South Adams beats Heritage to reach ACAC final

MONROEVILLE — Lexi Dellinger did her damage from outside.

Madi Wurster was lethal from close range.

Together, they carried their Starfire squad to the title game.

Dellinger and Wurster scored 15 points apiece Thursday, leading the South Adams High School girls basketball team to a 51-36 victory over the Heritage Patriots in the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament semifinal.

South Adams (11-7), which hosts the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday, meets three-time defending champion Jay County, which steamrolled Adams Central on Thursday, 63-29.

Jay County defeated South Adams 49-40 on Dec. 16 at home.

The Starfires led just 10-8 after the first quarter Thursday, but exploded for 20 points in the second while keeping the Patriots (8-9) to just fou points. The advantage ballooned to 45-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Dellinger made five 3-pointers, and Wurster had six buckets in front of the arc to go with her three free throws. Lydia Loshe was third on the team with nine points.



Tribe beats Cards

NEW BREMEN, Ohio — A hot start and a stellar third quarter defensively Thursday helped the Fort Recovery girls basketball team beat the New Bremen Cardinals, 36-20.

The Indians (10-1, 4-0 Midwest Athletic Conference) jumped out to a 17-2 lead after eight minutes of play but saw the advantage shrink to 23-13 at halftime.

In the third quarter, however, the Indians kept New Bremen (12-2, 2-2 MAC) scoreless while adding a dozen points at the other end.

Val Muhlenkamp had a game-high 15 points while also adding four rebounds two assists and a block. Kiah Wendel made a trio of 3-pointers for nine points, and Carley Stone had six points. Grace Thien led the team with seven rebounds and Wendel chipped in five steals.

Fort Recovery’s junior varsity team also won, 36-34. Hope Wendel led the way with 13 points, as Alli Vaughn and Brooke Kahlig both scored six points.



Jay falls short

FORT WAYNE — The Jay County wrestling team fell short of a victory Thursday with a 37-31 loss to the host Homestead Spartans.

Mason Winner, Nathaniel Lykins and Lucas Schmit all earned pins for the Patriots, who dip to 11-3 on the season in dual matches.

Schmit pinned Tyler Flanagan 2 minutes, 14 seconds into their 220-pound match, and Lykins pinned Joe Dugan in 2:57 at 195 pounds. Winner defeated Joe Parrish in 5:25.

Zakk Atkins had a 7-2 win over Richie Dolson at 126 pounds, Thomas Hemmelgarn picked up an 18-6 major decision over Grant Webb at 152 pounds, and Mitchell Frasher earned a 7-4 decision over Noah Kiessling at 182 pounds.

At 285 pounds, Gaven Hare won by 6-4 decision over Isaiah Oakley.



Stars sweep Cavs

BERNE — South Adams’ swim teams swept the Coldwater Cavaliers on Thursday.

The Starfire boys picked up a 120-40 victory, while the girls won 105-67.

Brayden Collingsworth and Zach Colpaert each won a pair of events for the SAHS boys. Collingsworth was the distance winner, finishing first in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races. Colpaert handled the sprints as he placed first in the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

Kam Yoder (100 butterfly) and Trey Lehman (100 backstroke) had wins in their respective events, and the Starfires swept all three relays.

Ashley LeFever and Olivia Von Gunten both had two individual wins in the girls meet. LeFever was first in the 50 and 100 freestyle, as Von Gunten touched the wall first in the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle. 

Bella Bailey (200 individual medley), Julia Grabau (diving) and Amara Mikesell (100 backstroke) each had wins as well. The Starfires also won the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.