Olentangy Liberty's girls lacrosse team walked onto the football field at halftime Aug. 28 and collected the hardware to match three straight state championships.

Members of the 2026 OHSAA Division I title squad received their championship rings during the football home opener against Glenville at Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell. The event marked the program's third consecutive ring ceremony.

No team in Olentangy Local School District history had ever won back-to-back-to-back state championships in any sport, according to the school's athletics department.

The Patriots finished 20-3, their fourth consecutive 20-win season under head coach Tim Bosco, who was named 2026 Columbus Dispatch Coach of the Year. Their postseason run cut through three ranked opponents: No. 4 New Albany in the regional final, No. 2 Hudson in an overtime semifinal and No. 1 Upper Arlington in the championship game. Liberty finished the season on a 13-game winning streak after a 14-5 loss at Upper Arlington on April 14.

Liberty beat Upper Arlington 9-8 on June 7 at Historic Crew Stadium, the fourth straight Division I final between the two programs, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Senior goalie Evie Howenstine made a point-blank save in the final seconds to preserve the one-goal win.

The semifinal against Hudson on June 2 was just as tight. Senior midfielder Megan Benton, an Ohio State signee, scored five goals, including the overtime winner with 2:13 remaining off an assist from Aubrey Bartosik. Bartosik had tied the game at 8 with 18 seconds left in regulation.

"That is kind of what this program has been built on, that grittiness and that toughness," Bosco told the Dispatch after the June 2 semifinal.

The program also swept the Ohio High School Girls Lacrosse Coaches Association's Division I Player of the Year awards at all four positions, a first in school history. Benton won at midfield, Bartosik at attack, Maggie Kempa at defense (tied with Upper Arlington's Lauren Burns) and Howenstine at goal, according to cleveland.com.

Liberty's lacrosse season is complete. The program's next season begins in spring 2027.