JCHS seeks first crown

In 35 seasons, the Jay County High School girls swim team has never won a sectional title.
The Patriots, who open their season Saturday at the Norwell Invitational, are ready for that streak to come to an end.
“Hopefully if things come out right, we should be right there,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik, whose team was fourth in last season’s sectional, of that possibility. “Muncie Central is always tough. (Defending champion) Norwell is always tough. … Based on what I’ve seen last year and what I think these girls are capable of, I think we can give them a run for their money in an invitational setting.”
Slavik’s reason for that belief is two-fold.
First, the Patriots have returning stand-out athletes led by 2010 state qualifier Mary Hudson.
The junior finished as the runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke at last season’s sectional meet, breaking Cori Vormohr’s school record with a time of 1 minute, 8.66 seconds. Only the top swimmer in each event earns an automatic state berth, but Hudson’s time was good enough to garner her one of the remaining positions in the 32-swimmer state field. She went on to finish 27th.
Hudson also placed fifth in the sectional meet in the individual medley.
Slavik said the team will take advantage of her skills in a wide range of events throughout the year before focusing in on the breaststroke and IM again at tournament time.
“Mary is the fastest breaststroker this school has every seen, as proved by the record board,” said Slavik. “She’s extremely talented. She’s a smart swimmer.
“I think she’s a lot more versatile than what she thinks she is.”
Megan Taylor, a senior, was the only other JCHS athlete to advance from the sectional last season. She finished just over five points behind Delta’s Kenna Gibson for the sectional title, and made her second straight trip to the regional diving meet.
She returns to lead a group of six divers that includes sophomore Sammi Compton, who was 10th in the 2010 sectional.
“Megan is a great leader,” said Slavik, noting that Taylor spent time at a Purdue diving camp this summer. “She’s one of the ones that just totally works so hard to perfect her craft. …
“She’s also coming off the board with more height than she has in years past …”
Junior Eme Miller joins Hudson as the only other Patriot who competed in an individual sectional championship race last season.
She was fifth in the 100 freestyle, and also added an eighth-place effort in the 50 freestyle.
“She’s focusing a little bit more on distance this year,” said Slavik. “After she had so much success with cross country (as a first-year runner she helped the Patriots to their fifth straight sectional title and third consecutive regional championship), I think she’s … got a confidence level that’s higher.”
The second part of the equation Slavik hopes will add up to a sectional championship is depth.
With just three top-six individual efforts last season, much of the team’s fourth-place finished was based on its depth group.
Katie Simmons, a junior, was 10th in the 100 breaststroke and 12th in the 500 freestyle. Elaine Hemmelgarn, who joins Taylor as the only other senior on the squad, was seventh in the 100 breaststroke. And Jocelyn Mann (100 butterfly) and Laura Bowen (individual medley) each added 10th-place finishes.
Slavik thinks his team will have even more in the way of depth this season with a strong group of newcomers. Among them are freshman Caitlin Mark, whose specialty is the butterfly, and French foreign exchange student Charlotte Becòt, who is expected to compete for the top spot in the backstroke.
“I think this is going to be one of the top teams that we’ve had, just based on the depth,” said Slavik. “It has been huge in the past, but this year we’re going way beyond anything that I’ve seen. …
“We have some freshmen coming in who are already ahead of the curve.
“We have a lot more middle swimmers. I’m not saying we’re going to be the fastest, but we’re going to have a lot more finishing second, third, fourth.”
In addition to getting Hudson back to the state meet in the breaststroke, and perhaps the IM as well, Slavik said he thinks his team will have a chance to send its medley relay to Indianapolis as well. That yet-to-be-determined group will be built around Hudson and Miller, who hold the school record in the event along with Michelle Landfair and Vormohr.
As for the team title, Slavik said he believes his team will need to post top-three finishes in every event, have three divers score major points and add enough depth points to put it over the top. He added that taking down Norwell and Muncie Central, who have combined to win the last six sectional meets contested at JCHS, will be a tall task.
But, it’s one that is within reach for the Patriots.
“I just think there is something different about the team this year,” said Slavik, noting that his athletes were already talking excited about the season during the summer. “They’re the ones telling me that these are their goals already. Something sparked a fire in them …
“Attitude is 95 percent of it, and we’ve got a bunch of girls with great attitudes.
“I think we have the capability to do it. … They’re convinced they can …”[[In-content Ad]]