Repeat seasons possible for local athletes

It’s time.
Though the snow on the ground this morning tells a different story, spring is here.
After cancellations Saturday and Monday, the Jay County High School spring sports season is set to get underway today. (Again, Mother Nature could have something to say about this.)
A couple of weeks ago, prior to Ohio getting its spring activities underway, sports editor Chris Schanz took a look at some of the teams to watch over the next few months. Today, it’s time for the individuals.
Jay County, Fort Recovery and South Adams all have some strong athletes who have a chance to make some noise this year. Let’s meet a few of them.

Jay Houck
Coming off of a standout basketball campaign in which he climbed the JCHS career scoring list, including a career-high 35-point effort in the sectional against Fort Wayne South Side, Houck is again expected to lead the Patriots on the golf course.
Houck was already the top player for Jay County last season when he averaged 41.9 strokes for a nine-hole round. We can only expect that his goal is to be in the 30s this year.
The junior finished eighth in the Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament last season, earning all-conference honors. He was also just one stroke away from advancing to the regional tournament.
Houck is in prime position to be among the best golfers in the ACAC and the sectional this year.

Addie Wanner
Like Houck, she’s already had quite a bit of success this year.
Though she took a break during the winter, the South Adams High School sophomore was part of one of the best volleyball seasons in school history. She helped lead the Starfires to their first sectional championship in nearly two decades.
Now she’ll be looking to help the Starfires repeat as ACAC champions in girls track.
Wanner’s best opportunity to make noise in the postseason is in a field event — the high jump. She finished as the sectional runner-up as a freshman, and came up just an inch short of earning a spot at the state finals with her leap of 5 feet, 2 inches, at the regional meet at Indiana Wesleyan University.
She’s a threat in the hurdles as well, having finished third in the sectional and ninth in the regional in the 100-meter race.

Kyle Schroer
Fort Recovery’s baseball team has plenty of talent returning, but no one may be hungrier than Schroer.
The senior broke his leg during the Indians’ football tournament run and missed playing in the state championship game. He then was out for a good chunk of the basketball season.
So he’s ready for a full season of full health as the Tribe tries to return to the state finals in baseball.
Schroer will be one of the key players to accomplishing that goal after he was fourth for the Indians with a .353 batting average last year. His 29 hits are third among returning players while scoring 24 times and driving in 22 runs.
His hitting ability is only enhanced by his patience at the plate — he’s drawn eight walks in seven games this season.
Schroer’s bat has been cold thus far this year, but it’s sure to heat up as the temperature begins to rise.

Megan Wellman
She was the star runner during the fall, and there’s no reason to believe that won’t be the case again in the spring.
The Jay County High School senior, having worked all the way back from a career-threatening injury, won the cross country sectional championship in early October. A week later, she set a school-record time.
She and Yorktown sophomore Madeline Aul seem set to duel for the title of best distance runner in the area again this year after trading wins at the 2015 sectional. Wellman won the 1,600-meter run title with Aul in second place, and Aul returned the favor by taking the 3,200 run with Wellman as the runner-up.
At the regional a week later, Wellman posted fifth- and seventh-place finishes.
The goal for Wellman in her final year on the track for JCHS is simple — to run at the state finals. Given the determination she showed in the fall, it’d be no surprise to see her in Bloomington in June.