December 23, 2014 at 5:52 p.m.
Season’s wish list includes athletes
Rays of Insight
Christmas is the season for giving.
But each year my Christmas column is a list of things I want.
Hopefully the fact that I’m asking mostly for gifts for others, mitigates that issue.
Sure, there are things I want for myself as a sports fan, like a Cleveland Browns winning season. But I’ve been asking for that for quite a while, and Santa Claus seems unable to deliver.
(Then again, LeBron took his talents back to northeast Ohio, so I guess as a fan of Cleveland sports I really have nothing to complain about.)
So, here are my wishes for the sports world this year.
State success
Local athletes have done well at the state finals during the winter season over the last several years.
Last season, Eric Hemmelgarn became the first Jay County High School wrestler to win three state medals. A year earlier, he and teammate Kyle Garringer both made the podium, and Anne Vormohr became the first Patriot girls swimmer to finish among the top eight in the state.
That’s not to mention state-medal efforts from South Adams wrestlers Sawyer Miller, Todd Batt and L.J. Moser.
This year could be an especially big one for local swimmers, with Vormohr looking to earn her second medal, her teammates Katy Smeltzer, Sophie Bader and Alex Bader also hoping for individual and relay success. Cady Farlow, a Starfire senior, is focused on a state medal in the 100-yard breaststroke after shattering her own school record a season ago.
And on the wrestling front, Miller will be seeking his top-four state finish, and his brother, 106-pounder Wyatt, could join him at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
A return trip
Speaking of the state finals, I’m also wishing for the Jay County High School gymnastics team to return to Ball State University’s Worthen Arena.
Only two teams have advanced to the state finals in the nearly 40 years JCHS has been in existence. The first was the 2005-06 Patriot boys basketball team, which topped Plymouth in overtime in the semi-state before falling to New Castle in the Class 3A state title game. The other, was last season’s gymnasts.
Jay County lost Tasya Smith to graduation, but will add freshman Courtney Miles.
She joins a group that includes Lizzy Schoenlein, Malarie Houck and Maddie Strausburg, all of whom competed in two or more events at the state finals last season.
It won’t be easy as they’ll have to fight through a Fort Wayne regional that will include perennial state contender Bishop Dwenger, but the Patriots have the talent to be back in the finals again.
Healthy seasons
One of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed covering sports is because in the end, it’s all about fun and games. We care a lot about winning and losing, but it’s not life and death.
The worst part, though, about following sports is seeing athletes’ seasons come to an end because of injury.
Last fall Fort Recovery’s Jackson Hobbs suffered a season-ending injury on the football field. In the winter, a knee injury sidelined fellow Indian Haley Knapke. A cracked vertebrae put Morgan Alberson of South Adams out of action in April, and in September a gridiron injury ended Drew Huffman’s year.
The worst of all injuries are those that end seniors’ careers, which happened last month when FRHS senior Caley Schoenherr blew out her knee before the season event began.
I wish for speedy recoveries for those athletes, and all who have suffered injuries, and for safety for all of those competing for our local sports teams.
A reunion
Moving is a fact of life.
Friends come in and out of our lives. Such was the case last week when the Mathias family left Jay County.
Matt Mathias found a new job in southeastern Illinois, and he and his family — wife Tiffany and daughter Sydney — made the move to Vincennes. (Son Evan is a freshman at Marian University in Indianapolis.)
The Patriots girls swimmers said tearful goodbyes to Tiffany, their assistant coach, on Dec. 15 and Sydney, their teammate, a day later.
Sydney will continue her swimming career for Lincoln. And she could help the Alices overtake Jasper for the sectional title and a state berth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
If so, she could reunite with several of her former teammates at the state finals, where she competed for the Patriots last season in the 400 freestyle relay.
It would be great to see last week’s tears turn into happy hugs in mid-February. After all, isn’t the spirit of this holiday at its best when it’s shared with friends?
Merry Christmas.
But each year my Christmas column is a list of things I want.
Hopefully the fact that I’m asking mostly for gifts for others, mitigates that issue.
Sure, there are things I want for myself as a sports fan, like a Cleveland Browns winning season. But I’ve been asking for that for quite a while, and Santa Claus seems unable to deliver.
(Then again, LeBron took his talents back to northeast Ohio, so I guess as a fan of Cleveland sports I really have nothing to complain about.)
So, here are my wishes for the sports world this year.
State success
Local athletes have done well at the state finals during the winter season over the last several years.
Last season, Eric Hemmelgarn became the first Jay County High School wrestler to win three state medals. A year earlier, he and teammate Kyle Garringer both made the podium, and Anne Vormohr became the first Patriot girls swimmer to finish among the top eight in the state.
That’s not to mention state-medal efforts from South Adams wrestlers Sawyer Miller, Todd Batt and L.J. Moser.
This year could be an especially big one for local swimmers, with Vormohr looking to earn her second medal, her teammates Katy Smeltzer, Sophie Bader and Alex Bader also hoping for individual and relay success. Cady Farlow, a Starfire senior, is focused on a state medal in the 100-yard breaststroke after shattering her own school record a season ago.
And on the wrestling front, Miller will be seeking his top-four state finish, and his brother, 106-pounder Wyatt, could join him at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
A return trip
Speaking of the state finals, I’m also wishing for the Jay County High School gymnastics team to return to Ball State University’s Worthen Arena.
Only two teams have advanced to the state finals in the nearly 40 years JCHS has been in existence. The first was the 2005-06 Patriot boys basketball team, which topped Plymouth in overtime in the semi-state before falling to New Castle in the Class 3A state title game. The other, was last season’s gymnasts.
Jay County lost Tasya Smith to graduation, but will add freshman Courtney Miles.
She joins a group that includes Lizzy Schoenlein, Malarie Houck and Maddie Strausburg, all of whom competed in two or more events at the state finals last season.
It won’t be easy as they’ll have to fight through a Fort Wayne regional that will include perennial state contender Bishop Dwenger, but the Patriots have the talent to be back in the finals again.
Healthy seasons
One of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed covering sports is because in the end, it’s all about fun and games. We care a lot about winning and losing, but it’s not life and death.
The worst part, though, about following sports is seeing athletes’ seasons come to an end because of injury.
Last fall Fort Recovery’s Jackson Hobbs suffered a season-ending injury on the football field. In the winter, a knee injury sidelined fellow Indian Haley Knapke. A cracked vertebrae put Morgan Alberson of South Adams out of action in April, and in September a gridiron injury ended Drew Huffman’s year.
The worst of all injuries are those that end seniors’ careers, which happened last month when FRHS senior Caley Schoenherr blew out her knee before the season event began.
I wish for speedy recoveries for those athletes, and all who have suffered injuries, and for safety for all of those competing for our local sports teams.
A reunion
Moving is a fact of life.
Friends come in and out of our lives. Such was the case last week when the Mathias family left Jay County.
Matt Mathias found a new job in southeastern Illinois, and he and his family — wife Tiffany and daughter Sydney — made the move to Vincennes. (Son Evan is a freshman at Marian University in Indianapolis.)
The Patriots girls swimmers said tearful goodbyes to Tiffany, their assistant coach, on Dec. 15 and Sydney, their teammate, a day later.
Sydney will continue her swimming career for Lincoln. And she could help the Alices overtake Jasper for the sectional title and a state berth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
If so, she could reunite with several of her former teammates at the state finals, where she competed for the Patriots last season in the 400 freestyle relay.
It would be great to see last week’s tears turn into happy hugs in mid-February. After all, isn’t the spirit of this holiday at its best when it’s shared with friends?
Merry Christmas.
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