ACAC XC runs through Jay County

BERNE — The Patriots didn’t have any runners finish in the top three among the Allen County Athletic Conference teams. But five girls finishing in the top 10 did the trick for the team.

The Jay County High School girls cross country team finished first at the ACAC meet hosted by South Adams on Saturday while the boys finished fourth.

The girls claimed the conference championship with 33 points, while Bluffton was the runner-up with 40. The boys had 113 points for the fourth-place finish, while South Adams earned the top spot with 49.

Ava May (20 minutes, 56.4 seconds) and Brooklynn Byrum (21:17.5) placed back-to-back in fourth and fifth place. Jessie Homan came in next with her time of 22:05.7 to cross the line in seventh. Paityn Wendel (eighth) and Alexis Sibray (ninth) came in right behind Homan with times of 22:11.3 and 22:25.3, respectively.

Caleb Garringer paced the Patriots with a 17:44.0 that earned ninth place. Max Klopfenstein (18:03.6) and Grant Glentzer (18:33.7) also earned spots in the top 20, crossing the line in 14th and 20th.

The other two scores came from Alex Rivers (30th – 19:43.8) and John Cook (40th – 21:40.9).

Pats take title

LIBERTY — The Jay County volleyball team wrapped up the regular season on Saturday by winning the Union County Invite.

The Patriots (20-10) opened the day with a 25-20, 25-18 victory over Lawrenceburg. In the second round of pool play, JCHS took down the Whiteland Warriors 23-25, 25-16, 25-15.

Jay County then defeated host Union County 25-14, 25-14 in the championship game.

Hallie Schwieterman and Maria Hemmelgarn carried a bulk of the offensive load with 32 and 24 kills, respectively. Mya Kunkler (18), Elizabeth Barnett (11) and Brenna Schmiesing (10) all had double digit kills as well.

Kunkler and Hemmelgarn also had big days defensively at the net. Hemmelgarn had two solo blocks and eight block assists, while Kunkler sent three shots back herself and assisted on four more.

Other leaders for the Patriots were Paisley Fugiett with 60 assists, Lani Muhlenkamp with 38 digs and Carley Trinidad and Kayla Jetmore with nine aces apiece.