Sites set for hoops tourney

COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced the schedule and host sites for the girls and boys basketball state tournaments in March, with the University of Dayton Arena again serving as the primary venue.

Wright State University’s Nutter Center will host select girls and boys state semifinal games, while Vandalia Butler High School will host additional girls semifinal contests.

The girls state tournament will be contested over three days, while the boys tournament will span four days.

Last season, the OHSAA expanded postseason basketball from four divisions to seven, with state semifinals played at sites around Ohio and only the championship games held at UD Arena. This year, all 21 state tournament games — including semifinals and finals for both boys and girls — will be played in the Dayton area during their respective Final Four weekends.

UD Arena seats 13,400, while the Nutter Center has a capacity of 10,000. Vandalia Butler High School’s gymnasium seats approximately 4,500.

Mount Union gets three All-Americans

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Three Mount Union standouts earned spots on the 2025 Associated Press Division III All-America football teams on Thursday.

Senior offensive lineman Giovanni Kennedy and senior defensive lineman Kaleb Brown were named to the first team, while senior cornerback Kosta Thrasivoulou earned second team honors.

Kennedy, a senior from Avon and a St. Edward graduate, collected his second All-America honor this season and the fourth of his career. He anchored a Mount Union offensive line that led the Ohio Athletic Conference in scoring (43.5 points per game) and total offense (476.0 yards per game). The Purple Raiders ranked among the top 15 nationally in Division III in scoring offense, total offense and rushing offense. Kennedy was also named a first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, marking the second straight year he earned AP first team honors.

Brown, a senior from La Plata, Md., earned his first career AP first team selection and his second All-America honor of the season. He led Mount Union and the OAC with 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, recording double-digit sacks for the second consecutive year. Brown helped anchor a defense that ranked sixth nationally in Division III in scoring defense, allowing just 12.2 points per game. He was named OAC Defensive Lineman of the Year and earned All-OAC First Team honors for the second straight season. Brown noted his third career All-America selection.

Thrasivoulou, a senior from North Ridgeville, earned his first career All-America honor after leading Division III with 21 passes defended, including a nation-high 17 pass breakups. He also recorded a team-high four interceptions and finished with 51 solo tackles, second-most in the OAC.

This year’s All-America team was dedicated to the memory of former Mount Union sports information director Lenny Reich.

Biffle and family perish in crash

STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters and single and multi-engine planes. It wasn’t clear if Biffle was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.

Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,” the joint family statement said.

Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

NASCAR said it was devastated by the news.

“Greg was more than a champion driver; he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,” NASCAR said. “His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”

The plane, bound for Florida, took off from the Statesville airport shortly after 10 a.m., according to tracking data posted by FlightAware.com.

Golfers playing next to the airport were shocked as they witnessed the disaster, even dropping to the ground at the Lakewood Golf Club while the plane was overhead. The ninth hole was covered with debris.

“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s way too low,'” said Joshua Green of Mooresville. “It was scary.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating.

The Cessna plane, built in 1981, is a popular mid-sized business jet with an excellent reputation, aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said. It has two engines and typically seats six to eight passengers.

In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.

“The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, said.

Wadsworth was Biffle’s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.

“He didn’t know how to say no,” Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. “He loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.”

The joint family statement also spoke about Dutton and his son Jack, saying they were “deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.”

With 2025 almost over, there have been 1,331 U.S. crashes this year investigated by the NTSB, from two-seat planes to commercial aircraft, compared to a total of 1,482 in 2024.

Major air disasters around the world in 2025 include the plane-helicopter collision that killed 67 in Washington, the Air India crash that killed 260 in India, and a crash in Russia’s Far East that claimed 48 lives. Fourteen people, including 11 on the ground, died in a UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky.

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Robertson reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jenna Fryer in Charlotte, North Carolina; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Ed White in Detroit; and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this story.