Four members of the 2017 Junction City Lady Jay soccer team have received All-Centennial League Honorable Mention recognition.
They include Jasmine Barry, Lilly Greenslate, Ally McKenzie and Jaydon Zima.
Category: Blue Jay Sports
Postseason Recognition for JCHS Athletes
Junction City High School Athletic Director Matt Westerhaus announced on twitter that five members of the Blue Jay baseball team and one Lady Jay softball player received Centennial League recognition.
For the baseball team Charlie Peyla was named all league first team, Thane McDaniel and Tim Bell received second team honors, while Nick Dombrowski and Easton Rindt received honorable mention.
In softball Emmaya Liaiana of JCHS received honorable mention.
Lady Jays Earn State Championship
Nashaia Nixon had one key goal as she ran the final leg of the 4 x 400 Relay for the Junction City girls track team Saturday evening….a state title!
The Lady Jays needed to finish fifth or higher in the 4 x 400 to win the Class 6A girls team title outright. They finished fourth with Nixon running the baton across the finish line. On her thoughts during that final 400 she stated, “I’m really just thinking, try the best I can do. I wanted to get my team in that spot. I knew that there was a lot on the line. Any person that was in front of me I thought pass them, pass them.”
Tiara Smith, Alana Kramer and Keiana Newman were the other members of the 4 x 400 Relay team.
Lady Jay teammate Lyric Holman finished fourth in both the 100 and 200 meter dash events, and third in the 400. In the process she earned 16 team points for Junction City. “Winning this state championship means a lot for us. We were thinking about this ever since our first track meet. We always talk about it.” Holman added the title meant they all worked hard to accomplish it. “Not just one person, not just two, the whole entire team that made us get there. I’m just proud of everyone in that, I’m just so excited that we were able to win this and show people in Junction City back home what we can do.”
There were other strong performances for Junction City. Keiana Newman won the gold medal in the 100 and 300 Hurdles and also ran on the gold medal winning 4 x 100 Relay team. She was joined on that relay team by Holman, Shamya Banks and Amaya Booker.
Booker finished third in the 100 Meter Dash and sixth in the 200 Meter Dash, and Ayi-lissa Dotson finished seventh in the high jump.
Two Blue Jays Compete in State Golf Tournament
Junction City Blue Jay Logan Roether shot a round of 80 to tie with eight other golfers for 38th in the Class 6A State Golf Tournament at the Auburn Hills Golf Course in Wichita on Monday.
Also for Junction City, Tyler Gromlovits shot a round of 91 for an 84th place finish in the tournament.
Sion Audrain of Garden City captured first place in a playoff. He finished with a round of 70.
Overland Park – Blue Valley North captured the team championship.
JCHS Fifth in Centennial League All Sports Standings
Junction City High School finished fifth out of 10 schools in the all sports standings for the 2016-17 year in the Centennial League.
Washburn Rural finished first with a total score of 179.5 followed by Manhattan at 176.5, Seaman 151.5, Shawnee Heights 141.5, Junction City 105, Topeka High 99.5, Hayden 96.0, Emporia 95.0, Topeka West 64.5 and Highland Park 35.0.
JCHS Athletic Director Matt Westerhaus noted it’s the first time Junction City High School has ever finished in the top five for all league standings in regards to the boys and girls sports. He added he thinks JCHS can continue to climb.
Points are calculated based on the finish of the different teams in the league in up to 21 sports.
Blue Jay Head Baseball Coach Submits Resignaton
Junction City Blue Jay Head Baseball coach Drew Biery has resigned.
Biery will operate his new baseball academy in Manhattan. “I’ve got about 10 to 12 teams in there now that will go around and travel during the summer, and do some fall ball things of that sort. ” Biery will also become a special education teacher at Manhattan High School.
During his three years as head baseball coach at Junction City High School Biery guided the Blue Jay baseball teams to a pair of state tournament appearances, and an 11-10 record this past season. “”I got to know the kids a lot, we did some great things. I think that we’ve got a good foundation of a baseball program here. I hope that whoever comes in behind me can continue some of the success that we had and more. ”
Blue Jay Boys Basketball Head Coach Resigns
Nate Schmitt has resigned from the Junction City Blue Jay boys basketball head coaching position.
