Jay girls seek fourth straight

Not long ago the Patriots were the team that couldn’t get to the top.
Now they’re the group everyone else is chasing.
No one on the Jay County High School girls track team has experienced anything except sectional triumph as the Patriots enter this season as the three-time defending sectional champions.
“This group of seniors as the opportunity to be the first team in track to go through all four years and not have lost,” said JCHS coach Brian McEvoy, whose team put together an undefeated regular season in 2012. “I know a lot of them have talked about it. Once you get to the top, you don’t want to be the second or third place team or anything like that.”
Jay County struggled to get to the top, having finished second in 2008 by 10 points and in ’09 by an agonizing one-fifth of a point. But it broke through to win the 2010 sectional championship and has taken each of the last three titles by 50 or more points.
The Patriots have built their run of sectional titles on depth, and they will have plenty of it this year as they return eight athletes who combined to earn regional berths in 12 individual events last season. They also return all four of their runners from the sectional championship 4x400-meter relay team.
The top returning tournament performer in the bunch is junior Ciera Barcus, who won sectional titles in both the long jump and high jump last season and went on to score in both events at the regional meet.
“She’s constantly improving at those events,” said McEvoy. “I know this year she has some big goals.
“She wanted to go to the indoor state final meet, and she did that and jumped pretty well there. … She would like to go to the outdoor state finals. …
“She’s worked hard. … She’s stronger than she’s ever been.”
The team also brings back its top two scorers from the 2012 season in sprinter Katie Snyder and hurdler Malarie Houck.
Snyder was the sectional runner-up in the 100 dash by 0.07 seconds and 200 dash by 0.1 seconds to Delta’s Breana Anderson last season. And she’s set a goal to claim those sectional titles this year.
“It’s Katie Snyder’s team now that she’s here from gymnastics,” said McEvoy of the senior, who has signed to run next season at Indiana Wesleyan University. “She’s one of the better athletes. ... She’s not afraid to be a leader.”
Houck finished as the sectional runner-up in the 300 hurdles, and was also fourth in the long jump. The sophomore was a sectional favorite in the 100 hurdles, but was disqualified because of a false start.
Abigail Johnson, who won the cross country sectional title in the fall, will focus on the 1,600 run in track after taking second place in the 800 run at the sectional meet a year ago. And Amber Huelskamp will return after placing fourth last season in both the 400 dash and high jump.
Other returning regional qualifiers include Sara Lennartz (third – discus), Tasya Smith (fourth – 100 dash) and Kaitlin Hemmelgarn (fourth – 3,200 run). Abbi Dunlavy, who is slated to compete in the 800 run this season, and Alexis Myers (sprints) also scored points for the Patriots in individual events at the 2012 sectional meet.
“Overall we’ve got a team that has really good chemistry and they work really well together,” said McEvoy. “They did a really good job in the indoor season. There are some pieces there to hopefully build around and help us be successful outdoors.”
Jay County also expects to get key contributions from a group of freshmen that includes Emi Minnich, Megan Wellman and Kelly Fortkamp, who all played key roles in leading Jay County to its seventh straight cross country sectional title in the fall. Wellman will compete in the 800 run and possibly the high jump, with Minnich in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
“They’re not going to run like freshmen,” McEvoy. “They didn’t in cross country, and I don’t think they’re going to in track. … They’re pretty open to running anything and everything. They like the challenge. They’re going to be a key, crucial part to our program.”
Another freshman, Emma Laux, will join Snyder, Smith, Huelskamp and sophomore Morgan Brown in the sprints.
Lennartz will be looked upon to lead a group of throwers that lost three-time state qualifier and 2012 discus state medalist Maria Murphy to graduation. Joining her will be McKensie Muhlenkamp, Hannah Lykins and Audrey Hall.
The squad will be looking for its fourth straight sectional title, and will do so in a sectional group that now includes Yorktown along with perennial contenders Muncie Central and Delta.
“Sectional is our No. 1 goal,” said McEvoy. “That’s the thing that people remember. That’s the thing that goes in the trophy case. That’s the thing that sets you apart from previous teams.
“That’s our No. 1 drive. Hopefully at the end of May we’ll be at our best.”[[In-content Ad]]