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UNITED GIRLS DEFEATED
MINERVA -- Edison’s girls golf team beat United 177-217 on Friday at Edgewater.
Leading the Wildcats was Kallie McKeegan with a 39. Bella Evans added a 42, Mady Cornell 47 and Teagan Reynolds 49.
SCHOOL RECORD FOR MINERVA
MINERVA -- Minerva’s girls golf team defeated West Branch 157-188 on Friday at Great Trail Golf Course.
The team score of 157 was a school record for Minerva beating last season’s total of 163.
Peyton Beaumariage led the way for Minerva with a 36. Savanna Bartley recorded a 39, while Emery Sell had a 40. Delaney Sell had a 42.
For West Branch, Emma McLaughlin had a 44, Isabella Linger 45, Zoe Metzger 47, Kayelyn Schank 52 and Brylee Moore 52.
CRESTVIEW DROPS FIRST MATCH
CALCUTTA -- Champion defeated Crestview 154-177 in a golf match on Thursday at Beaver Creek Meadows.
Champion was led by medalist Gavin Torok, who fired a 34. Tyler Pruitt added a 39, Mason Pacman shot 40 and Dominic Hendrick carded a 41.
Crestview was paced by Derek Duvall with a 43. Grant Snyder followed with a 44, while Dominic Dillon and Hunter Panezott each shot 45.
Crestview will host Southeast on Monday at Beaver Creek Meadows.
HIMES RECORDS ACE
COLUMBIANA -- Mike Himes of Columbiana aced Valley Golf Club’s 140-yard, No. 2 with a 9 iron on Thursday.
Sean Zentner of Columbiana, Jerry Dejane of Poland and Henry Mroczkoski of Salem were witnesses.
All were playing in the Thirsty Night Men’s League.
FORMER BEAVER COACH GETS NEW POSITION
YOUNGSTOWN -- Former Beaver Local boys basketball coach Jason Pacanowski recently left his position as director of basketball operations for women’s basketball at Youngstown State University to join the university’s athletic financial aid compliance team as a counselor.
Pacanowksi had served at the women’s basketball operations director since 2019. Before that he was the Beaver Local boys basketball coach for three seasons where he went 22-45.
PENGUINS SNAG NOVAK
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins signed dependable forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension on Friday. The deal, which begins during the 2027-28 season, carries an average annual value of $4.65 million.
The 29-year-old Novak collected 16 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season while helping the Penguins return to the playoffs following a three-year absence.
Novak, who bounced between the second and third line during his first full season in Pittsburgh, had been scheduled to become a free agent next summer. The extension instead keeps him in the fold for the rest of the decade and positions him to be part of the club’s nucleus as it transitions out of the twilight of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang era.
CAVS GET SPANISH MVP
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Forward Mario Hezonja will return to the NBA for the first time in six years after signing a one-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hezonja has played the last four years for Real Madrid and was the Spanish League MVP after averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists this past season.
The 31-year-old from Croatia was the fifth overall pick by Orlando in the 2015 NBA draft and played five seasons for the Magic, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Hezonja also played in the EuroLeague for Panathinaikos in Greece and Russia’s UNICS Kazan.
Cleveland -- which advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season for the first time in 2018 -- had a need for depth in the front court after the departures of Dean Wade and Keon Ellis during free agency.
INJUNCTION GRANTS ATHLETES FIFTH SEASON
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Nashville chancellor granted a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other basketball players Friday giving them a fifth season of eligibility and the NCAA cannot keep any of them out of the transfer portal.
“Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026-2027 basketball season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination,” I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court wrote in her 33-page ruling.
Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered that the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 for any player wanting to enter and schools wanting to reach out.
The NCAA did not immediately respond Friday night to a text message or email from The Associated Press.
On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.
Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr, Mississippi; Jason Edwards, Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.
“Justice,” the Texas Trial Group posted on social media with a screengrab of the order.
Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling granting the injunction that “the NCAA has not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated student-athletes” with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to “certain groups of players.”
She noted a waiver for the 2025-26 season for those who played at least one season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended junior colleges.
The chancellor’s order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.
YOUNG ROLLS TO EARLY LEAD
DETROIT (AP) -- Cameron Young birdied seven of his first eight holes in the second round of the Rocket Classic and thought he had a shot at the lowest score in PGA Tour history.
“I was thinking 55,” he said.
Young cooled off with two birdies on his back nine in a bogey-free round, closing with a Detroit Golf Club-record tying 61 to reach 10 under for the tournament to tie Patrick Cantlay (66) and Patrick Fishburn (66) atop the leaderboard Friday.
“You hate to call it a disappointing 61,” he said, lamenting missing many birdie opportunities that preventing him from breaking Jim Furyk’s record 58 that has stood for a decade.
Young, the No. 3 player in the world with three wins this season, shot a 59 in 2024 at the Travelers Championship and had a chance to join Furyk with multiple sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour.
“It felt like I had a 10-footer for birdie on pretty much every hole,” Young said.
A lot of players took advantage of one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour.
Matt Wallace (64) and Rickie Fowler (68) were two shots back.
Fowler surged into the lead -- briefly -- at 11 under before falling back to the pack. He three-putted from 24 feet to bogey No. 11 and went from thigh-high fescue to a greenside bunker at No. 13, leading to his second of three bogeys on the back nine.
“Nice to finish with birdie on 18,” said Fowler, whose sixth and last win was the 2023 Rocket Classic. “A lot of good stuff today and nice to be in a good spot for the weekend.”