In the state spotlight

Neal Fennig doesn’t show much outward emotion.
He doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.
And he has never seen himself as the star of the team.
But the Jay County High School senior will get to close out his career on the state’s biggest stage.
Fennig will compete Friday at 6 p.m. in the 200-yard freestyle at the IHSAA State Finals at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
“I never thought that I would be the one to go there,” said Fennig before Tuesday’s practice. “I’ve always kind of been a complement to the team. I’ve never been the really big stand-out. I guess I just surprised myself. I didn’t see it coming.
“It’s amazing. I’m really excited.”
Although Fennig does not consider himself as such, he has been the leader of the Patriot squad throughout the year.
He opened his season with a pair of victories against Bluffton, and was a double runner-up at the competitive Norwell Invitational. At the inaugural Jay County Invitational, which took the place of the Olympic Athletic Conference Tournament this year, he dominated the 200-yard freestyle for a win by more than four seconds.
He turned in the best swim of his career in the 200 freestyle at Saturday’s sectional, building a solid lead midway through the race. Two swimmers closed the gap on him, but Fennig was able to hold on to win the sectional title by one hundredth of a second over Bluffton’s Sam Walburn.
His time — 1:49.36 — was more than four seconds better than in his victory at the Jay County Invitational.
“Three years ago when he was a freshman he was just another kid like most of the others that come in,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver. “He was a decent swimmer, but at that time could we tell that he was going to go to the state meet, probably not.“It’s really neat to see them grow and mature into being able to take goals and grasp them and make them their own …”
For the state finals, Fennig is seeded last in the field of 32 swimmers based on his sectional-championship time. Only the top 16 swimmers from Friday’s preliminary round advance to Saturday’s consolation and championship finals, and Carroll’s David McAfee is the No. 16 seed at 1:44.23.
Top-ranked Carmel owns three of the top four seeds in the event, including No. 1 Matt Gerth at 1:40.05.
Under those circumstances, Fennig will be chasing personal goals in his final high school swim.
“Time improvement is the major thing,” said Weaver. “We’re going to go and try to do the best we can.
“It’s all about the week … and enjoying the ride. …
“There’s 20 sectionals and probably 24 to 30 guys (swimming the 200 freestyle) in every sectional, so even though he’s 32nd there’s about 450 other guys in the state who would love to trade places with him …”
Swimming is a family affair for Fennig — much of his immediate and extended family has been involved in swimming in Jay County and the surrounding area — and he has had an ongoing competition with his uncle, Bill Bryant.
On Friday night, he will be looking to beat Bill’s best time of 1:48.86.
“It’s bragging rights, just a fun family game I guess,” said Fennig. “He set the bar really high. We just pick at each other. I’ve got him in a couple spots, and he’s got me in a couple spots.”
Fennig and Bryant, who was part of the 1981 sectional championship 400 freestyle relay team, already share in several accomplishments. They are two of the seven swimmers in JCHS history to have broken the 50-second barrier in the 100 freestyle, joining the “40 second club”, with Fennig achieving the goal with his runner-up time of 49.94 at Saturday’s sectional meet.
Fennig also joined his uncle in the “50 second club” in the 100 butterfly at the meet that highlighted his season prior to the sectional title.
That effort came Jan. 14 against Bellmont, when Fennig posted a time of 59.46 in the 100 butterfly in his first individual swim of the evening. And in his second individual event, he reached the 50-second club again with a time of 59.52 in the 100 backstroke.
He had been chasing the minute mark in the backstroke for the better part of two seasons, having fallen just short despite battling a broken vertebrae as a junior. He is just the ninth swimmer in school history to achieve the feat in the event.
“That’s what we like them to do,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver. “As seniors, it’s really special, because that’s the end. We don’t want them to go out of here with any regrets. We want them to go out feeling good about what they’ve done here.”
Fennig said he is both proud and relieved to have reached his goals, and spread the credit around for those accomplishments.
“I set the bar high for myself, and I worked and Mr. Weaver is a great coach,” said Fennig, who had half a dozen teammates show up to practice with him despite the fact that school was canceled. “(JCHS girls coach Matt) Slavik has helped me a lot, and my family. I’ve just had a lot of support.
“Most definitely, I know for sure I never would be where I’m at without everybody.”[[In-content Ad]]