JCHS ties mark

Prior to the 2010-11 season, Matt Slavik told his team he felt it was the best group he had coached at JCHS.
That squad went on to set a school record with 12 wins.
When he told the Patriot swimmers the same thing before this season, they weren’t quite sure whether or not to believe him.
The results have proven him right.
With its 182-125 victory Thursday over the visiting Centerville Bulldogs, Jay County tied the mark it set last season.
“(Tying the record) feels good,” said Patriot senior Eme Miller after her team improved to 12-3. “I’ve been on the team for four years, and I think every year we’ve gotten better. Every year we get new good freshman and the seniors get better and everyone works together. It feels good.”
JCHS, which was 12-3-1 last season, is in the midst of its sixth straight winning campaign. It will try to break the school record for wins Tuesday when it visits Blackford.
“These girls were perfect,” said Jay County girls coach Matt Slavik of his senior swimmers, who were freshmen when he took over the program. “They worked hard. And they’ve made steady improvement year in and year out. … They don’t give up. They keep working.
“Every single senior is dropping time right now. … The seniors have put forth a tremendous effort and they deserve a lot of credit for how this team shaped up.”
The Patriot boys made it a double victory Thursday, also dominating Centerville 199-66. They improved to 9-3 and are one victory away from matching their win total from the last two seasons combined.
“It was fun,” said JCHS boys coach Barry Weaver. “It’s great to see kids who are not normally in certain events get in and do a nice job … and really think about times. The other night, even though we were excited to beat Muncie Central, I don’t really think we were focused on our swims. … Tonight I think their mind was on swimming and trying to swim fast.”
Three swimmers each won a pair of events to pace the JCHS girls, including seniors Mary Hudson and Miller.
Hudson, who has qualified for the state finals in the 100-yard breaststroke in each of the last two seasons, dominated the 100 and 200 freestyle with winning times of 58.59 seconds and 2 minutes, 13.92 seconds respectively. Miller took the 200 individual medley by more than 10 seconds in 2:27.93 and the 100 breaststroke by more than five seconds in 1:18.63.
Sophomore Caitlin Mark and freshman Katy Smeltzer pulled away late in a close three-way race in the 500 freestyle, with Mark edging her teammate by less than a half second in 6:11.58.She also took the 50 freestyle by more than two seconds in 27.63.
Sammi Compton led a JCHS diving sweep, finishing first in front of teammates Demi Lucas and Laci Hall with 173.7 points.
Laura Bowen, Marissa Murrell, Hudson and Mark teamed to win the 200 medley relay in 2:09.07. Slavik said Bowen, who is a co-captain along with Miller and Hudson, has been a key to the Patriots’ success this year.
“For girls swimmers, when they hit high school a lot of them will plateau,” said Slavik. “Laura Bowen … her freshman year she dropped a bunch of time and then her sophomore and junior year she stayed flat. Well this year she’s dropping time again. The other day she dropped five seconds in the 500. …
“She’s taken on a leadership role and I can’t speak highly enough of her. … It’s been fantastic.”
James Keen was the lone double winner for the JCHS boys as he led a sweep of the 50 freestyle in 23.75 ahead of Dylan Friddle and Alex Sutton. He also took the top spot in the 100 freestyle with Luke Holcomb in second place.
Zach James led another sweep, finishing in front of Wiley Young and Holcomb in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.6. He narrowly missed a double-victory as senior teammate Caleb Hummel edged him by one hundredth of a second to take the 100 butterfly in 1:13.34.
“Before that (Hummel) said, ‘Wouldn’t it be strange if my first win of the year was in the butterfly,’ for a guy who swims the 500 all the time,” noted Weaver. “I think he was really excited. …
“It’s great to be able to have some of those events where some guys who are consistently dropping time can get a first place. It’s fun for them. Those are the times where you get to see the smiles.”
Josh Lykins, James, Sutton and Friddle teamed for a time of 1:55.15 to win the 200 medley relay, and Keen, James, Holcomb and Young were first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:37.99.
The Patriots were uncontested in diving with Remington Arnold posting 129.75 points for the victory.[[In-content Ad]]