Schmitt is returning to Lakin High School to serve as the athletic director and boys head basketball coach at that school. He spent three years at that school as boys head basketball coach before coming to Junction City. Schmitt stated, “I told the boys yesterday ( Friday ). That’s a very difficult thing to do, but we’re going to go back and be closer to family.” Lakin is about an 18-mile drive from his hometown of Holcomb in southwest Kansas.
Schmitt said he was contacted by officials in Lakin about the dual coaching /athletic director position. “It was a little bit more money and I don’t have to teach.” He added the number one attraction was family. “It’s the first time my wife and I have been away from family. We just miss them and want to be back closer.” Schmitt’s brother will serve as an assistant basketball coach for him at Lakin High School, and he also noted his sister also had accepted a volleyball coaching position at nearby Garden City High School.
Nate Schmidt has been employed In USD 475 for one school year. He taught physical education at Junction City Middle School and served as head basketball coach at the high school.
This past season the Blue Jay boys varsity basketball team finished with a record of 4-17. Schmitt stated, “As far as the basketball, I feel like the program is in better shape than it was when we found it. And I think that it’s going to continue to grow because of the kids that are in it. There’s some great kids coming up.” Schmitt added he felt the future was bright.
JCHS Qualifies 22 Athletes for State Track Meet
The Junction City High School track and field program will send a contingent of athletes to the State Track meet next week in Wichita.
The Lady Jays captured first in the team competition at the Class 6A Regional meet on Thursday in Lawrence with 152 points, ahead of Manhattan who finished second in the eight-team field with 110 points.
For the Lady Jays Lyric Holman won the 100 meter dash in 12.75, finished second in the 200 meters in 25.93, and second in the 400 meters in 59.30. Amaya Booker was third in the 100 in 12.92 and fourth in the 200 in 26.50. Hope Stephens was third in the 800 meter run in 2:25.61, while Keiana Newman won the 100 meter hurdles in 15.46 and the 300 meter hurdles in 46.80. Alana Kramer was third in the 100 meter hurdles in 16.68 and third in the triple jump with a mark of 33-feet-10.5-inches, Tiara Smith finished third in the 400 meters in 1:00.27 and Destiny Lemons was fourth in the 300 meter hurdles in 61.16. The Lady Jay 4 x 100, 4 x 400, and 4 x 800 relay teams all finished first.
Hannah Reynolds finished second in the discus with a throw of 130-feet-11-inches, Savannah Adams was third in the shot put with a throw of 35-feet-11.5 inches, Ayi-lissa Dotson won the high jump with a top jump of 5-feet-4-inches, and Hope Stephens finished fourth in the high jump at 15-feet-2-inches.
The Blue Jay boys scored just 30 points and finished eighth in the Regional Meet. Chase Bennett finished fourth in the 800 meter run in 2:04.62 and Jacob Lovell was third in the 1600 meter run in 4:34.91. Jaylene Brime was fourth in the long jump at 20-feet-8 inches, and he also won the triple jump with a top mark of 45-feet-4.25 inches.
Hannah Reynolds finished second in the discus with a throw of 130-feet-11-inches and Savannah Adams was third in the shot put with a throw of 35-feet-11.5 inches.
The state track meet is May 26th and 27th at Cessna Stadium in Wichita.
Season Ends for Lady Jay Softball Team
The Junction City Lady Jay softball team saw their season come to an end with a 4-3 loss to Haysville Campus in eight innings in the first round of a Class 6A Regional Tournament in Wichita.
The Lady Jays ended the season 6-15.
Season Ends for Blue Jay Baseball
The Junction City Blue Jay baseball team lost to Hutchinson 8-1 in a Class 6A Regional Tournament on Wednesday in Dodge City.
The loss ended the season for Junction City. The Blue Jays finished with a final record of 11-10.