STEELHOUNDS

STEELHOUNDS
Christian, Richardsare MVP finalists
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown SteelHounds' forwards Jeff Christian and Chris Richards have been named as two of the six finalists for the CHL's Most Valuable Player award.
Christian, who finished second in the voting last season to Amarillo's Derek Hahn, has 35 goals and 72 assists through 55 games. Richards has 38 goals and 65 assists.
Joining Christian and Richards as finalists are Riley Nelson of Colorado, Brent Kelly of Arizona, Justin Quenneville of Corpus Christi and rookie defenseman John DeCaro of Bossier-Shreveport.
LOCAL
Boardman boysninth in indoor track
AKRON -- Boardman High's boys track team finished ninth in Division I at the Ohio Association of Track & amp; Cross Country Coaches Division One indoor state championships.
The Spartans scored 16 points and Warren Harding scored nine points to finish 21st. Cleveland Heights won the meet with 60 points.
Boardman's 4x800 relay of Rick Lape, Matt Moore, Jake Lape and Mike Lesko finished in 7 minutes, 58.83 seconds to place third behind Cleveland Heights and Medina.
Rick Lape was third in the 3200 with a personal best time (9:56) and Moore was fifth in the 800 (1:59.09).
Warren Harding's Chris Rucker was fourth in the 200 (22.45) and seventh in the 60 (7.13). Warren's 4x200 relay of Rucker, Brandon Simpson, Brandon Davis, and Davery Crawford was seventh (1:31.96).
For the Boardman girls, Breanne Romeo was third in the 400 in a career-best time (57.28), while Lauren Agnew ran a career indoor best time of 2:23.51 to finish fourth in the 800.
Corey Carter was fourth in the high jump with a career indoor best height (5 feet, 2 inches), and the 4x800 relay of Le Byers, Katie Stoll, Tricia Haff and Agnew ran a season-best time (10:04.13) to finish sixth.
Boardman finished ninth in the Div. I team standings.
Audra Frimpong, a junior at Canfield, took first place in the long jump (18-3) and she was second in the 60 (7.79).
For Lordstown (Div. II-III), Kayla Ellks placed third in the long jump (16-1 3/4) and was on the 4x200 relay, with Ashley Gibbs, Amanda Wickline and Hollie Bailey, which set a school record of 1:58.2.
Ryan Pal was third in the high jump (6-2) and was on the 4x200 relay, with Ricki Cooke, Tykie Theofilos and Jeremy Ratell, which finished in 1:38.7.
Grove City's Couragewins national title
HOUSTON -- Grove City's Caleb Courage won the 100 freestyle in 44.36 seconds at the NCAA Division III title Saturday night. Courage's time was a school record and he successfully defending his national title in the event.
Courage, Tim Whitbeck, Peter Larsen and Drew Snyder placed eighth in the 400 free relay (3:06.19).
Chip Cressman was 25th in the 1650 (16:25.63).
For Westminster, Ryan Trunk earned All-America status for a second straight year in the 100 freestyle, breaking his school record (44.93), tying for second place.
Also, Chris Lehberger shattered his school record in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.45) for 12th place.
Westminster's Pat Smith was 27th in the 200 backstroke (2:02.67) and the 400 freestyle relay of Trunk, Lehberger, Smith and Conor Simpson was 20th (3:14.90).
REGION
Cin. Mt. Notre Dame wins girls Div. I title
COLUMBUS -- Kendall Hackney scored 21 points and Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame's suffocating defense limited Stow-Munroe Falls to just two second-quarter points as the Cougars beat the Bulldogs 63-43 Saturday for their second consecutive Division I state championship and third in four years.
Canton GlenOakheaded to state
AKRON -- Kosta Koufos had a triple-double, finishing with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, to lead Canton GlenOak to an 83-50 win over Akron Firestone in a boys Division I regional final Saturday night.
CINCINNATI -- Walt Gibler scored 28 points and assisted on Michael Budde's layup with 2.3 seconds left as Cincinnati St. Xavier edged Cincinnati Withrow, 51-48; Troy Tabler scored 15 points to lead Cincinnati Moeller past Newark 55-44; Delvon Roe scored 19 points to lead top-ranked Lakewood St. Edward past Findlay 66-50, and Ashen Ward scored 10 points and hit the game-winning shot to lead Villa Angela-St. Joseph over Rocky River Lutheran West 55-52 in a Div. III regional final.
Tribe wins 5-0;Bucs lose to Yankees
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Ryan Garko, a converted catcher trying to win a spot on Cleveland's opening-day roster as a first baseman, drove in two runs but had one fielding error in the Indians' 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday.
C.C. Sabathia pitched five scoreless innings and Trevor Crowe drove in two runs for the Indians.
Also, Mike Mussina gave up three hits over five scoreless innings and Jason Giambi hit a grand slam off Zach Duke during a seven-run fourth in the New York Yankees' 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Tampa, Fla.
Vindicator staff/wire reports