Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — Wheelersburg’s Nick Sylvia will need to make some more room in his trophy case.
The senior striker capped off the greatest career in his program’s history by leading the Pirates to an 18-1-2 mark alongside a second-ever state semifinal appearance, finding the back of the net 50 times with seven assists.
His efforts this season earned him the Division IV Ohio Player of the Year honor when the Ohio High School Athletic Association released its All-Ohio soccer honors on Tuesday.
In Division III, on the boys side, Jackson’s Grady Massie, Gallia Academy’s Beckett Camden and Miami Trace’s Landon Burns earned All-Ohio honors.
Massie, the FAC Player of the Year, led the Ironmen to a school-record 17 wins, including their second-ever district title. Camden helped his Blue Devils win 16 games and make a district final appearance with 28 goals and 14 assists, and Burns led his Panthers to nine wins.
Joining Sylvia in Division IV were his teammates, Evan Mitchell and Breyden Byrd, alongside Unioto’s Elliott Allsop and Alexander’s Jake Roush.
Mitchell found the back of the net 19 times and passed out 14 assists, while Byrd had 47 saves and pitched 12 shutouts for the regional champion Pirates. Meanwhile, Allsop scored 31 goals and had 15 assists for the district champion Shermans, and Roush led the Spartans to a district final with 21 goals and seven helpers.
Minford’s Ashton Reeder, Lynchburg-Clay’s Elam Faust, South Webster’s Hunter Barnard, Valley’s Christian Copen, North Adams’ Beau Hesler, Northwest’s Luke Lewis and Ironton St. Joe’s Carson Lyons are all-state recipients in Division V.
Reeder led the Falcons to 10 wins with 14 goals and 11 assists, Faust had 21 goals and six assists, lifting his Mustangs to a district final appearance, and Barnard helped the Jeeps win a district championship while breaking his own school record for goals in a single season.
Copen scored 14 times and had eight assists for the 13-win Indians, Hesler guided the Green Devils to their first-ever district championship with 10 goals and 16 assists, Lewis was a scoring machine for the 10-win Mohawks, scoring 43 times, and Lyons found the goal 46 times for the 13-win Flyers.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
As for the girls, in Division III, Athens’ Ella Chapman, Fairfield Union’s Kyla Gasser and Jackson’s Sydney Carpenter are All-Ohioans.
Chapman anchored a tough-nosed Bulldog defense to eight wins, Gasser led her Falcons to 13 victories and a district final appearance, and Carpenter, the FAC Player of the Year, scored 34 goals.
In Division IV, Alexander’s Karah Allison, Gallia Academy’s Abbie Brabham, Fairland’s Molly Dunlap, and Wheelersburg’s Ella Hotchstetler and Ella McGraw earned all-state honors.
Allison led the Spartans to 15 wins and a district championship with 25 goals and 14 assists, Branham aided the Blue Angels to the OVC title with 23 goals, and Dunlap scored 20 times and passed 14 assists for the 11-win Dragons.
Meanwhile, Hotchstetler and McGraw led the Pirates to 14 wins. Hotchstetler had 27 goals and nine assists while McGraw added 25 goals and 24 assists.
As for Division V, Lynchburg-Clay’s Caitlin Collins, Eastern Brown’s Makena Corbin, Fairfield’s Vivian Henninger, Valley’s Austin Frantz and Westfall’s Kyleigh Mercurio are All-Ohioans.
Collins came up with 138 saves and led her Mustangs to a district final appearance, while Corbin had seven goals and 11 assists for the Warriors.
Henninger led the Lions to a second district title with 31 goals and seven assists, Frantz helped the Indians to 12 wins with 14 goals and 24 assists, and Mercurio lifted the Mustangs to 14 wins with 37 goals.
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