Regional finish

FORT WAYNE — Three Patriots got to run at the regional for the first time. Two more made their curtain calls.

While the Patriots could push up high enough to score, they still got to end their season at the regional.

The Jay County High School boys track team’s season came to a close on Thursday as it competed in a relay and four individual events at the IHSAA Regional 3 meet hosted by Carroll.

With Jay County’s highest finish coming in at 12th place, it didn’t manage to score any points. New Haven ran away with the regional title, topping the field that included 32 scoring teams with 74 points.

While the Patriots didn’t manage to tally any points, they had plenty to celebrate about the season as they took steps in the right direction.

“Being able to make it to the regional is a big deal for these guys,” said JCHS coach Joe Imel. “We had a great season as a boys team. We had the highest finish in the ACAC that I’ve coached. I feel like we had a lot of progress this year. I think Caleb, in his 3,200-meters ran a PR, so we’ve got a lot of things up and coming looking forward to the future.”

Caleb Garringer did own the highest finish for the Patriots as he placed 12th in the 3,200-meter run.

In his first appearance at the regional, he sat between eighth and 11th for a majority of the race. Over the final 400 meters, Garringer faded over the final 400 meters, letting a pair of runners from Adams Central claim eighth and ninth.

The JCHS sophomore staved off Yorktown's Isiah Loney for the longest time. Loney and Peyton Engel of Delta both made moves in the final 100 to overtake Garringer. Engel crossed the finish line in 10 minutes, 6.44 seconds, while Loney earned a 10:07.17 to barely beat Garringer’s 10:17.44. Garringer did manage to beat Northop’s Biruk Shaw by 0.4 seconds.

“I’m not unhappy,” Garringer said. “I could have been a lot better I think, but you win some you lose some.”

Garringer was one of three Patriots to make his first appearance at the regional and after getting a taste, he will know what to expect for future years.

“It was a little overwhelming the first time,” Garringer said. “I’m not used to such a massive audience and people everywhere. … I wanted to do my best. It’s my first time at regionals, so I wanted to feel it out. I’ve got two more years.”

Dash Thacker and Max Klopfenstein also made their first appearances alongside Garringer as part of the 4x800-meter relay. Junior Joseph Boggs, who made his second regional appearance, led off the race before the three first-timers carried the final three legs.

Adam Alig jumps over a hurdle during his third and final event of the day, the 300-meter hurdles. The regional was the last meet for either athlete as a Patriot as Alig graduates from Jay County this year, and Boggs will be moving out of the school district. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

They combined to run an 8:41.56 that placed 13th.

Senior Adam Alig made his curtain call at the regional, competing in a trio of events.

Alig faced some struggles throughout the day resulting in a pair of 14th-place finishes and one 16th placement.

He cleared the high jump bar’s opening height of 5 feet, 10 inches, but couldn’t work any higher to finish 14th.

Alig got off to a strong start in the 110 hurdles, keeping up with the higher seeds before clipping the third hurdle and falling behind. He wound up with a time of 16.10 seconds in the prelims, falling short of the finals by 0.28 seconds.

Then in the 300 hurdles, Alig eased up towards the end of the race, resulting in the 16th-place finish in 43.50 seconds.

While this is Alig’s third straight regional appearance, it was his first time competing in the hurdles events.

“That was my last time and I’m just fine with that,” Alig said. “It’s great (to make the regional). After indoor state, I figured that was as high as I would get this year. I didn’t really expect to get here, but I was really happy that I did, for three events especially.”

Along with Alig, Boggs made his final appearance as a Patriot, as he will be moving schools in 2025-26.

“They’ve brought a lot of reliability and stability,” Imel said. “Adam has scored 180 points and is someone we can rely on day in and day out to be a great leader. You can tell he enjoys doing what he does and we’ll definitely miss him. Joseph has been able to be a stable leader for that (distance) group and works hard. He’ll be fine no matter where he goes when he continues his track and field adventure.”