OHSAA approves state tournament sites for winter, spring sports

By Mitch Spinell

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A year after having to cancel the winter tournament and spring athletics seasons among high schools statewide, the Ohio High School Athletic Association approved state tournament locations for multiple winter and spring sports.

Akron will be home to the state baseball (June 10-12) and softball (June 3-5) tournaments this summer, which will be played at Canal Park and Firestone Stadium, respectively. Canal Park, home of the Cleveland Indians' Double-A affiliate Akron RubberDucks, will host the tournament for the second time since 2019. Firestone, which housed the former Akron Racers franchise of the National Pro Fastpitch softball league (as well as the Mid-American Conference tournament from 2002-05 and 2008-19), has hosted the state tournament since 2009.

The OHSAA board also approved the track and field championships split between three high schools: Hilliard Darby (Division I), Pickerington North (Division II), and Westerville North (Division III).

Meanwhile, the boys' tennis tournament will take place May 28-29 at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, just outside of Cincinnati.

Most of the winter sports' state tournament locations were confirmed at the OHSAA board meeting Thursday morning, including: bowling, at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl; swimming and diving, at Canton's Branin Natatorium; wrestling, and Hillard Darby (Division I), Marengo Highland (Division II), and Marion Harding (Division III) High Schools; ice hockey, at the OhioHealth Ice Haus in Columbus; and gymnastics, at Hilliard Bradley High School in Hilliard.

The OHSAA will later today announce the regional tournament locations for boys' and girls' basketball.