Year ends at semi-state

HUNTINGTON — Lydia Keihn went into Saturday’s race with two goals in mind.

She wanted tofinish with a better time (20 minutes, 47.4 seconds) and place (103rd) than she did in last year’s semi-state.

She missed the first by about 14 seconds. She bested the second by 15 spots.

Keihn, a Jay County High School sophomore, and senior Sophia Fugiett had their cross country seasons end Saturday as they competed in the IHSAA semi-state race at Huntington University.

“I am just tickled pink that I was able to bring both girls up here and get them to participate in what is definitely a very tough semi-state competition,” said JCHS coach Paul Hyatt. “It is one of those things, by making it here you’ve accomplished quite a bit. I’m really excited for both of them to make it.”

Carroll, which is the two-time defending state champion, won its sixth consecutive semi-state championship and 11th in the last 12 years by scoring 46 points. Hamilton Southeastern scored 74 points for second, with Concordia (124), Fishers (171), Penn (183) and Homestead (200) third through sixth to earn berths in the state finals.

Both Patriots were stuck in the middle of the pack about a kilometer into the 5K race. For the most part, Keihn was able to hold that position while Fugiett started to drop back a bit.

Nearing the 1-mile mark, Keihn was behind McKenzie Sturwold of South Adams as well as a Bellmont runner and a pair from Pendleton Heights.

Shortly after that, she welcomed challengers from Oak Hill and East Noble while staying a couple strides behind the Bellmont runner.

By the time she had crossed the finish line, Irie Roll and Emma Hodges of Elkhart and Stephany Claudio of Concord had all overtaken Keihn.

With a time of 20:57.9, Keihn finished her sophomore season in 88th place.

“She’s a dedicated kid,” Hyatt said. “She wants to be better than she was.

“That’s one of the things I tend to tell all of my athletes; don’t compare yourself to someone else today, compare yourself to who you were yesterday. That’s the sport of cross country, just trying to be better than you were the day before.

“Looked like she ran a killer race. It was good that she was able to accomplish what she wanted this season.”

Keihn earned the best finish for a JCHS girl since Megan Wellman finished 41st as a senior in 2015.

For Fugiett, the final race of her career was less than ideal. Although she said immediately following her run she didn’t enjoy it, the senior was still in relatively high spirits despite being unable to feel her hands because race-time temperatures were in the low 40s.

Fugiett capped her career with a time of 22:28.7, which was 155th overall. During her freshman season, she had a time of 21:39.94 for 119th.

“It definitely wasn’t my best race,” she said. “The temperature played a part, along with the challenging course. I didn’t get the start that I wanted, I got stuck in a pack early on and it was hard to come back from that. It was hard to find my groove.”

Fugiett noted her time was about average for her races this season, so she wasn’t too upset about that aspect of her morning.

“I have no regrets,” she said. “I did what I could do. Again, I’m so blessed to have made it, it was such a cool and exciting experience that I won’t forget. I’m glad I had Lydia by my side.”

Hyatt said the girls met his expectations for the race.

“Their individual performance, they were right around where I figured they were going to be,” Hyatt said. “It’s a hilly course and that definitely tested both of them. Not surprised with how the outcome was, but just happy they were able to run decent times from last year.”

Carroll’s Zoe Duffus, who was sixth in the state meet last year, won the individual semi-state championship with her time of 17:52.8. Delta freshman Nicki Southerland, who claimed sectional and regional titles, was the runner-up in 18:04.7.