July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
DECATUR — The weather wasn’t ideal. The result was.
Despite a steady rain soaking the course throughout the day, the Jay County girls cross country team flooded the finish line en route to its first sectional championship in school history at Bellmont Tuesday. Three Patriot runners finished in the top five, and a fourth joined the top 15 for a final score of 51.
The host Squaws were second with 62 points, and Norwell was third with 68. Southern Wells and South Adams joined them with 82 and 85 points respectively as the top five teams earned spots in Saturday’s regional meet, which is also at Bellmont.
Those five teams will take on the top five from the Woodlan Sectional: No. 5 Fort Wayne Concordia, No. 14 Homestead, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne North Side and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. The top 15 individuals from each sectional will also run in Saturday’s race.
“I’m speechless,” said Jay County coach Trent Paxson before finding a few words to describe his girls’ effort. “Wow. Outstanding. It was unbelievable.
“We had three girls under 16:30. That’s tremendous. That’s an outstanding effort from everybody.”
“I’m very happy,” said sophomore Alyssa Johnson, who won her second straight individual sectional title. “I was afraid about Haleigh (Lehman of South Adams), but I had it in my head that I was going to get her this time.
“The highest we thought we’d get was third place. I was very, very surprised. It was awesome.”
Lehman was never a factor against Johnson as Jay County’s leader never trailed in the race. She took the early lead and kept increasing the distance between her and the Starfire foe, finishing with nearly a 20-second advantage in 15:50.
Nicole VanSkyock ran her typical race, starting off in the pack before climbing near the front. The senior couldn’t quite edge Bellmont’s Wendy Mahlan at the finish line, but still placed fourth in 16:18.
Freshman Allison Fullenkamp was right behind her, placing fifth in 16:29. It was the second straight race, along with the Olympic Athletic Conference meet last week, in which the Patriots have placed three runners in the top five.
But, as Paxson pointed out, Johnson and VanSkyock finished first and second at last season’s sectional and the team still slipped to fourth. This year it was Fullenkamp and the next two Patriot runners — Jessica Mosier and Jill Roughia — who made all the difference.
Mosier rebounded from a difficult day at the OAC meet Thursday and had a great run in the sectional. She finished three seconds behind Norwell’s Tiffany Penrod in 14th place with a time of 17:06, but more importantly she was three seconds ahead of Trista Bauer of Bellmont.
Roughia was 29th, four better than she finished last year and 12 better than the Patriots’ fifth runner in 2002, with a time of 17:44.
“It was great,” said Mosier of her rebound effort. “It felt good. I think I (relaxed) too much for conference. I worked harder for sectional.”
The hard work paid off for Mosier, and South Adams also reaped rewards with Lehman leading the way. She finished second to Johnson in a time of 16:09 to lead her team to a regional berth.
Jamie Paul was second for the Starfires in 18th (17:20), and Whitney Sprunger took 21st (17:31). Lauren Tooley finished 23rd (17:34), with Katie Welch placing 25th (17:39).
“I really hope we make it to semi-state as a team,” said VanSkyock. “I really think we can do it.”
The numbers seem to back up that idea. The Patriots look primed for a top-three regional finish, having already finished ahead of Fort Wayne Northrop at the Jay County Invitational.
The top five teams from the regional will advance to the New Haven Semi-state Saturday, Oct. 25.
“The girls are on a mission,” said Paxson. “Their goal is to get to semi-state. They’ve worked hard all year to get to this point. They ran their hearts out tonight.”[[In-content Ad]]
Despite a steady rain soaking the course throughout the day, the Jay County girls cross country team flooded the finish line en route to its first sectional championship in school history at Bellmont Tuesday. Three Patriot runners finished in the top five, and a fourth joined the top 15 for a final score of 51.
The host Squaws were second with 62 points, and Norwell was third with 68. Southern Wells and South Adams joined them with 82 and 85 points respectively as the top five teams earned spots in Saturday’s regional meet, which is also at Bellmont.
Those five teams will take on the top five from the Woodlan Sectional: No. 5 Fort Wayne Concordia, No. 14 Homestead, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne North Side and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. The top 15 individuals from each sectional will also run in Saturday’s race.
“I’m speechless,” said Jay County coach Trent Paxson before finding a few words to describe his girls’ effort. “Wow. Outstanding. It was unbelievable.
“We had three girls under 16:30. That’s tremendous. That’s an outstanding effort from everybody.”
“I’m very happy,” said sophomore Alyssa Johnson, who won her second straight individual sectional title. “I was afraid about Haleigh (Lehman of South Adams), but I had it in my head that I was going to get her this time.
“The highest we thought we’d get was third place. I was very, very surprised. It was awesome.”
Lehman was never a factor against Johnson as Jay County’s leader never trailed in the race. She took the early lead and kept increasing the distance between her and the Starfire foe, finishing with nearly a 20-second advantage in 15:50.
Nicole VanSkyock ran her typical race, starting off in the pack before climbing near the front. The senior couldn’t quite edge Bellmont’s Wendy Mahlan at the finish line, but still placed fourth in 16:18.
Freshman Allison Fullenkamp was right behind her, placing fifth in 16:29. It was the second straight race, along with the Olympic Athletic Conference meet last week, in which the Patriots have placed three runners in the top five.
But, as Paxson pointed out, Johnson and VanSkyock finished first and second at last season’s sectional and the team still slipped to fourth. This year it was Fullenkamp and the next two Patriot runners — Jessica Mosier and Jill Roughia — who made all the difference.
Mosier rebounded from a difficult day at the OAC meet Thursday and had a great run in the sectional. She finished three seconds behind Norwell’s Tiffany Penrod in 14th place with a time of 17:06, but more importantly she was three seconds ahead of Trista Bauer of Bellmont.
Roughia was 29th, four better than she finished last year and 12 better than the Patriots’ fifth runner in 2002, with a time of 17:44.
“It was great,” said Mosier of her rebound effort. “It felt good. I think I (relaxed) too much for conference. I worked harder for sectional.”
The hard work paid off for Mosier, and South Adams also reaped rewards with Lehman leading the way. She finished second to Johnson in a time of 16:09 to lead her team to a regional berth.
Jamie Paul was second for the Starfires in 18th (17:20), and Whitney Sprunger took 21st (17:31). Lauren Tooley finished 23rd (17:34), with Katie Welch placing 25th (17:39).
“I really hope we make it to semi-state as a team,” said VanSkyock. “I really think we can do it.”
The numbers seem to back up that idea. The Patriots look primed for a top-three regional finish, having already finished ahead of Fort Wayne Northrop at the Jay County Invitational.
The top five teams from the regional will advance to the New Haven Semi-state Saturday, Oct. 25.
“The girls are on a mission,” said Paxson. “Their goal is to get to semi-state. They’ve worked hard all year to get to this point. They ran their hearts out tonight.”[[In-content Ad]]
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