Teams off to strong starts

We’re less than two weeks into the spring sports season.
But it’s never too early to get excited about how much success a team is having or how much improvement it has shown from the previous season. And there have been plenty of both among area teams.

The South Adams …
… High School track teams opened their seasons with wins over Winchester and then got off to a good start in the Allen County Athletic Conference. Both the boys, who have their sights set on the league title, and the girls topped Garrett and Adams Central on Tuesday in their first ACAC action of the year.
Distance runners Hannah Moore, a four-year letter winner, and Evan Liechty, a junior who qualified for the cross country state finals in the fall, have been among the leaders thus far. Each has won both the 1,600-meter run and 3,200 run at the first two meets.
Joel Schmidt, the top returning scorer for the Starfire boys, has also been a double winner at both meets thus far in the hurdle events.

The track season …
… at JCHS has gotten off to a strong start as well. The girls stayed unbeaten Tuesday with their victory over Richmond, and the boys also  defeated the Red Devils to improve to 4-1.
The Patriot girls are chasing their third straight sectional championship with two-time state qualifier Maria Murphy and senior state hopeful Katie Simmons leading the way.
They are loaded with depth, especially in the long-distance events, and are always a threat to sweep the field events.
Dylan Cope has continued the success he saw in the cross country season to lead the boys team, having won two events at each of its three meets thus far. Jay County has finished fourth in the sectional in each of the last two seasons after winning the 2009 title, but has shown promise so far in its goal of climbing back toward the top of the standings.

In terms of …
… improvement, the Fort Recovery baseball team stands out.
The Indians were once on a run of three straight sectional championships from 2006 through ’08 under then-coach Aaron Vaughn. But without a junior varsity team for several seasons, the program fell on hard times.
FRHS won just two games in each of the last two seasons, and has not earned a Midwest Athletic Conference victory since 2008.
With its one-run, comeback win Monday over Franklin Monroe, the Indians have already doubled last season’s win total less than three weeks into the 2012 campaign.
Jerry Kaup’s team may not make it back to .500 this year, but it is definitely heading in the right direction.
And with just three seniors on the roster, and the return of a junior varsity team as a feeder system, prospects for the future are bright.

JCHS baseball …
… represents the best of both worlds, having parlayed improvement from last season into an outstanding start.
With only two seniors on the roster, Jay County finished 2011 at 6-18. Just getting back to .500 would have been a good goal.
So far, the Patriots are perfect.
JCHS kicked off the season on the final day of March with a 4-1 victory over Northeastern and ran its record to 5-0 with a 10-1 win Monday over Muncie Central. Four of its first five games have been away from home and it will play on the road again tonight at Wapahani before returning to Don E. Selvey Field on Saturday to take on Connersville.
The team has allowed more than three runs just once in five games — an 8-6 victory over Winchester — and seniors Ty Huntsman and Andy Haffner already have two wins apiece. And an offense whose best returning hitter batted .288 last season is scoring an average of 9.5 runs per game.
The Patriots haven’t had a winning record since going 25-3 in 2008. They are well on the way to ending that drought.[[In-content Ad]]