Johnson places ninth in conference

Three local athletics competed Saturday at the Mid-Central Conference Cross Country Championships, with one finishing in the top 10 and another leading her squad.
Amanda Johnson, a 2008 Jay County High School graduate, turned in the best time from the group of local runners as she helped the NAIA No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan women’s team to its fifth straight conference title.
Johnson crossed the finish line in ninth place overall and was the No. 6 runner for the Wildcats as she crossed the finish line side-by-side with freshman teammate Alyssa Foss. The runners finished with identical times of 19 minutes, 1.9 seconds for the 5K race.
Allison Beitler (South Adams – 2010) led the Goshen College squad, which finished sixth in the nine-team field. She was 23rd overall in 19:45.1.
Sam Heckard (South Adams – 2010) competed in the MCC men’s race for Bethel College, which placed eighth. He turned in a time of 29:46 in the 7K race to finish fifth on the Pilots’ squad and 74th overall.

Tyler Rigby
Jay County – 2006
Kept the Indiana University – East men’s basketball team rolling to a 4-0 start with a combined 59 points in his last two games.
Rigby, who is averaging 27.3 points per game, led the Red Wolves to a 118-95 victory Tuesday with 28 points against Michigan-Detroit. He shot 11-18 from the field and hit all of his five three throws.
The senior also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
He was even better in the previous game Saturday against Union College, shooting 11-of-16 from the field for 31 points in an 81-73 victory.
He hit four 3-pointers, and had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Rigby has shot 59 percent over the last three games.

Maddie Moore
South Adams – 2009
Was one of two Bluffton University women’s soccer players to be honored by the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference team.
Moore was named to the All-HCAC second-team for the second consecutive year.
She started 17 games for the Beavers this season and finished second on the squad in goals (four) and points (nine).
The sophomore helped Bluffton to its best conference record in school history as it finished at 4-4-1.

Pazia Speed
Jay County – 2010
Led the Huntington University women’s basketball team in scoring in the first game of her collegiate career.
Speed came off the bench to score 13 points for the Foresters Nov. 3 in their season-opening 61-53 victory over Indiana Tech. She hit all of her six free throw attempts and also totaled four rebounds and an assist.
She followed up that effort with seven points, five rebounds and two assists Saturday in Huntington’s 75-57 win Saturday over Trinity International. And Wednesday she contributed three rebounds, one assist and one steal as the Foresters defeated Aquinas 71-51.

Tiff Gaerke
Fort Recovery – 2007
Served three aces Sunday in the NCAA Division I No. 17 University of Dayton volleyball team’s 17th straight victory, a 25-21, 25-17, 25-12 win over Charlotte.
Gaerke also had a pair of digs as the Flyers improved to 22-3, 13-0 in the Atlantic 10. She finished with five digs Friday as Dayton defeated La Salle in three games.
Frank Thien
Fort Recovery – 2009
Saw action for the Ohio Northern University football team, which is ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division III, in a 44-6 victory over Wilmington.
Thien is a sophomore wide receiver for the Polar Bears, who have won five in a row and are 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Their only loss of the season came against second-ranked Mount Union.[[In-content Ad]]