting .329 with eight homers, 33 RBI and 33 runs.

• Several area players contributed for Kent State (29-23).

Sophomore pitcher Madi Huck of Delaware went 18-9 with a 2.68 ERA and 120 strikeouts. Junior utility player Bailey Brownfield of Lakewood batted .351 with 41 RBI. Her freshman sister, Brenna, also of Lakewood, batted .298 and was the No. 2 pitcher. Sophomore outfielder Maria Cegledy of Hartley batted .327 with 18 RBI. Senior utility player Allie Luther of Pickerington Central batted .273 with eight homers, 29 RBI and 28 runs. Freshman utility player Kaitlyn Miller of Pickerington Central hit .315 with 28 runs. Junior utility player Hunter Brancifort of Pickerington North added nine RBI.

• Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Rothwell of Teays Valley went 6-2 with a 1.63 ERA and 75 strikeouts for Ball State (37-19).

• Aly Harrell of Gahanna made thirdteam All-Mideast Region, first-team Conference USA and was named C-USA freshman of the year for Marshall (25-29-1). She hit 11 home runs with 41 RBI and compiled a .708 slugging percentage.

• Fairbanks grad Ashley Rausch batted .308 with three homers, 22 RBI, 28 runs and 15 stolen bases and earned second-team All-MAC as a senior center fielder for Toledo.

• Otterbein junior shortstop Alyson Shaw of Gahanna won her third all-OAC honor after batting .413 with 45 runs, 17 stolen bases and five triples. She also made first-team Academic All-America.

• Sophomore Liza Hernandez of New Albany had 23 goals and four assists for Ohio State (5-10).

• Junior midfielder Joe Sanfillipo of Delaware repeated as first-team All-OAC for Otterbein (8-8). He totaled 30 assists, 57 points and 28 ground balls. Junior teammate Adam Grumman of Pickerington North, who had 34 ground balls and forced 27 turnovers, was a first-team defenseman. Junior faceoff specialist Mike Roman of Worthington Kilbourne also made first team.

• Also making firstteam All-OAC was Capital senior goalkeeper Cole Palmby, who made 140 saves for a 10.45 goalsagainst average. Making second team was sophomore attack Skyler Blake of Dublin Jerome, who led John Carroll with 44 goals and added 21 assists.

• Junior Abby Smoot of Dublin Scioto set a season record for Otterbein (8-9) with 58 goals. She also had seven assists. Freshman midfielder Kiera Mulcahy of Watterson had 34 goals, five assists, 30 ground balls and 80 draw controls. Sophomore attack Ema Pusecker of DeSales totaled 24 goals, 35 assists and 14 ground balls.