Patriots beat Bellmont

The Patriot girls took another step toward a record Thursday. And Neal Fennig hit a couple of milestones for the boys.
Jay County High School’s girls swim team, behind double wins from Mary Hudson and Brie McGhee, defeated the visiting Bellmont Squaws 164-145 to improve to 9-2-1 on the season. With four dual meets left, they are just two wins away from tying the school record.
“This is what I’d hoped to see,” said JCHS girls coach Matt Slavik. “A lot of the girls that are going to help us out at sectional stepped up in their events.
“Bellmont has come a long way. They swam great tonight.
“It was a good meet.
“Saturday is going to tell a lot,” he added of Saturday’s Jay County Invitational, “but I’m impressed with how they swam.”
Fennig broke the one-minute mark in two events for the boys team, which fell 199-95 to the Braves.
“We had a pretty good night overall as far as personal bests are concerned,” said Patriot boys coach Barry Weaver after his team dropped to 2-7. “I think we’re getting there.”
Hudson scored victories for the Patriots, who took all but one individual event, with times of 1 minute, 5.82 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly and 1:09.19 in the 100 backstroke. McGhee, a freshman, posted a winning time of 2:26.31 in the 200 individual medley and 6:08.97 in the 500 freestyle.
Caitlin Mark tossed her name into the mix as part of Jay County’s strong 100 breaststroke group. The freshman was in a dead heat with Bellmont’s Bailee Hankenson at the midway point of the event, but she pulled away in the final 25 yards to win by more than a second in 1:18.26.
“We’ve got four girls that can swim in that event (in the finals) for sectional,” said Slavik of the group that also includes Hudson, a 2010 state qualifier in the event. “And we can only swim three. That’s a good problem to have.”
It was a breakthrough evening for Neal Fennig, a senior who has been on a mission to break the one-minute mark in the 100 backstroke for most of the last two seasons.
He opened his impressive evening by accomplishing the feat in the 100 butterfly, reaching the wall in a winning time of 59.46. And then he broke the barrier again in the backstroke at 59.52.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody do that in 36 years (of coaching) in the same night,” said Weaver of Fennig’s dual accomplishment. “He was excited. I think I actually saw a smile out of him. That was fun.”
Eme Miller took the 100 freestyle for the girls team in 1:00.08, and Charlotte Becot was first at 2:12.58 in the 200 freestyle. Miller was also the runner-up in the 50 freestyle while Becot finished third in the 100 breaststroke.
Megan Taylor earned another victory in diving, finishing more than 40 points clear of the field with 185.3.
Slavik also said he was impressed with Alyson Lucas, a freshman who took third place in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 500 freestyle.
Fennig’s efforts represented the only victories of the night for the Jay County boys. Wiley Young added a runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle in 24.49, and Richard Osterholt turned in a second-place time of 1:20.81 in the 100 breaststroke.
“Wiley had a really great night,” said Weaver. “He dropped significant time in the 50 and nine seconds in the 500.
“Richard had a really good night in the breaststroke … The older guys are really dropping time …”[[In-content Ad]]