Indian grad helps Oilers reach semis

The Oilers were bounced in the first round of the conference tournament each of the last two seasons.

Elijah Kahlig helped make sure it didn’t happen for a third consecutive year.

Kahlig, a 2014 Fort Recovery High School graduate, helped the University of Findlay men’s basketball team defeat Grand Valley State University 67-59 on Tuesday in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal.

The junior was third on the team in scoring, going 3-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-7 from beyond the arc. He also had a game-high seven free throws to finish with 15 points. Kahlig added three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

The NCAA Division II No. 18 Oilers (23-5) meet the Ashland Eagles in the GLIAC semifinal on Saturday at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Findlay last won the GLIAC tournament in 2014.



Katy Smeltzer

Jay County – 2015

Swam for the University of the Cumberlands women’s swim team in the first day of the NAIA National Championships on Wednesday in Columbus, Georgia.

Smeltzer swam the second leg of the 800-yard freestyle relay. She had a split time of 2 minutes, 2.22 seconds, joining Casey Walin, Christina Klouda and Brittany Litke to finish seventh in 7:56.65.

The meet continues today through Saturday.



Kegan Comer

Jay County – 2013

Hit three 3-pointers Saturday only to have the University of St. Francis men’s basketball team fall 73-70 to top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan in the semifinal round of the Crossroads League Tournament.

Comer was 3-of-7 from long distance and finished with 13 points for the Cougars (22-10). He also had three rebounds, two steals and one assist.

St. Francis received a No. 4 seed in the NAIA Division II tournament and will continue its season Wednesday when it takes on Oregon Tech (24-9) in the opening round. The Cougars were the national runners-up last season, falling to Indiana Wesleyan in the championship game.



Anne Vormohr

Jay County – 2016

Helped two scoring relays for the Ball State University women’s swim team Feb. 23 through Saturday in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Miami University.

She swam the backstroke leg of the 400-yard medley relay with a split time of 56.76 seconds, teaming with Amanda Kedzierski, Andrea Richter and Jessica Extine to place seventh in 3 minutes, 45.73 seconds.

The freshman handled the third leg of the 400 freestyle relay in 52.08 seconds, combining with Gilbert, Kedzierski and Extine to finish eighth in 3.29.59.

Individually, Vormohr was 17th in the 200 backstroke (2:03.45), 19th in the 100 backstroke (57.09) and 26th in the 50 freestyle (24.09).



Sophie Bader

Jay County – 2016

Also competed in the Mid-American Conference Championships for Ball State.

Her best individual performance came in the 200-yard butterfly as she finished 18th in 2 minutes, 7.08 seconds. The freshman was 21st in the 200 individual medley in 2:06.18, and placed 24th in the 100 butterfly in 56.66 seconds.

Bader swam the second leg of the 200 freestyle relay in 23.82 seconds, joining Peighton Gilbert, cousin Vormohr (23.47 seconds) and Jessica Extine to finish in eighth place with a time of 1:34.11.

The Cardinals placed last out of eight teams with 161.5 points. Akron won with 750 points.

Scott Schwieterman

Jay County – 2013

Closed his season Feb. 23 as the Indiana Tech men’s basketball team suffered an 87-57 loss to Aquinas in the opening round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament.

Schwieterman scored nine points for the third-seeded Warriors, who finished the season at 20-11. He also had four rebounds, one block and one steal.

Aquinas, the No. 6 seed, advanced to the WHAC final before losing to second-seeded Davenport and earned a berth in the 32-team national tournament.



Wade Gelhaus

Fort Rec. – 2013

Was one of three Saginaw Valley State University players to score in double figures Feb. 23 in a 57-53 loss to Wayne State.

Gelhaus made four of his five field-goal attempts in the final game of his collegiate career to score 11 points. He also had four rebounds for the Cardinals (17-11).

He averaged 6.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season.



Emma Laux

Jay County – 2016

Competed for the Butler University women’s track team in the Big East Conference Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday in Staten Island, New York.

Laux was 16th in the 200-meter dash with her time of 27.9 seconds.

The Bulldogs scored 44 points to finish sixth out of eight teams. Marquette was the champion with 173.5 points.



Collin Affolder

South Adams – 2015

Sparked the Bethel College baseball team to a season-opening 5-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader with Millikin University on Friday.

Affolder was hit by a pitch to start the game, and later came around to score. In addition, he was 1-for-2 at the plate with and had a stolen base.

The junior was 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI in as the Pilots (1-1) dropped the second game, 9-4.



Chandler Ingle

South Adams – 2015

Has appeared in three games so far this season for the Goshen College baseball team.

He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout in an 11-0 loss to Cleary University. He went down on strikes in his only at bat Feb. 22 in a 7-4 victory over Trinity Christian College, and was hitless in three tries in a 10-1 loss Feb. 1 to Pikeville.

The Maple Leafs (3-8) have won back-to-back games since going 1-8 to start the year.