Cope, Moore qualify for national meet

Dylan Cope and Hannah Moore had their share of high school success, but neither was able to break through and reach the state finals. Now, they’re both headed to the national stage.
Cope, a 2013 Jay County High School graduate, and Moore, a 2012 South Adams graduate, each earned berths in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championships with their efforts in Saturday’s cross country conference championships.
Moore earned a sixth-place finish to lead Huntington University to a third-place effort in the Crossroads League Championships at Taylor. She was one of just seven runners to break the 19-minute mark, finishing in 18 minutes, 55.9 seconds, in the 5K race.
The effort earned her all-league honors for the second time in three years.
Cope had the second-fastest finish for the Indiana University East men’s team at the Kentucky Intercollegiate Conference Championships. His time of 27:45 in the 8K race was good for ninth overall and earned him the meet’s final national-qualifying spot.
The sophomore also earned all-conference honors.
Moore and Cope will compete at the NAIA National Meet at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.

Kegan Comer
Jay County – 2013
Extended his season-long streak of double-digit scoring to five games, including a 26-point effort in the host Cougars men’s basketball team’s battle with NAIA No. 5 Davenport in the championship game of the University of St. Francis Tournament.
Comer buried five 3-pointers Saturday and shot 8-of-12 from the field on the way to his team-high scoring effort. He added three assists in a rebound as the No. 15 Cougars fell 74-72.
He also had 12 points, two rebounds and one assist in USF’s 96-69 victory over Webber International in the opening round of the tournament.

Josh Lykins
Jay County – 2014
Improved his NAIA national “B” cut time in the 100-yard butterfly Saturday swimming for Lindsey Wilson College in a double-dual meet.
Lykins finished with a time of 54.54 seconds, knocking 16 hundredths of a second off the career best he set Oct. 25.
He also swam the freestyle leg of the 200 medley relay with Hayden Pendergraft, Jonas Muller and Travis Durocher. The Blue Raider quartet won the event in 1:42.83 to earn an “A” cut for the national meet in March. It is the third event in which Lykins, a LWC freshman, earned a national cut.

Neal Fennig
Jay County – 2011
Turned in a third-place finish Friday to help the Ball State University men’s swim team to a 151-111 victory over host Eastern Illinois.
Fennig’s best individual effort came in the 200-yard freestyle as he placed third in 1 minute, 47.03 seconds. He also posted a time of 4:59.74 for fourth place in the 500 freestyle.
The senior teamed with Andy Lamb, Andrew Carlson and Banistre Lienhart for third in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:28.92.

Erin Hunt
Jay County – 2011
Led the Bethel College women’s basketball team in assists and was one of six players to reach double figures in a 117-96 victory Thursday over Concordia.
Hunt recorded six assists in the victory while hitting all of her four field-goal attempts. She finished with 12 points, two rebounds and one steal. The senior also had three rebounds and an assist Tuesday as the Pilots (3-2) lost 93-78 to Holy Cross.

Kelsey Fiely
Fort Recovery – 2013
Played a key role defensively Saturday as the University of Northwestern Ohio volleyball team went 2-0 at the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference Crossover at Cornerstone University.
Fiely shared the team high of 12 digs in the Racers’ opening 25-8, 25-16, 25-8 victory over Concordia. She also had one assist.
The sophomore added 10 digs and two assists as UNOH (26-10) won its second match of the day 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 over Indiana Tech.

Elijah Kahlig
Fort Recovery – 2014
Made his collegiate debut for the University of Findlay in the Oilers’ 68-59 exhibition loss Nov. 5 to Wright State.
The freshman made both of his free throw attempts and was 1-of-4 from long range to total five points in 22 minutes. He also grabbed an offensive rebound, blocked one shot and had one steal.
He added another five points Saturday in a 101-72 exhibition loss to Toledo. He was 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, grabbed a pair of rebounds and had two assists.

Julie Valentine
Jay County – 2013
Competed Thursday for the Stephens College women’s cross country team, which finished last in an 11-team field at the American Midwest Conference Championships at Hannibal-LaGrange.
Valentine was the No. 6 runner for the Stars with a time of 26 minutes, 1 second. She placed 67th in the 5K race.

Jason Pottkotter
Fort Recovery – 2012
Played for the University of Northwestern Ohio men’s basketball team Saturday in its 81-53 blowout of visiting Shawnee State.
Pottkotter grabbed one rebound in two minutes of action. The win evened the Racers’ record at 2-2.

Tim Lehman
South Adams – 2012
Ran for the Goshen College men’s cross country team Saturday at the Crossroads League Championships at Taylor.
Lehman was the ninth Maple Leaf runner to cross the finish line. He posted a time of 28 minutes, 10.8 seconds, in the 8K race as Goshen finished third en route to earning its first berth in the NAIA National Championships.

Abigail Johnson
Jay County – 2014
Ran for the Indiana Wesleyan women’s cross country team Saturday in the Crossroads Conference Championships at Taylor University.
The freshman placed 60th in 20 minutes, 56.3 seconds, as the No. 19 runner for the Wildcats.
IWU placed second as a team with 36 points, seven points behind the host Trojans.