Jay's Murphy advances to diving regional

A Patriot diver is moving on.

The state’s defending champion broke a record that’s older than he is.

Jay County High School senior Justice Murphy squeaked into the final qualifying spot and Delta’s Sam Bennett set a new pool and sectional record in the IHSAA diving sectional Friday at JCHS.

The top four advance to regional, which is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Fishers.

Bennett, last season’s state champion who was also fourth as a sophomore, won the regional title with 674.05 points. 

The Delta senior beat the previous record, set by Jay County’s Caleb Bye 21 years ago, by 143 points.

The Eagles swept the top three positions, with sophomore Jackson Condie a distant second with 334.85 points, and sophomore Tre Phillips third with 328.6 points.

Murphy totaled 279.7 points, a mere 1.45 points higher than fifth-place finisher Mason Whitton of Muncie Central.

Delta is in position to win its seventh straight sectional title as swimming consolation and championship heats are set for 1 p.m. today. The Eagles have 53 points, and Muncie Central is second with 30. Jay County (15) is in third.



Tribe rallies past Cards

FORT RECOVERY — An 18-point third quarter helped the Fort Recovery High School boys basketball team surge past the New Bremen Cardinals on Friday for a 55-50 victory at Fort Site Fieldhouse.

The win moves the Indians to 11-11 (4-4 Midwest Athletic Conference) while the Cardinals fall to 14-8 (6-3 MAC).

Fort Recovery trailed 17-13 at the end of the first period before trimming the margin to three points, 28-25, at halftime. The Tribe outscored the Cardinals 18-9 in the third quarter and held off a potential rally in the fourth.

Brian Bihn had a game-high 14 points to lead the Indians, who also got 10 points from Cale Rammel and nine apiece from Clay Schmitz and Regan Martin.

Trevor Bergman scored 11 points to lead the Cardinals in the losing effort.