A very successful boy’s track and field season continued for PORTA-AC Central as the Bluejays placed second as a team in the Class 1A Rushville Sectional and will be sending a host of athletes to the IHSA State Finals starting Thursday, May 23 at Eastern Illinois University.
The Stanford Olympia Spartans beat PORTA-AC Central in the second round of regional play 10 to 0 to end the Bluejay’s softball season at 12-11. PORTA-AC did get revenge on arch-rival Athens for a 13 to 1 April loss by knocking the Warriors off in round one of the regional by a score of 10 to 8.
The best season in quite some time for the PORTA-AC Central baseball team ended with a 5 to 3, Regional Semifinal loss to the New Berlin Pretzels. The Bluejays lost to the Pretzels 12 to 1 on April 22 which spurned PORTA-AC onto a great finish to the season. They end the year with a mark of 21-10.
An incredible ten-game winning streak has carried the PORTA-AC Central baseball team to a 20-9 regular season record becoming the first Bluejay team in the last twenty years to reach the twenty-win milestone.
The Jays started the season slowly and were 5-5 at the end of March and 10-8 in middle of April. Following a disheartening loss to New Berlin on April 22 the team turned things around and has not lost since.
The PORTA-AC Central track and field teams wrapped up their regular season competitions by sweeping to team victories in both the boys and girls meets at their own PORTA Last Chance Meet last Monday.
For the boys, Jacob Vogel won the 100 and placed second in the 200, Noah Hardy placed second in the 400, Daxton Trueblood won the 800, Justin Zimmerman finished third in the 800, Kade Parker won the 1600, Logan Baker was second in the 110 hurdles, Avery Jockisch was third in the 110 hurdles, Bryson Schachtsiek won the 300 hurdles and the long jump, Owen Gilbert placed third in the discus, and Isaac Rennecker won the high jump and the triple jump. The 4x200 relay team of Hunter Stroupe, Schachtsiek, Rennecker and Jacob Vogel, the 4x400 relay team of Stroupe, Quincy Stuhmer, Cael Cotner and Trueblood and the 4x800 relay team of Justin Zimmerman, Stuhmer, Parker and Trueblood all won first place in their races.
The PORTA-AC Central baseball team won four straight games last week to push their winning streak to six games overall. Wins over Auburn, Beardstown, Williamsville, and Pawnee moved the Bluejays’ season record to 16-9.
Track season is wrapping up and that means conference championship meets. The PORTA-AC Central Bluejays traveled to Pleasant Plains last week for the Sangamo Conference Championship Meet with the boys placing fifth and the girls taking seventh as a team.
It was a tough week on the field for the PORTA-AC Central Lady Bluejays as they lost on a walk off in the seventh inning to New Berlin and were no hit in a loss to Stanford Olympia. The Lady Jays are now 11-7 on the year.It was a back-and-forth battle early on Monday at New Berlin as PORTA-AC scored two in the first and three in the second only to have the Pretzels score three in the first and two in the second making it 5 to 5 after two innings.
The PORTA-AC Central baseball team rebounded from an ugly loss to pick up two wins last week and move to 12-9 on the season.
On Monday the Jays managed just one hit in a 12 to 1 loss to New Berlin. The Pretzels scored five in the first, four in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth of the ten-run rule win. Drew Atwater had the only Bluejay hit.
The PORTA-AC Central boys’ and girls’ track teams both finished in first place as a team at last week’s five-team meet at Havana.
Jacob Vogel won the 100 and was second in the discus, Lane McNally was sixth in the 100, Jophy Lin was second in the 200, Drew Carter was fifth in the 200, Cael Cotner won the 400, Noah Hardy placed second in the 400 and the 800 and third in the long jump, Justin Zimmmerman won the 800 and was third in the 400, Kade Parker won the 1600, Quincy Stuhmer placed second in the 1600, Bryson Schachtsiek won the 110 hurdles and was second in the high jump, Logan Baker was second in the 110 hurdles, Avery Jockisch was third in the 110 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles, Logan Baker won the 300 hurdles, Chase Pratt placed second in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the triple jump, AJ Fickas was sixth in the shot put, Anthony Loxley was sixth in the discus, Owen Gilbert won the shot put and placed third in the discus, Isaac Rennecker won the high jump and was second in the long jump, and Deacon Stroupe was fourth in the high jump.