Tyler Hohman, who was a freshman in the program when the Stallions made their first appearance at the state tournament in 2006, gave the program a benchmark performance by finishing as the Division II state runner-up. Hohman shot a 149 to finish second to Jackson's Morgan Dobbins (147).

"I just kept my mind right and really putted well," said Hohman, who shot a 73 on the first day of competition. "Our team moved down to Division II this year and this is definitely a big accomplishment for us. It's a younger group and everyone did a good job of not letting the pressure get to them."

DeSales finished fourth (635) to Dayton Oakwood (623). Also competing for the Stallions were Nick Burtner (11th, 154), Chad Ransom (24th, 164), Ryan Landis (35th, 168) and Brian Bohus (66th, 188).

After the 2006 appearance in which the Stallions finished eighth (716) to Hunting Valley University School (676), the program moved into Division I for two seasons.

•The doubles team of Kim My Li and My Linh Li made it to the Division II state tennis tournament, which starts Friday at Ohio State and concludes Saturday at Hilliard Davidson.

The Li sisters defeated Columbus Academy's Sri Kundur and Parul Reddy 6-0, 6-1 in a state qualifying match last Friday at Columbus School for Girls before returning last Saturday to defeat Bexley's Maddie Morton and Corinne Rauck 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, to win the district championship.

"They have a pretty good shot (at state) if they can handle the pressure," coach Pablo Russo said. "Tennis-wise, you won't find better players. But if you put the pressure on top of it, it can work against you. If we can handle the pressure, talking during the changeovers, they'll be fine."

The Li sisters open state against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's Kassi Faugno and Dominique Baxter, who won the Southwest District tournament.

•The girls cross country team won the CCL championship last Saturday at Otterbein, finishing with 45 points to beat runner-up Columbus School for Girls (63).

Melissa Thompson won in 20 minutes, 8.9 seconds to secure a third CCL title.

Julie Anderson was fifth for the Stallions (21:05), followed by Amy Schockling (eighth, 21:28.71), Erica Davis (15th, 22:20.9), Amy Trabold (16th, 22:22.96), Rachel Braun (24th, 22:55.34) and Claire Koberman (26th, 23:02.62).

The Stallions are seeded second for the Division II district meet Saturday at Watkins Memorial. They will compete in the district 2 race with third-seeded Big Walnut, seventh-seeded Ready and eighth-seeded London.

"The opportunity is there for Melissa (to win a district championship)," Lennon said. "It will come down to us and Big Walnut."

The boys team was fifth (120) in the CCL meet, behind CCL champion St. Charles (32). Dan Harr was the team's best finisher (13th, 18:19.46). The Stallions are seeded sixth for the district meet. They will compete in the district 2 race with second-seeded Bexley, third-seeded London, fourth-seeded Hartley and seventh-seeded Watterson.

The top four teams and those individuals not on a qualifying team who finish in the top 16 in both the boys and girls races will advance to the regional meet Oct. 31 at Pickerington North.

•The sixth-seeded girls soccer team opens in the Division I tournament today against Hilliard Bradley or Whetstone.

The Stallions are in the same district bracket as top-seeded Upper Arlington, seventh-seeded Thomas Worthington and ninth-seeded Westerville Central.

When it came time to choose a path to the district title, coach Joshua Brader wasn't deterred by a potential matchup with Upper Arlington.

"If you're going to be good in the tournament, you have to beat everybody," Brader said. "With Upper Arlington, Watterson and Pickerington North as the top three seeds, we were going to go wherever (a second round space) was open."

The Stallions enter the tournament on a two-game losing streak. They fell to Dublin Jerome 1-0 on Oct. 15 and lost to Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 4-1 on Oct. 17 to finish the regular season 10-4-2 overall and 4-1 in the CCL.

Bradley was 8-7-1 overall before playing Whetstone last Tuesday in a first-round game. Whetstone was 4-6 going into that game.

The winner will play Tuesday at home in a district semifinal against ninth-seeded Westerville Central, Hartley, Lancaster or New Albany.

Central was 10-4-2 before playing Lancaster, which was 5-8-3, in a first-round game last Tuesday. Hartley was 10-4-2 before playing New Albany, which was 8-4-3, in a first-round game last Tuesday.

The district semifinal winner will play in a district final at 12 p.m. Oct. 31 against Upper Arlington, Thomas Worthington, Centennial, Groveport, Marysville or Mount Vernon.

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the DeSales boys soccer, girls soccer and volleyball teams:

BOYS SOCCER

*Last Tuesday -- Defeated Worthington Christian 4-1

Oct. 15 -- Def. Dublin Jerome 2-1 in regular season finale

Today -- Home vs. Licking Heights in the second round of the Division II district tournament. The winner will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against London, Olentangy or Mifflin. The winner of that contest will play at 4 p.m. Oct. 31 at Grandview in a district final against Centennial, Granville, Hartley, Hilliard Bradley or Jonathan Alder. The Stallions are the top seed.

Of note: The Stallions are 12-1-3 overall and finished 5-0 in the CCL.

GIRLS SOCCER

Oct. 15 -- Lost to Dublin Jerome 1-0

Last Saturday -- Lost to Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 4-1

Today -- Home vs. Hilliard Bradley or Whetstone in the second round of the Division I district tournament. The winner will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home in a district semifinal against ninth-seeded Westerville Central, Hartley, Lancaster or New Albany. The winner of that contest will play at 12 p.m. Oct. 31 in a district final against top-seeded Upper Arlington, seventh-seeded Thomas Worthington, Centennial, Groveport, Marysville or Mount Vernon. The Stallions are the sixth seed.

Of note: The Stallions are 10-4-2 overall and finished 4-1 in the CCL.

VOLLEYBALL

Oct. 13 -- Lost to Gilead Christian 25-17, 25-9, 15-25, 25-18

Last Tuesday -- At Pickerington North vs. Licking Valley in the first round of the Division II district tournament. The winner will play fifth-seeded Buckeye Valley at 4 p.m. Saturday at Westerville South in a second round game. The winner of that contest will play Oct. 29 in a district semifinal against top-seeded Hartley, Beechcroft or Mifflin.

Of note: The Stallions were 11-11 overall before last Tuesday and finished 4-6 in the CCL.

*CCL contest