Bulldogs repeat as county champs

Batesville won a combined 25 of 32 events and continued its stranglehold over competition inside the county as the Bulldogs swept the Ripley County Championship track and field meet on Thursday night at home. 

The effort marks a repeat championship performance by both teams going back to the 2019 county meet. 

Batesville won 14 of 16 events in the boys meet, winning the championship with 125 points. Jac-Cen-Del finished runner-up with 45 points and South Ripley was third with 39 points. Milan scored 29 points and finished fourth. 

Gabe Gunter, Eli Pierson, Ben Moster and Deacon Hamilton were named Co-MVPs for the boys meet and each brought home multiple wins for the Bulldogs. Gunter won the high jump and pole vault while also starring on the winning 400 relay team and 1600 relay team. Pierson was a runner on both of those relay teams and won the 100 and 200 dashes while Moster won the 1600 run, 800 run and was on the winning 1600 relay team and 3200 relay team. Hamilton, a freshman, won the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. 

JJ Kuisel ran as part of all three championship relay teams and won the 400 dash while Ean Loichinger won the 3200 run and Kurt Siefert won the long jump. Dillon Murray, Daren Smith and Willy Sherwood each picked up a relay win. 

Smith was runner-up in the 800 run and Sherwood ran runner-up in the 200 dash. Other second place finishers for Batesville were Nate Deputy in the pole vault, Nathan Villani in the 1600 run, Vonley Hund in the 400 dash and Adam Hollowell in the 3200 run. Hamilton was third in the long jump. 

Jac-Cen-Del’s Luke Comer won the county discus event and was the team’s lone winner on the night. He also finished third in the 200 dash. Yuki Casado was second in the 100 dash while Christian Comer was runner-up in the long jump and Corbin White was runner-up in the shot put. Josh Pohle was third in the 1600 run, Damon Hughes was third in the 800 run and White was third in the discus. The Eagles’ 1600 relay team was second and the 400 relay team was third. 

South Ripley’s lone winner was Ryan Miller who won the shot put event and set a new county record in the process. Miller’s throw of 46 feet and 4.5 inches broke the previous record of 44 feet and 7 inches set by Jac-Cen-Del’s Tyler Johnson in 2014. 

Miller was a runner-up in the discus and William Tunny was second in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and high jump. Jaden Peetz was third in the high jump while Nick Zigan, Hayden Hooten, Leo Aldini and Cameron Reatherford were third in the 3200 relay. Tunny, Blake Volz, Mateo Villegas and Tanner Franklin were third in the 1600 relay. 

Milan succeeded in relay events with the team of Ayden Potts, Ethan Schwipps, Evan Miller and Ben Riehle placing second in the 3200 relay. Jonny Volk, Alex Wenger, Jonathan Aldridge and Riley Johnson were runner-up in the 400 relay. 

Johnson was third in the 100 dash and Wenger was third in the 400 dash. Other third place finishers for the Indians included Schwipps in the 300 hurdles. 

On the girls side, Batesville repeated as county champs with a team score of 110 points. South Ripley was runner-up with 58 points, Jac-Cen-Del was third with 54 points and Milan placed fourth with 16 points. 

Batesville’s Katie Olsen and Ava Hanson each won three events with both starring on the winning 3200 relay team and 1600 relay team. Olsen won the 400 dash while Hanson won the 800 run. Carley Pride was featured on the 1600 relay team and also won the high jump, Elena Kuisel was on the first place 400 relay team and won the pole vault and Megan Allgeier won the 1600 run and was also on the 3200 relay team. 

Kaylie Raver, Madelyn Pohlman, Lizzy Nobbe and Ella Moster were all on winning relay teams. Lily Pinckley won the 3200 run, Katie Bedel won the long jump and Georgie Doll won the shot put. 

Bedel was also runner-up in the shot put and pole vault while Pohlman was a runner-up in the 100 dash and Pinckley was a runner-up in the 1600 run. Other second place finishers for Batesville were Pride in the 400 dash, Trysta Vierling in the 800 run and Kuisel in the 200 dash. Moster was third place in the 300 hurdles, Nobbe was third in the 200 dash and Maria Lopez placed third in the 3200 run. 

Emily Flood won two events for South Ripley, winning the 110 hurdles and the 100 dash. Her time of 16.11 seconds in the hurdles set a new county record, breaking the previous mark of 16.50 seconds set by Jac-Cen-Del’s Kelsey Bowling in 2015. 

South Ripley’s Lanie Nicholson was runner-up in the 3200 run, Lena Conradi was second in the high jump and the team of Flood, Janire San Miguel, Eva Ayala and Shelby Bastin finisher runner-up in the 400 relay. Bastin, Conradi, San Miguel and Abby Kieffer were third in the 1600 relay. 

San Miguel was third in the 100 dash, Nicholson was third in the 1600 run and Conradi was third in the 400 dash. Bastin was a third place finisher in the long jump. 

Jac-Cen-Del’s Cloey Simon was named the MVP of the girls county meet after winning the 300 hurdles and setting a new county record in the event. Simon’s time of 48.40 seconds beat the previous record of 49.35 seconds set by Batesville’s Clare Bruns in 2015. 

Other Lady Eagle winners were Shaylee Volz in the discus and Kayla Simon in the 200 dash. Cloey Simon was runner-up in the 100 hurdles and Kayla Simon was third. Kayla Simon also ran second in the 300 hurdles. Lauryn Dilk was third in the 800 run while the 1600 relay team was second and the 400 relay team was third. 

In field events, the Lady Eagles got a second place finish from Cloey Simon in the long jump and Volz was third in the shot put. Emma Newhart was third in the discus. 

Milan’s Lucy Lillis, Madison Cavins, Emma Jutzi and Sarah Lillis finished third in the 3200 relay and Sophia Thomas was third in the high jump. Issabella Knueven was runner-up in the discus. 

Jac-Cen-Del, Milan and South Ripley all compete in the Ohio River Valley Conference championship meet tonight at Switzerland County while Batesville competes tonight in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference championship meet at Rushville.