Keen earns NCAA cut

As a senior at Jay County High School, James Keen earned a medal in the highest level of swimming.
In college, he will get to compete at an elite level too.
The Tiffin University freshman earned an NCAA Division II B cut in the 200-yard backstroke during the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, which concluded Saturday at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Keen finished fourth in the event with a time of 1 minute, 48.81 seconds, behind race winner Juan David Molina Perez of Wayne State by more than two seconds. Keen was seeded third after preliminaries, and dropped one spot for the finals.
The 2015 Jay County graduate was also seventh in the 100 backstroke (50.96 seconds) and 14th in the 200 individual medley (1:54.6).
He also helped a trio of top-eight Dragon relay teams. He swam the backstroke leg of the 200 medley and 400 medley relay. He teamed with Peko Toromanov, Kody Doss and Lucas Merigue Bernando for a time of 3:22.65 in the 400 medley relay. Keen, Toromanov, Doss and Pedro Van Isscholt were eighth in the 200 medley relay in 1:33.82.
Ygor Zanardo Bortolato, Van Isschot, Merigue Bernardo and Keen finished with a time of 3:06 to tie for third in the 400 freestyle relay.
The Tiffin Dragons were fourth as a team with 346 points. Grand Valley State scored 840 points to claim the team title.

Eme Miller
Jay County – 2012
Made the most of her trip to the north side of Columbus, Ohio, bringing home a title from the Division III All-Ohio Championship hosted by Otterbein.
Miller was the only Defiance College runner to compete at the meet, and she represented the Yellowjackets well. She dominated the field in the 5,000-meter run, winning the All-Ohio crown by more than 10 seconds in 18 minutes, 7.29 seconds.
She broke her own school record of 18:13.18 set last month at the Defiance College Invitational.

Kegan Comer
Jay County – 2013
Provided a spark off the bench for the NAIA Division II No. 3 University of St. Francis men’s basketball team Tuesday as it clinched a share of the Crossroads League title for the first time since 2000.
Comer, who gave up his starting spot for his teammates on Senior Night, shared the team high of four assists and scored 13 points in an 81-70 win over No. 13 Bethel. He also had four rebounds.
The junior finished with 12 points, four assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block in Saturday’s 74-60 victory over Taylor.
The Cougars are 25-4 overall and 15-2 in the Crossroads League as they hold a one-game lead over fourth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan. USF can earn the outright title when the teams play at 3 p.m. Saturday in Marion.

Tim Lehman
SAHS – 2012
Ran in a couple of winning relays for the Goshen College men’s track team at Friday’s Defiance College Open.
Lehman and teammates Trevor Yoder, Luke Graber and Christian Stevens outpaced two Huntington groups to take first place in the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 35.75 seconds.
In the 4x200 relay, it was Lehman, Josh Bustos, Stevens and Yoder finishing in 1:35.45 for the win.

Jason Pottkotter
FRHS – 2012
Was perfect from the foul line Wednesday in the University of Northwestern Ohio men’s basketball team’s 78-66 victory over Lourdes.
Pottkotter hit all of his four free-throw attempts and finished with eight points for the Racers (10-19). He also grabbed five rebounds and had a pair of assists.

Wade Gelhaus
FRHS – 2013
Helped the NCAA Division II No. 12 Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball team to its ninth straight win Saturday as it topped Michigan Tech 80-72.
Gelhaus totaled seven points and six rebounds for the Cardinals, who improved to 21-4. He also had one assist and one steal.
The junior also had two points, three rebounds and a steal in SVSU’s one-point win Feb. 11 over Northern Michigan.

Catherine Dunn
JCHS – 2015
Came off the bench to record a team-high five assists for the Brescia University women’s basketball team in a 91-88 loss Saturday to Indiana University East.
Dunn played 9 minutes, 31 seconds, grabbed two rebounds and had five helpers. She missed the only shot she took and also fouled out.

Kylie Kahlig
FRHS – 2012
Finished second on the team in rebounds Saturday in the University of Northwestern Ohio women’s basketball team’s 56-51 loss to Siena Heights.
Kahlig grabbed five rebounds for the Racers, who are now 13-16. She also had two points, four rebounds and a block in Wednesday’s 59-53 loss to Lourdes.

Elijah Kahlig
FRHS – 2014
Wasn’t able to record a point for the University of Findlay men’s basketball team Saturday in an 81-67 overtime loss to Lake Erie.
Kahlig played 11 minutes off the bench and missed all three shot attempts. He grabbed one rebound and had a steal.
He also had one rebound and one assist Feb. 11, as the Oilers (17-7, 14-5 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) lost to Ashland, 67-64.