The wrangling between St. Charles and the Ohio High School Athletic Association over the Cardinals’ postseason placement is ongoing, but the perennial big-school boys soccer power was part of the Division I district tournament draw Oct. 17.
St. Charles earned the third seed in the Central District after a 13-3-1 regular season and will host No. 25 Newark in a district semifinal Oct. 21.
Defending state champion Dublin Jerome (14-2-1) and Olentangy Orange (14-0-3) are the top two seeds, respectively.
The bracket was posted by the Central District on its website and confirmed by St. Charles coach Chris Vonau.
The draws for divisions I and II statewide had been postponed six days because of the OHSAA’s appeal of a Franklin County Common Pleas judgment
that said St. Charles could compete in Division I rather than its assigned classification of Division II.
“We still hope to win our appeal,” OHSAA director of media relations Tim Stried told The Dispatch on Oct. 16, adding that there are “several scenarios” in play if the OHSAA wins its appeal and where the tournament stands at that time.
Vonau did not offer further comment on the court proceedings.
But given that divisions I and II begin postseason play the week of Oct. 18, a draw had to take place.
Two first-round games in Division I, Central Crossing at Grove City and Groveport at Pickerington Central, will be played Oct. 19.
District semifinals are Oct. 21, followed by district finals seven days later.
St. Charles is hoping for another lengthy postseason run. The Cardinals have reached three consecutive state tournaments, finishing as state runner-up in 2024.
Originally assigned to compete in Division II in the spring, an administrative oversight in failing to submit the proper paperwork to the OHSAA resulted in the Cardinals not being moved up to Division I, the classification in which they have competed since 1992.
St. Charles acknowledged during the summer that it missed the deadline to submit an opt-up form to the OHSAA, but miscommunication in the athletic department resulted in that form never being filed.
When final divisional assignments were released in June, St. Charles was surprised to find itself in Division II. The school filed a request for an injunction Sept. 11, asking for the team to be moved up to Division I.
A seven-page decision from Judge Jeffrey M. Brown allowed St. Charles to join Division I, but the OHSAA filed an emergency appeal to the 10th District Court of Appeals two days later.
“Our administrating [of] tournaments has so many procedures and timelines and deadlines … and essentially if we lose in court on this issue, what is to stop schools from challenging our deadlines from other procedures in a number of levels?” Stried told The Dispatch at that time.
St. Chales’ inclusion in Division I enlarges the tournament to 26 teams and also changes the Division II field, taking a district champion from the Central District and giving it to the Northeast District. Four area teams will reach the regional in Division II, and eight will advance from northeast Ohio.
Undefeated Westerville North (15-0-2) is the top seed locally in Division II.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: St. Charles soccer joins Division I tournament field amid court case
