Jay crushes Bluffton

In their final competition of the 2010-11 season, the Patriots finished seventh in the sectional tournament. They were 35 points behind fifth-place Bluffton.
In its season-opener Tuesday, the Jay County High School boys swim team dominated that same Bluffton squad.
The Patriots won every event with the exception of diving, crushing the visiting Tigers 189-125.
“We feel good about getting out (to a strong start),” said JCHS boys coach Barry Weaver. “We’re on the right track and doing some things well.
“I know Bluffton graduated several guys, but they’ve still got some fine swimmers.”
Jay County’s girls also won, 193-116, to keep their perfect record in tact.
“We had a great meet tonight,” said Patriot girls coach Matt Slavik. “It’s great to come out when both the boys and the girls teams come back together and swim the way we did. You’ve got to give a lot of props to the boys team for how they swam … And our girls did a super job.”
Freshman James Keen highlighted the dominant evening for the Jay County boys, breaking the one-minute mark in a pair of events.
Keen defeated Bluffton’s top returning swimmer, Sam Walburn, in both of his events, posting a time of 59.23 in the event to join the 50-second club in the 100-yard backstroke. His time broke the freshman record in the event, set by Kyle Weaver in 2000, and made him the first JCHS swimmer to break the minute mark in the backstroke before doing so in the freestyle.
In the 200 individual medley, Keen was second after the opening butterfly leg before taking the lead during the backstroke. He pulled away from Walburn, who was first in the 2011 sectional in the 100 butterfly and second in the 200 freestyle, to win by nearly three seconds in 2:11.98.
Keen was also on the Patriots’ winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
“He’s quite a talent,” said Weaver. “He uses the strokes that he’s built to his best advantage. He grabs the water and pushes it backwards.”While a freshman highlighted the evening for the boys team, it was a couple of mainstays that led the JCHS girls to their victory.
Mary Hudson, a two-time state qualifier, took the top spot in both of her races by more than 10 seconds. She was first with times of 1:13.11 in the 100 breaststroke and 2:30.37 in the 200 individual medley.
Eme Miller and fellow senior Marissa Murrell teamed for a one-two finish in the 100 freestyle, with Miller winning by about six seconds in 1:00.02. She also posted a time of 27.47 to take the 50 freestyle.
“She’s right on,” said Slavik of Hudson, noting that he wanted her to be around the 1:13 mark in the breaststroke at this point of the season. “We changed her stroke a little bit, so I think she’s going to be faster than last year.
“Eme hasn’t swam the 500 yet, so we’ll be curious to see how that goes, but her 100s and 50s are coming along pretty well.
“They’ve led by example (throughout their careers), but I think they’re getting a little more boisterous and motivating some of the other girls. … They’re doing a great job.”
Senior Alex Sutton also earned a couple of wins for the boys team, going one-two with teammate Caleb Hummel in the long-distance events. He won the 200 freestyle in 2:03.33 and the 500 freestyle in 5:45.48.
Luke Holcomb won the 100 freestyle in 57.33, and Bluffton transfer Matt Dann took the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.50 with teammates Zach James and Willie Skiver in second and third respectively.
Dylan Friddle picked up the other victory for Jay County, winning the 50 freestyle in 25.3 ahead of Josh Lykins and Holcomb. The senior also broke the 1-minute mark in the 100 freestyle for the first time in his career with a time of 58.66.
“He’s been waiting eight months to do that,” said Weaver of Friddle, one of his team captains. “He’s doing a great job.
“He works real hard. He comes in and has a purpose, and he just wants to go out and do what he can.”
The JCHS girls divers did everything they could do to get the team off to a strong start, with Sammi Compton winning with 147.35 points ahead of fellow Patriots Demi Lucas and Rachel Vogler.
Freshman Katy Smeltzer took the 200 freestyle in 2:15.34, and also finished second in the 100 butterfly. Caitlin Mark, a sophomore won the 100 backstroke in 1:13.97.
Miller, Hudson and Smeltzer joined Mark to win the 200 medley relay in 2:03.4 and teamed with Murrell for first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:50.89.
“Katy Smeltzer had a great meet,” said Slavik. “Her butterfly looked pretty solid.
“Just in general I liked our relay transitions. … Our medley relay is standing out. I think they can contend with any team in our sectional.”[[In-content Ad]]