Volleyball, girls soccer, tennis led fall season at WHS
Wooster High boys soccer player Luigi Canas Jr., left, was named the Ohio Cardinal Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Ohioan for his performance this fall for the Generals.
It was a season of firsts for Wooster’s volleyball team.
Sure, the Generals have been the top program in the Ohio Cardinal Conference over the past decade, but this season’s championship was a special one.
Along with the school’s first undefeated regular season, coach Jen Snowbarger’s team won its fifth consecutive OCC banner — the first streak of its kind in the history of the league.
“Winning the conference is always fun,” said Snowbarger, whose program has captured eight titles since 2005. “No matter how many times or how often, it’s still a championship.
“Being competitive and having that goal is something that is rewarding every time it happens.”
Behind the play of sophomore Sara Snowbarger — the league’s Offensive Player of the Year — the Generals advanced to a district championship match for the first time in 16 seasons. Snowbarger, who led the team in kills (5.3 per set), hitting percentage (0.365), digs (4.3) and aces (60 total), wasn’t alone as the play of All-OCC first-teamers in outside hitter Megan Lantis and middle hitter Josie Wright played a key role in the team’s success.
“I think the key to this year’s team success was that we showed up daily to keep working hard,” coach Snowbarger said of the team’s 24-1 campaign. “Even halfway through the season, when we haven’t lost, it’s hard sometimes to stay motivated. This group stayed focused and worked hard daily in practice on reaching new goals within our skill sets.”
The volleyball program wasn’t alone, however, as two other Wooster sports — girls soccer and girls tennis — earned a piece of the respective league championships to highlight a banner fall for the school.
Girls soccer
Under the direction of Charles Cerniglia, the Generals girls soccer team shared the OCC title for the second time in the last three seasons.
This time, however, Wooster was the Kardiac Kids of the conference as it was either tied or trailing a league foe in the second half of six of its seven games.
The result was a 5-0-2 mark in OCC matches, sharing the top prize with Madison.
“The way the girls fought to the very end of every game is what allowed us to pull through and get the results we needed,” Cerniglia said. “The girls fought very hard for all 80 minutes of every conference game, and that’s what made the difference.”
Junior Gabi Signorino was one of two Generals to earn first-team All-OCC honors, along with senior goalkeeper Grace Kostohryz. Signorino finished the season with 21 goals and six assists, while Kostohryz posted eight shutouts — four of which came in league play.
Sydney Older (nine goals, seven assists) and Abi Strand-Fox (four, 10) also had stellar seasons as the Generals were 10-4-3 overall.
But it was their defense, which allowed just four goals over seven conference games, that helped Carniglia’s team to a banner season.
“We felt that if our goalkeeper and backline were able to give our girls up front enough time, the girls up front would get us the goals that we needed,” he said. “We had great leadership and a great level of determination in us as a team.”
Tennis
Like the volleyball team, Wooster’s girls tennis squad continued its dominance of the OCC with its fourth consecutive title for coach Cordell Smith.
Behind the play of league POY Ava Mathur at first singles, the Generals swept every singles court with Alecia Kakanuru winning at second and Haley Jung taking the third court.
Mathur, a junior, went on to win her third sectional title in a row as the team went 14-4 on the season.
Boys soccer
On the boys soccer pitch, senior Luigi Canas Jr. was named the conference’s POY. He was joined on the first team by junior Nicholas Morse, Carter Buchholz and Calen Relle. Canas Jr., also a first-team All-Ohio pick, compiled 60 points for the season (24 goals, 11 assists), while Morse led the team in goals scored with 25.
Football/cross country
Hayden Meese headlined Wooster football players on the OCC’s first team. The junior was a standout at both wide receiver and defensive back this past fall.
The boys and girls cross country teams each had a first-team selection as Owen Buchholz (16:19.15) and Mattie Dunlap (20:21.25) were both selected.