October 13, 2020 at 5:02 p.m.
Jay delivers October surprise
Jay County High School cross country
Jay delivers October surprise
MUNCIE — In politics, there’s often talk of an October surprise, an unexpected development that can shift an election.
On Saturday morning, the Patriots delivered an October surprise of their own to stay alive in the postseason.
Jay County High School’s girls cross country team turned in a result they weren’t sure was possible, finishing fourth as a team in the sectional race and earning a spot in this weekend’s regional race.
“We’re happy to be able to advance again,” said JCHS coach Paul Hyatt. “We knew it was going to be close to be able to make it. I’m not going to lie that I’m surprised that we made it, but I’m happy that we did. I’m overjoyed for the girls.”
The Patriots scored 124 points to finish in fourth place at Muncie SportsPlex behind host Delta (53), Yorktown (61) and Monroe Central (109). The top five teams in the sectional advance to the regional, which will be held at the same site.
Mitchell Winner was the lone JCHS boy to earn a regional berth as the team placed ninth with 205 points. He was 26th overall and fifth among runners on non-advancing teams. (The top 10 runners from non-advancing teams move on.)
Monroe Central won the boys title with 36 points ahead of Wapahani, Yorktown, Delta and Daleville.
“We finished right around where we thought,” said Hyatt. “They had a tough race last week.”
It was some big time drops from the top and bottom of the Patriot girls’ lineup that allowed them to move on.
A few hundred yards in, Jay County’s top three — Lydia Keihn, Lindy Wood and Sophia Fugiett — were bunched together about 10 runners back from leader Nicki Southerland of Delta. By the mile mark, Southerland, a contender for the state title, had the race well in hand while Keihn had climbed to third place with Yorktown senior Elizabeth Reece just half a step behind.
After a strong first mile, Keihn held back a bit in the second and then kicked it back in during the third. She pulled away from Reece on the way to a third-place finish with a time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds, trailing only Southerland, who blew away the field in 18:17, and Delta’s Makalya Robles (20:39).
Keihn’s time was 54 seconds faster than at the previous weekend’s Allen County Athletic Conference Championships.
“I’m super, super happy with Lydia finishing third overall,” he said of Keihn, who was fifth in the sectional last season and went on the earn a semi-state berth.
“That was awesome, especially considering the steep competition that was here.”
Lita Chowning gave the Patriots a similar improvement after turning in their No. 5 time at the ACAC meet. She and teammate Makaylah Brainerd ran side-by-side for the first mile before Chowning zipped down the slight incline just past the mile mark. She went on to a time of 26:03.5, fourth-best for Jay County and a 46-second improvement over the previous week.
After Keihn climbed to her spot in the top three, the Patriots’ Lindy Wood was 15th at the mile mark. She held that spot the rest of the way, edging Yorktown’s Natalie Moulton at the finish line.
Sophia Fugiett, a senior, turned in the No. 3 time for Jay County in 22:32 for 21st place overall. Brainerd finished off the team score in 56th place with a time of 27:24.
“We’ve got just a hard-working team,” said Hyatt. “They ran more miles this year in the summer than they have in the past. The work was definitely there.”
Winner found himself trying to stay in the top 25 in the first several hundred yards of the race. By the mile mark, he had fallen back to 30th. But he didn’t stay there.
The senior surged, climbing up to 26th place with his time of 19:07.
“He’s been one of those kids who really, really cares,” said Hyatt. “I started coaching him as a sophomore, and he really, really, really turned it around. I was super, super stoked for him when he made second-team all-conference.”
Each of the Patriots’ next four runners improved their times from the ACAC meet.
Junior Aaron Funkhouser came up just short of earning a regional berth as he placed 41st in 19:59. Logan Zimmerman was next as he placed 46th in 20:29. Dustin Harris, who was the squad’s No. 6 runner the previous weekend, climbed to the No. 4 spot as he placed 48th in 20:31. Seth Wilson was 60th with a time of 21:09.
