Shining in the 1 mile

With all three teams having bigger meets coming up on Saturday, the Patriots, Eagles and Tigers put out lineups that moved athletes around to try out some different events.

Still, the Patriots were able to put in some big performances.

Brooklynn Byrum and Joseph Boggs’ performances in the 1,600-meter run highlighted the day for the Jay County High School track teams Thursday, as the girls split with the Delta Eagles and Yorktown Tigers, while the boys finished third.

Yorktown swept both sides of the meet with the girls tallying 71 points and the boys getting 73. The Patriot girls (4-1) secured the runner-up position with 53 points, while Delta trailed with 42. Delta’s boys claimed second place with 56, while the Patriots (1-4) slipped to third with 38.

Considering the shakeups in the lineup, JCHS coach Joe Imel was pleased with the performances he got from his teams.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Imel said. “The kids, I thought, stepped up well. They had a great meet Tuesday and a lot of kids came back and had a great meet today.

“We had PRs in the throws, we had really good effort in the sprints, loaded up our mile … and got on pace there. We tried some different kids in some different relays to see where we are and what we do. Yeah, I feel like we had a good meet.”

The Patriots walked away with five first-place finishes, including both the boys and girls 1,600-meter run.

The Patriots trailed for a majority of the girls race as Isla Morrison kept up a solid pace for 1,500 meters. Booklynn Byrum stayed just behind Morrison from the start, while Jessie Homan made a move at the top spot during the second lap.

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Jay County track vs. Delta and Yorktown (4/17/2025)

Morrison reestablished her lead during the third lap and held it while Bryum inched her way forward. As the pair made their way around the final bend, Bryum unlocked an extra kick to pull even with 100 yards left and sprint her way to victory in 6 minutes, 0.56 seconds.

“My whole goal was to keep a good pace and the girl in front of me from Yorktown was a really good pacer,” Byrum said. “I said, ‘I’m just gonna stick with her,’ because she was pushing me and I was pushing her. Then, I just decided as soon as I get this last straightaway, last 100, I’m just going to try to pass her.”

Byrum’s final push was strong enough to beat Morrison by 2.18 seconds. Jessie Homan ended up fourth in the race with a 6:11.02 to score one point for JCHS.

The Patriots held a more consistent lead in the boys race, as Caleb Garringer quickly got out to the top spot. Following closely behind Garringer were Owen Fouts of Yorktown, Delta’s Noah Parrott and teammate Joseph Boggs.

By the start of the third lap, the group had shed Parrott as the other three competitors bunched up even closer. Garringer and Boggs took complete control of the race in the final lap before the latter finished with a similar sprint to the finish as Byrum. Boggs won the event with a time of 4:52.05, beating Harringer by 0.36 seconds.

“That’s what we expect with Joseph,” Imel said. “He’s the better sprinter of the two and that’s what makes him special. He’s got the speed along with the endurance to bring in the distance races.

“Caleb is coming on and working on his speed and his sprinting and gotten much better. And he’ll even say that’s what he needs to work on.”

Jay County had three more victories on the day with two coming from the girls and one from a boy.

Adam Alig had the only other first-place finish for the boys as he completed the 300 hurdles in 44.86 seconds. He demolished the field as Kedaar Nallamothu of Yorktown was the next to cross at 47.99.

Payton Carpenter had a new career best in the 400 dash. She crossed the line after 1:04.60, with 1.34 seconds to spare.

Jordyn Hutzler had the only win in a field event for Jay County, as her mark of 34 feet, 7 ¾ inches in the girls shot put beat Yorktown’s Mairin Gesler by 6 ½ inches.

The Patriots also finished as the runners-up in 13 events (including Garringer’s second-place finish in the 1,600 run). The one that stood out the most to Imel was the performance by the 4x400 relay team that included three freshmen and a sophomore.

Imel constructed the relay to start and end with sprinters, while a pair of distance runners made up the middle legs. Carpenter, a sophomore, got the race going before handing the baton off to Ava May. Lyla Kunkler took care of the third leg before London Lloyd took the Patriots home for a time of 4:40.33.

“It’s shaping up to be a very competitive 4x4 team for us when we put all the pieces together where those kids need to be,” Imel said. “Just trying to get those mid-distance, distance girls more speed work and then put some sprinters on the front and back of that to see what we can do.”