‘It could be any team’: Is Thomas Worthington field hockey still the favorite?
Monday, October 18, 2026
By Michael Rich
mrichnotwealthy@gmail.com
Thomas Worthington senior Peyton Frost (left), leads the Cardinals with 17 assists this season. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Peyton Frost is well aware that she’s going to get an opponent’s best effort. The senior forward welcomes the challenge her Thomas Worthington field hockey team faces every time they step on the field.
The Cardinals, winners of a record four consecutive state championships and 10 overall, are a decidedly younger team this year. They had to replace their top two scorers and three of their top four from last year’s team.
Frost, goalie Mae Conroy and defender Macy Morgan are the only three seniors on the team.
So, it’s been an adjustment for second-ranked Thomas (13-3-2).
“I want to feel like I’m being challenged,” said Frost, who is also the daughter of Cardinals coach Terri Simonetti Frost. “I need to feel that rush. I like learning on the turf. If I’m not learning something and just doing the same thing during practice, it’s not helping me.”
Frost leads Thomas with 17 assists and is second on the team with 13 goals behind sophomore forward Camryn Spears (23 goals, 13 assists). Conroy, an Indiana-commit, has 90 saves and leads a defense that has 11 shutouts.
Simonetti Frost, who is in her 28th year at Thomas pointed out that the Cardinals can’t just show up and win.
“We gotta be on top of it,” she said. “We make one mistake and we’re in trouble.”
The Cardinals lead area teams in the latest MaxPreps state rankings, last updated Oct. 19.
Winners of a record four consecutive state titles, Thomas may not be the favorite to win again this year.
When New Albany field hockey coach Marissa Weldon was asked at the beginning of the season who she thought were the top teams in the area, she had a difficult time coming up with a favorite.
“I’m hesitant to name names because this could be anybody’s year,” the Eagles coach responded.
New Albany senior Riley Snead, a defender who works the entire field, has become a leader for the Eagles this season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
It wasn’t just coach-speak either. Central Ohio has truly been a whirlwind this season.
Along with Thomas, Columbus-area teams boast seven of the top 10 spots in the state in third-ranked Columbus Academy (14-2-1), fourth-ranked Upper Arlington (12-5-1), fifth-ranked New Albany (14-3-1), seventh-ranked Olentangy Liberty (11-5), eighth-ranked Worthington Kilbourne (12-5-1) and ninth-ranked Watterson (11-7).
The Vikings’ 12 state titles are still the most in OHSAA history.
“It’s anybody’s ballgame,” Simonetti Frost said. “I think we have a lot of really talented teams. I think that for the first time in a long time (in the) pool of the top eight, anybody could get knocked off. It’s going to be a very interesting playoff for sure.”
The transitive property in sports is that if Team A beats Team B and Team B beats Team C, then Team A should beat Team C. But the transitive property won’t be very much help in figuring it out either.
Make sure to breathe …
Thomas Worthington beat Upper Arlington (1-0 on Sept. 9) but lost to Academy (1-0 on Sept. 29) and Watterson (1-0 on Oct. 7) The Cardinals also tied New Albany (0-0 on Oct. 12).
UA beat Academy (3-1 on Sept. 16), Watterson (1-0 on Sept. 28), but lost to New Albany (1-0 on Oct. 7).
Watterson beat Academy 2-1 on Aug. 31, and Academy beat New Albany 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 8.
Then there’s eighth-ranked Worthington Kilbourne, which defeated New Albany 1-0 on Sept. 21 and played Academy to a scoreless draw on Aug. 27.
“It’s just been this round robin,” Liberty coach Marianne Flannery said. “Even if you get the win, it’s 1-0. When it’s a one-goal game and you play that team again, it could go either way.”
Olentangy Liberty junior Kennedy Turner (15) maneuvers in traffic against Olentangy Berlin in a game last Thursday. Photo: Michael Rich
Despite area dominance in the rankings, it’s an outside team that might actually be the favorite to win it all.
Top-ranked Shaker Heights is undefeated with wins over Watterson (7-1 on Sept. 19), Thomas (2-0 on Oct. 9) and New Albany (4-1 on Oct. 10).
The Raiders were upset in last year’s regional final by Hudson, who they defeated 2-0 on Sept. 29.
Hudson is ranked sixth and Cincinnati Indian Hill is 10th, representing the other three teams in the top 10.
Liberty owns a 4-1 win on Aug. 22 over 12th-ranked Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, a perennial power that’s made state the last five consecutive years, six out of seven and 12 times overall.
Thomas, New Albany and UA are the top three seeds in the Central Region are all in the same bracket, which draws the Cincinnati-area winner in the state semifinal round, which is Nov. 5 at Thomas’ Hamilton Field.
If the seeding holds, the Eagles and the Golden Bears would play in a regional semifinal and wouldn’t see Thomas until the final.
But the seeding might not hold.
“We’ve always seen the regional final be – for the most part – competitive games,” Flannery said. “(This year), I think we’re going to see that in the second round.”
Again, if the seeding holds, fifth-seeded Watterson would match up with sixth-seeded Kilbourne and fourth-seeded Academy would play seventh-seeded Liberty in the regional semifinal round. That region winner plays the Cleveland-area winner in the other state semifinal.
The state championship is Nov. 7 at Thomas.
“Any team can beat any team at any given moment,” Liberty junior midfielder Avery Garrett said. “That’s just a big motivation for me and my team because it could be Liberty this year. It could be any team.”
Upper Arlington goaltender Peyton Garvey (90), a sophomore, makes a save against Thomas Worthington last season. Photo: Kevin Rouch