Jay girls hold off Anderson

The Patriots weren’t going to lose.
Barring a false start, they had built up enough of a lead to secure the final outcome. But a second-place finish in the final event of the evening would have made the margin closer than they would have liked.
Midway through that 400-yard freestyle relay, the Jay County High School A relay trailed by several seconds. Then, Erica Hathaway hit the water.
The freshman didn’t just close the gap, she eliminated it, and Patriots went on to win the race to finish off a 159-145 victory over the visiting Anderson Indians.
“Erica Hathaway is an amazing young lady,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. “I’m fortunate to have her in both class and for swimming. Both of them she works extremely hard. …
“She’s extremely coachable. She’s not super intense outwardly, but you can tell looking at her she’s focused …”
The JCHS boys team did not fare as well, falling 195-104. It is now 0-2 on the season.
“The boys, every meet we go into, we’re going to be (outmanned),” said Slavik, whose lineup was limited to two or fewer swimmers in six of the eight individual events while Anderson used four in each. “There’s nothing we can do about that, but they’re fighting for their placements.
“I’m happy with the progress. I’m happy with the effort they’re putting into the season.”
The Patriot girls had the meet in hand heading into the final event, thanks in part to a one-two finish from Alex Bader (1 minute, 10.72 seconds) and Vivienne Kunkler in the 100 breaststroke. But it’s always best to close with a victory.
When Hathaway left the blocks on the third leg of the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay, she did so facing a deficit of 3.11 seconds. She tracked down her Anderson counterpart, pulled ahead in her final 25 meters and turned swimming duties over to Bader with a 0.68 second advantage. The junior then pulled away, giving the Patriots (3-0) the victory by nearly 10 seconds in 4:05.83.
That rally was part of a strong night for Hathaway, who took first in the 200 freestyle in 2:13.61 and teamed with Elizabeth McDowell, Jamie Valentine and Bader to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:51.66. She was also second in the 500 freestyle.
Bader was the lone double individual winner for the Patriots, taking the 200 individual medley in 2:19.32 along with her breaststroke victory. McDowell won the 50 freestyle in 27.48, and Samantha Link was first in diving with 186 points.
Slavik said he’s happy with how the girls team has performed, though he’s not sure what his best lineup will be.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea of where I’d like to see things, but the times are telling me some different stuff,” he said. “We’ve got good depth. I’m not sure where it’s best utilized yet.”
Tayler Smeltzer paced the Patriots boys, leading a one-two finish in the 50 freestyle in 25.7 ahead of teammate Ian Reynolds. He also finished the 100 freestyle in 56.91 to win by more than five seconds.
Garrett Campbell picked up the only other JCHS individual win. As the only Patriot in the pool against four Indians in the 100 butterfly, he pulled away to take the race by more than 11 seconds in 1:05.63.
Christopher McDowell, Smeltzer, Campbell and Reynolds were first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:41.81.
“I’m really happy with where we’re at,” said Slavik. “I think there’s a lot of things falling into place. There’s a lot of bright spots with both the boys and the girls.