Also running for the JCHS boys but not factoring into the team score were Isaac Kunkler (61st – 21:25) and Ben Hunter (65th – 21:50).
On Saturday morning, the Patriots delivered an October surprise of their own to stay alive in the postseason.
Jay County High School’s girls cross country team turned in a result they weren’t sure was possible, finishing fourth as a team in the sectional race and earning a spot in this weekend’s regional race.
“We’re happy to be able to advance again,” said JCHS coach Paul Hyatt. “We knew it was going to be close to be able to make it. I’m not going to lie that I’m surprised that we made it, but I’m happy that we did. I’m overjoyed for the girls.”
The Patriots scored 124 points to finish in fourth place at Muncie SportsPlex behind host Delta (53), Yorktown (61) and Monroe Central (109). The top five teams in the sectional advance to the regional, which will be held at the same site.
Mitchell Winner was the lone JCHS boy to earn a regional berth as the team placed ninth with 205 points. He was 26th overall and fifth among runners on non-advancing teams. (The top 10 runners from non-advancing teams move on.)
Monroe Central won the boys title with 36 points ahead of Wapahani, Yorktown, Delta and Daleville.
“We finished right around where we thought,” said Hyatt. “They had a tough race last week.”
It was some big time drops from the top and bottom of the Patriot girls’ lineup that allowed them to move on.
A few hundred yards in, Jay County’s top three — Lydia Keihn, Lindy Wood and Sophia Fugiett — were bunched together about 10 runners back from leader Nicki Southerland of Delta. By the mile mark, Southerland, a contender for the state title, had the race well in hand while Keihn had climbed to third place with Yorktown senior Elizabeth Reece just half a step behind.
After a strong first mile, Keihn held back a bit in the second and then kicked it back in during the third. She pulled away from Reece on the way to a third-place finish with a time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds, trailing only Southerland, who blew away the field in 18:17, and Delta’s Makalya Robles (20:39).
Keihn’s time was 54 seconds faster than at the previous weekend’s Allen County Athletic Conference Championships.
“I’m super, super happy with Lydia finishing third overall,” he said of Keihn, who was fifth in the sectional last season and went on the earn a semi-state berth.
“That was awesome, especially considering the steep competition that was here.”
Lita Chowning gave the Patriots a similar improvement after turning in their No. 5 time at the ACAC meet. She and teammate Makaylah Brainerd ran side-by-side for the first mile before Chowning zipped down the slight incline just past the mile mark. She went on to a time of 26:03.5, fourth-best for Jay County and a 46-second improvement over the previous week.
After Keihn climbed to her spot in the top three, the Patriots’ Lindy Wood was 15th at the mile mark. She held that spot the rest of the way, edging Yorktown’s Natalie Moulton at the finish line.
Sophia Fugiett, a senior, turned in the No. 3 time for Jay County in 22:32 for 21st place overall. Brainerd finished off the team score in 56th place with a time of 27:24.
“We’ve got just a hard-working team,” said Hyatt. “They ran more miles this year in the summer than they have in the past. The work was definitely there.”
Winner found himself trying to stay in the top 25 in the first several hundred yards of the race. By the mile mark, he had fallen back to 30th. But he didn’t stay there.
The senior surged, climbing up to 26th place with his time of 19:07.
“He’s been one of those kids who really, really cares,” said Hyatt. “I started coaching him as a sophomore, and he really, really, really turned it around. I was super, super stoked for him when he made second-team all-conference.”
Each of the Patriots’ next four runners improved their times from the ACAC meet.
Junior Aaron Funkhouser came up just short of earning a regional berth as he placed 41st in 19:59. Logan Zimmerman was next as he placed 46th in 20:29. Dustin Harris, who was the squad’s No. 6 runner the previous weekend, climbed to the No. 4 spot as he placed 48th in 20:31. Seth Wilson was 60th with a time of 21:09.
Also running for the JCHS boys but not factoring into the team score were Isaac Kunkler (61st – 21:25) and Ben Hunter (65th – 21:50).
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