Back helps power Lances to title

Tyler Back was one of the leaders when the Jay County High School boys track team won the 2013 sectional title. On April 2, he helped power the Lancers to an invitational championship.
Back placed third in a pair of events as the Grace College men’s track team won the seven-team Spartan Classic hosted by Manchester University by 21 points over Spring Arbor. The 2013 JCHS graduate led a group of four local athletes who competed at the meet.
Tim Lehman (South Adams – 2012) also placed third in one event, and Eme Miller (Jay County – 2012) and Hannah Moore (South Adams – 2012) added top-10 finishes.
After a foul on his third throw, Back came up big on his last attempt of the day as he launched the shot 44 feet, 4 inches. That effort secured him a third-place finish in the event.
He also saved his best for last in the hammer throw, climbing from fifth to third place on his final attempt. He finished with a toss of 137 feet, 9 inches.
The sophomore had a throw of 116 feet, 6 inches, to place 10th in the discus.
Lehman contributed a third-place finish for Goshen College as he posted a time of 51.44 seconds in the 400-meter dash. He also joined Kyler Lehman, Vinicius Campos and Luke Graber to finish seventh in the 4x400 relay in 3 minutes, 36.27 seconds.
Miller was fifth in her lone race for the Defiance College women’s team as she finished the 1,500 run in 5:12.42. She added a third-place effort Monday in 11:35.98 in the 3,000 steeplechase at the Dick Small Meet hosted by Defiance.
Moore’s best event for the Huntington University women at Manchester came as she took 10th in the 1,500 run in 5:14.95. She finished the 800 run in 2:37.98 for 17th place and teamed with Gretchen Pyper, Rosie Ditzler and Nicole Pennington in the 4x400 relay for a time of 4:43.34 for 10th place.

Dylan Cope
Jay County – 2013
Was part of a record-setting Indiana University East relay April 2 at the Anderson University Easter Invitational.
Cope joined teammates Clint Swanson, Sage Henderson and Kyle Hall for a school-record time of 3 minutes, 28.83 seconds, in the 4x400-meter relay. They finished in second place.
The sophomore was also sixth with a toss of 111 feet, 2 ¼ inches, in the javelin for the Red Wolves, who finished fifth out of seven teams.

Collin Affolder
South Adams – 2014
Went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run for the Bethel College baseball team in its 13-5 loss Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader with Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio).
The former Starfire standout also added a hit for the Pilots (8-16, 5-9 Crossroads League) in their 5-0 loss in the first game.
The same two squads met Friday in a doubleheader, and Affolder tallied another hit in the Pilots’ 6-2 loss in the nightcap.
Affolder has started all 24 games for Bethel, compiling a .227 batting average with three doubles and three RBIs.

Zane Shreve
Jay County – 2014
Made his collegiate debut for the Miami University men’s track and field team Saturday in the Miami Invitational.
The freshman placed seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.16 seconds. He was also ninth in the high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet, 10.75 inches.
Shreve also competed in the javelin, finishing 12th with a distance of 100 feet, 5 inches.


Abigail Johnson
Jay County – 2014
Also ran at the Anderson Invitational, making her outdoor debut for the Indiana Wesleyan University women’s team.
Johnson finished 10th in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:35.22. Her Wildcat teammate Sara McBeath was the race winner in 2:16.01.