CHILLICOTHE — The Frontier Athletic Conference recognized some of the area’s top athletic performances of the spring season as the league announced its 2026 All-FAC honors across boys tennis, baseball, softball and track and field.Conference championships were decided in tightly contested races, while standout individual athletes left their mark on the season by earning Player of the Year honors.
Softball: Chillicothe, Jackson Share FAC Crown; Rittinger Named POYThe 2026 FAC softball season concluded with co-champions as Chillicothe and Jackson each finished 9-1 in conference play, sharing the league title.Chillicothe’s CJ Rittinger was named FAC Player of the Year, leading a Cavaliers squad that placed three additional players on the First Team All-FAC roster: Vivian Morgan and Cadie Boltenhouse.Jackson, co-champions of the conference, saw Lillie Eberts, Maddie Wright, Serenity Taylor and Izzy Swisher earn First Team honors.Miami Trace placed a pair of players on the top team with Kaylee Everhart and Zoey Grooms, while Olivia Stegbauer represented McClain and Chloe Roberts earned recognition for Hillsboro.
Honorable mention selections included Leah Lovett and Brie Cummins of McClain as well as Addley Miller and Peyton Spurlock from Hillsboro.
2026 Softball Final Standings
Chillicothe – 9-1 (Co-Champion)Jackson – 9-1 (Co-Champion)Miami Trace – 5-5Hillsboro – 4-6McClain – 3-7Washington Court House – 0-10
Boys Tennis: Flores Leads Chillicothe to FAC TitleChillicothe edged Jackson to claim the 2026 FAC Boys Tennis Championship, finishing with 48 points, narrowly ahead of the Ironmen’s 46 in one of the closest conference races of the spring.Leading the Cavaliers was Noah Flores, who earned FAC Player of the Year honors after capturing the conference singles championship. Chillicothe also landed Elijah Yandilla and Yohan Abreu on the First Team All-FAC list.Jackson nearly matched the Cavaliers point-for-point and was heavily represented among the conference’s top players with Christian Burcham, Fernando Villabrille, Grady Massie, Landon Profitt, Joel Carroll and Jayce Moore all earning First Team recognition.
2026 Boys Tennis Final Standings
Chillicothe – 48Jackson – 46Miami Trace – 25Hillsboro – 12Washington Court House – 10
Baseball: Jackson Captures Title Behind SeimetzJackson claimed the 2026 FAC baseball championship, finishing 9-1 in conference play and placing multiple athletes among the conference’s best.Ironmen standout Ryan Seimetz earned FAC Player of the Year honors, headlining a First Team group that included teammates Bodhi Wolford and Eli Ray.Runner-up Miami Trace featured a trio of First Team selections with Gage Bowers, Austin Brown and Brody McBee earning honors after helping the Panthers to an 8-2 conference finish.McClain was represented by Easton Ary, Connor Chandler and Carson Chandler, while Sam Lotz represented Washington Court House.Hillsboro’s Jack Cornele and Luke Holland rounded out the First Team selections.Honorable Mention honorees included Eshon Brown (Chillicothe), Aden Osborne (Washington), Rylan Wyant (Jackson) and Cooper Enochs (Miami Trace).
2026 Baseball Final Standings
Jackson – 9-1Miami Trace – 8-2McClain – 4-6Hillsboro – 3-7 (tie)Washington Court House – 3-7 (tie)Chillicothe – 3-7 (tie)
Girls Track & Field: Miami Trace Dominates; Kovalchik Earns Top HonorMiami Trace turned in a dominant performance to win the 2026 FAC Girls Track & Field Championship, scoring 197 points to finish comfortably ahead of the field.Panther standout Abigail Kovalchik was named FAC Girls Track Athlete of the Year after claiming First Team honors in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles, while also contributing to Miami Trace’s championship relay teams (4 x 100 M Relay – Bella Shull, Abigail Kovalchik, Emma Hoppes, Lily Siler).Distance standout Alli Knecht earned multiple First Team nods after winning the 800-meter and 1600-meter runs, and helping power Miami Trace relay success (4 x 400 M Relay: Lily Siler, Aubrey Creed, Emma Hoppes, Alli Knecht – 4 x 800 M Relay: Karleigh Cooper, Tori Peterson, Ava Shull, Alli Knecht).Other event champions included Olivia Covault of Hillsboro (400-meter dash, 4 x 200 M Relay: Meredith Dietrick, Kobie Miles, Alizeh Hudson, Olivia Covault), Gabby Maranzana of Chillicothe (3200-meter run), Mylie Lovett of McClain (high jump), Lillian Mapes of Jackson (long jump), Becca Bergstrom of McClain (pole vault), Laveah Hudson of Chillicothe (discus) and Parker Curtis of Jackson (shot put).
2026 Girls Track & Field Final Standings
Miami Trace – 197Hillsboro – 115.5Chillicothe – 98Jackson – 97McClain – 72Washington Court House – 65.5
Boys Track & Field: Beverly Powers Chillicothe Championship RunChillicothe captured the 2026 FAC Boys Track & Field Championship with 153 points, edging Miami Trace in a highly competitive meet.Cavalier standout Jayden Beverly was named FAC Boys Track Athlete of the Year after dominating distance events, earning First Team honors in the 800-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs, while also helping Chillicothe’s 4×800 relay team (Jayden Beverly, Payne Huggins, Grayson Roberts, Levi Wood) to top honors.Miami Trace countered with standout performances from Will Enochs (200 Meter Dash), Janson Smith (400 Meter Dash) and Kooper Hicks (110 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles), who combined for multiple individual and relay championships (4 x 100 Meter Relay: Jadin Armstrong, Hayden Cornell, Will Enochs, Julian Baker – 4 x 400 Meter Relay: Janson Smith, Will Enochs, Bodie Gurr, Kooper Hicks.Additional First Team honorees included Cartae Ligon of Chillicothe (100-meter dash), CJ Crabtree of Jackson (high jump), Andrew Young and Cooper Heidler of Washington Court House (long jump and pole vault) and Trace McAllister of Chillicothe, who swept the throwing events in the shot put and discus.
2026 Boys Track & Field Final Standings
Chillicothe – 153Miami Trace – 132Hillsboro – 119Jackson – 112Washington Court House – 78McClain – 48
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: FAC Announces Spring Sports All-Conference Honors, Players of the Year
Reporting by Tom Wilson, Chillicothe Gazette / Chillicothe Gazette
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