JC cruises over Bruins

HARTFORD CITY — The Jay County track teams swept the host Blackford Bruins in their openers Tuesday, with the boys winning 87-36 while the girls posted a 94-28 victory.

Senior Isaac Kunkler racked up three victories to lead the Patriot boys, winning the high jump, 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles. Joseph Kunk, also a senior, finished first in the shot put and discus, and Adam Alig took the top spot in the long jump as JCHS swept the field events. Freshman Garrett Hidy won both the 100 dash and 200 dash in his first high school meet.

Morgan DeHoff led the girls with three individual wins in the long jump 100-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles while also running the first leg of the first-place 4x100 relay as she teamed with Natalie Wehrly, Johanna Anders and Jenna Dues. Wehrly added two wins of her own as she crossed the finish line first in both the 100 dash and 200 dash, and also teamed with Cash Hollowell, Mya Kunkler and Anders to take the top spot in the 4x400 relay. And Gabi Bilbrey was first in the shot put and discus.



Lykins lifts

DECATUR — Jaelynn Lykins led the Patriots in just about every offense category during her freshman season.

She delivered again Tuesday in extra innings.

Lykins smacked an RBI double in the top of the ninth inning to deliver the game-winning run for the Jay County High School softball team, which went on to a 6-3 victory over the host Bellmont Braves.

Jay County (2-0), which opened Monday with a six-inning, mercy-rule win over Blackford, saw a 3-0 lead slip away when the Braves scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning. The next three frames were scoreless before the Patriots put up three runs in the top of the ninth and then held blanked Bellmont in the bottom of the frame.

A Janae Jacobs single set the table for Lykins, whose RBI double put JCHS in control. The Patriots tacked on two more runs in the inning before pitcher Mallory Winner shut the door on the Braves and gpt the complete game.

Riah Champ hit her second home run in as many games, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Winner recorded the win, allowing three runs — one earned — on six hits.



JV softball falls

A wild, back-and-forth contest slipped away from Jay County’s junior varsity softball team in extra innings as it fell 14-12 in eight innings to the visiting South Adams Starfires.

The Patriots looked to be in control, when their six-run bottom of the sixth inning put them ahead 12-8. But South Adams responded with four runs in the top of the seventh thanks to RBIs from Kenzie Neuenschwander, Reagan Beitler and Lyndsey LeFever and two more in the eighth, taking the lead on a single by Shelby Weigel.

Calie Yates led Jay County in the loss as she went 3-for-5 with a triple and four RBIs. Zoe Romine and Tessa Miller also recorded multiple hits.

Ava Miller suffered the loss in relief.