JC girls roll at invite

MUNCIE - Just two weeks away from the sectional tournament, the Jay County High School girls track team could not be any hotter.

The Patriots have won seven straight meets, defeating a combined 18 opponents during the run. Half of those came at Saturday's Muncie Southside Invitational, which they easily won with 117 points as Jordan McMillan picked up a pair of victories.

Yorktown was a distant second with 85 points, and Anderson Highland finished third with 80.

McMillan earned victories in the long jump and 100-meter dash, in which she is the defending sectional champion.

She fought off Southside's Eboni Collins by one tenth of a second in the 100 dash to win in 13.27 seconds, and took the long jump at a season-best 15 feet, 3 ¾ inches.

The junior was also the 200-meter dash runner up in 27.84, just seven hundredths of a second behind Highland's Jessika Lark, and placed third in the high jump at 4 feet, 8 inches.

Maria Murphy picked up the other victory for JCHS, which suffered its lone loss to South Adams in the season opener, as she stayed perfect on the season in the shot put. She won by nearly two feet with a toss of 34 feet, 1 ¾ inches and was also the discus runner-up with a toss of 105 feet, 2 inches.

Sophomore Katie Simmons added a pair of runner-up efforts, placing second in both the 1,600- run in 5 minutes, 41.88 seconds and the 3,200 run in 12:26.82. Kari Hemmelgarn, a senior was third in the 800 run in 2:35.32, and Kelsey Wood finished fourth behind McMillan in the high jump at 4 feet, 8 inches.

Fifth place finishes for the Patriots came from Leah Wellman (1,600 run), Macey Gerber (400 dash) and Abby Denney (discus).

Nichols wins 800

NEW CASTLE - Tevan Nichols turned in the lone victory for the Jay County boys team as it finished last in a six-team field at Friday's New Castle Invitational.

The Patriots scored 46 points, eight fewer than the fifth-place host Trojans. Muncie Southside won the meet with 148 points.

Nichols gave JCHS its only win as he fought off an Olympic Athletic Conference rival. He finished the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 1 second to beat Connersville's Leighton Gough by less than two seconds.

Zach Cash was the runner-up in the 300 hurdles in 43.2. Gary Corle turned in a third-place effort at 18 feet, 6 inches in the long jump.[[In-content Ad]]