Bellmont tops Patriots (04/08/05)

PORTLAND — Bellmont was able to Brave the wind, the rain and the cold just a bit better than the Patriots Thursday.

The Jay County track teams were the only ones in competition on the first ugly-weather day of the spring season, each coming away on the short end of the final score. The boys team lost to the Bellmont Braves 78-45, and the girls team lost to the Squaws 73.5-49.5.

“I think some of the inexperience really showed tonight,” said JCHS girls coach Tyler Caldwell, who has 13 freshman on his squad. “They had to deal with the cold tonight (for the first time).

“Bellmont is a real senior dominated team.”

Seniors accounted for five of Bellmont’s seven individual wins on the girls side, including a one-two finish in the high jump. Dawn Heckman came away with two of those victories, while senior Jessica Heitkamp carried the Patriots with a pair of first-place finishes.

The same held true on the boys side, where senior Adam Arnold earned three wins for the Braves.

Both of Heitkamp’s wins for the Patriots came as she led one-two finishes with teammate Sarah Mescher, and both came by less than one second. She won the 100-meter dash in 14.88 seconds, less than a 10th ahead of Mescher and just 34 hundredths in front of Bellmont’s Brittany Derengowski. She took the victory in the 200 dash in 30.53, winning by a mere 12 hundredths over Mescher and 32 hundredths better than Breigh Elder of Bellmont.

Heitkamp also rallied the 4x100 relay team to cross the line first, but the team was disqualified for a bad hand-off.

Alyssa Johnson paced the other one-two finish for Jay County as she and Jill Roughia teamed for first and second in the 800 run for the second straight meet. Johnson built a big lead to win in 2-minutes, 35 seconds, and Roughia finished two seconds ahead of Alexa Markley.

Johnson, Roughia, Amanda Johnson and Rose Weaver also teamed for an outstanding run in the 4x800 relay, cutting more than 20 seconds from Tuesday’s time to win in 10:36.

“Jessica Heitkamp’s a senior and she ran a great 100 and a great 200,” said Caldwell. “She brought us back on the 4x100.

“Alyssa Johnson did wonderful again. She ran the best split in the 800 we’ve seen.”

Freshmen Amanda Johnson and Tequila Guntle came through with the other two Jay County wins. Johnson was first in the 1,600-meter run in 6:00.84, and Guntle won the long jump at 13 feet, 71/2 inches.

The Patriot boys had a couple of one-two finishes, but managed just four wins overall against Bellmont. Still, it was a marked improvement over last year’s 60-point loss to the Braves.

Joseph Vormohr led the first one-two effort, winning the discus at 131 feet, eight inches. He was followed by Steven Castillo in 126 feet, 61/2 inches.

Ben Wellman and Alex Michael came through for the other in the 200 dash. Wellman took first in 26.19, and Michael finished second in 26.41.

Doug Murray had the only other individual victory in the 800 run in 2:22.

Jay County trailed midway through the 4x100 relay, but Sean Hatzell kept the race close on the third leg before handing off to Justin Gilbert. Gilbert roared back down the home stretch, eking out a victory by just four hundredths in 47.31.

“In the 4X100 Justin Gilbert kicked it in there in the end,” said JCHS boys coach Greg Garringer of the team which also includes Alex Michael and Adam May. “The guys ran consistent splits.

“Record-wise it’s not showing it, but we’re happy with this first week of competition.”[[In-content Ad]]