Randall wins, girls set record

ANDERSON — Gavin Randall was the only Patriot to get a win at a meet the team hosted.

The girls came away with a new school record.

Randall claimed the top spot in high jump and the girls 4x200-meter relay set a new record for the Jay County High School indoor track teams at the Patriot Invitational it hosted on Saturday at Anderson University.

Randall, a senior, was the lone competitor out of the six remaining high jumpers to clear a height of 6 feet, doing so on his second attempt. He cleared the opening height of 5 feet, 6 inches, on his first try, and did the same as the bar was raised 2 inches.

It took him three attempts to clear 5 feet, 10 inches, a height that cut the field in half before Randall got the victory. He was also 12th in long jump, and Skyler Myers earned the same place in the 3,200 run.

Calli Stigleman, Kinsey Shannon, Renee Omstead and Ashlyn Dow combined to finish the 4x200 relay in a time of 1 minute, 52.9 seconds, which set a new school record, besting the time of 1:55.6 the same four set last season. They were runner-up to Franklin County on Saturday.

Jay County’s girls had a pair place in the top eight in both the 60 hurdles and high jump. Kendal Garringer was sixth in high jump and Hallie Fields was one spot behind her. Abby Benter and Grace Saxman were seventh and eighth respectively in the 60 hurdles.

Kassidy Fennig placed ninth in shot put.

The Patriot girls’ 4x400 relay team of Saxman, Shannon, Omstead and Dow was fifth, while Raven Weaver, Lindy Wood, Vanessa Ong and Sophia Fugiett combined to take seventh in the 4x400 relay.

ACAC teams named

Three Jay County boys basketball players earned Allen County Athletic Conference accolades.

Michael Schlechty was the lone Patriot to be named first team all-conference. The 6-foot, 3-inch senior averaged 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in ACAC games, as the Patriots went 6-0 during the regular season. He was above those averages in the two ACAC tournament games, a quarterfinal loss to Adams Central (14 points, seven rebounds) and a consolation victory over South Adams (17 points, seven rebounds).

Fellow seniors Ryan Schlechty (11.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG in conference games) and Parker Grimes (9 PPG, 4.7 RPG) were named second team All-ACAC.

Jay County finished the year 14-9 after losing its final four games of the season.