Headed to state finals

James Keen started the season focused on reaching the state finals. Josh Lykins, Cody White and Sok Vormohr never dreamed they’d be there.
All four will represent Jay County at the IHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving State Finals at 6 p.m. Friday at IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to make it to state this year,” said White, a sophomore, who will compete in the 400-yard freestyle relay along with Keen, Lykins and Vormohr.
“It’s crazy. I don’t know how to explain it,” added Lykins, a junior. “I never expected to be going to state. … I never expected to be going anywhere as a swimmer.”
In addition to the relay, Keen will compete in a couple of individual events, the 100-yard backstroke and 200 freestyle.
The top 16 swimmers from Friday’s preliminary competition advance to Saturday’s championship and consolation finals.
The Patriots are long shots in all three events, with Keen seeded 31st out of 32 competitors for the backstroke and 32nd for the 200 freestyle. The relay team also holds the No. 32 seed.
Still, Keen said he’s shooting for a spot in the top 16.
“I’m still going to set my goals high and try to achieve my goals no matter what,” he said.
Keen broke his own school record in the 100 backstroke in winning the sectional title Saturday at JCHS. His winning time of 55.13 has him ahead of No. 32 seed Alex King of Evansville Reitz while Center Grove’s Dan O’Brien holds the No. 16 seed at 53.12.
The state favorite in the event is Chesterton’s Aaron Whitaker at 50.99 seconds.
Keen is at the bottom of the field in the 200 freestyle at 1 minute, 51.16 seconds. Nick Lyons of Twin Lakes is the No. 31 seed at 1:50.2, and Valparaiso’s Andrew Antonetti holds the No. 16 spot at 1:43.77.
The sophomore, who was a sectional runner-up in two events last season, said he’s looking forward to being pushed by the state field.
“I’m always better with competition,” Keen said. “I’m not good when I’m swimming by myself. … I’m better to swim against (the competition) and try to beat them.
“(The state finals are) a lot bigger. It’s a lot more competitive. … You have more people watching you. … A lot more pressure.”
Jay County would need to make its biggest improvement to have a chance to advance in the relay as 16th-seeded Brownsburg had a sectional time of 3:14.65. The Patriots won the sectional race in their home pool in 3:25.4, and Vincennes Lincoln is seeded 31st at 3:21.66.
Their goal in that race is to break the school record of 3:22.45 held by Bob Morrison, Derek May, Ted Morrison and Tony Schoenlein.
“We want to get that relay record,” said Keen. “We can get it. We need to make sure everybody does their part, not really racing other teams but just racing the clock.”
White said the key to the relay team’s success has been the ability for everyone to fill his role, and that someone is always ready to step up when necessary.
“We all try our hardest to do what we can,” said White. “There’s always someone who needs to take up a little slack, and whether it’s Sok, me, James or Josh that has to do it, it gets done. That’s what makes us a good team.”
The trip to the state finals will cap a season that opened with five consecutive defeats. After that tough start, the Patriots refocused during their winter break and closed the regular season with 11 straight victories and a runner-up sectional finish.
“I think it’s very important, just from the standpoint that we’ve struggled for four months to keep our minds in the game, but the benefits do come along,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver of making the trip to the state finals. “When you put in the time and effort it really pays off in the end.”


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