Keen 25th in 200 free

INDIANAPOLIS — James Keen set a lofty goal of reaching the top 16. He didn’t get there, but he made a major jump in the effort.
Keen finished 25th in the 200-yard freestyle Friday in the preliminary round of the IHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving State finals at IU Natatorium.
The top 16 swimmers in each event advanced to today’s consolation and championship finals.
Keen entered the state finals as the No. 32 seed in the 200 freestyle, but set out to win his heat. He nearly did so, finishing as the runner-up in the race in 1 minute, 46.91 seconds for his 25th-place finish overall.
Jared Allen of Bedford North Lawrence took 16th place with a time of 1:44.55.
“James had a really nice swim in the 200,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver. “He felt real good about it.
“He knew that his 1:51 (at sectional) was not his best effort, so this week … he was ready to compete. He was rested and pumped up. He got out there and he got second in his heat. He really wanted to get first, but … that was a really fine swim for him.”
Keen also climbed a couple of spots in the 100 backstroke after entering the meet as the No. 31 seed. He finished in 55.56 to take 29th in the state.
Jay County also had a relay at the state finals for the first time in a decade, with junior Josh Lykins, freshman Sok Vormohr, and sophomores Cody White and Keen competing in the 400 freestyle event. They finished 31st in 3:28.43.
“They all had decent times, it just didn’t add up to what they wanted to,” said Weaver of the group that was hoping to take down the school record in the event.
“Overall it was a good experience for them to be able to get in there and swim with some of that state’s best.
“I think it was a fantastic night for them. They learned a lot … and they’ll be fired up to do some good things next year.”[[In-content Ad]]