Thankful for breaststroke

Matt Slavik is thankful for the breaststroke.

It’s an event that’s been a strength for the Patriots for years. And it made all the difference Thursday night.

Jay County High School’s girls swimmers took the top three places in the 100-yard breaststroke to take control of what was a one-point meet after 10 events on the way to a 156-143 victory over the visiting Norwell Knights.

The Patriot boys did not fare as well, picking up just one first-place finish as they fell 177-114.

Jay County’s girls (4-1) were nursing a one-point lead after Norwell scored wins in the 200 freestyle relay and 100 backstroke. But, despite not having two-time state qualifier Alex Bader in her top event, the breaststroke crew was ready.

Sophomore Vivienne Kunkler and senior Jamie Valentine took control of the race in a hurry and had only to battle each other for the win. Kunkler, swimming out of lane six, claimed the victory in 1 minute, 16.08 seconds, with Valentine 1.37 seconds behind her. Freshman Emma James fought off Kristen Smith of Norwell by just 0.2 seconds to take third place in 1:23.87.

“When it all comes down to it, I’ve got to give it up to our breaststrokers,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik of the group that provided a 10-point swing in the team score. “They went one, two, three, six in that event. That’s incredible. We’re just getting deeper and deeper in that event.”

Bader had two of the Patriots’ other four wins as she handled the distance events, posting times of 2:08.28 in the 200 freestyle and 5:37.51 in the 500 freestyle. Samantha Link won diving by more than 70 points with a total of 196.5, and Elizabeth McDowell took the 100 butterfly in 1:07.22.

Erica Hathaway, McDowell and Bader were part of both winning relays, teaming with Valentine in the 200 medley for a time of 2:00.59 and Kunkler in the 400 freestyle for a time of 4:16.04.

Hathaway added a pair of second-place efforts. Cassie Reno, McDowell and Valentine also added second-place finishes, and Jenna Dunfee and Kunkler each picked up one third place.

“I saw a lot of great things,” said Slavik. “We’re getting some girls swimming some off events and dropping some good time and making us stronger in that middle section.”

Garrett Campbell earned the only victory for the boys team, which dropped to 0-4. He cruised in the 500 freestyle, winning by nearly 55 seconds in 5:57.8 and finished as the runner-up by just half a second in the 200 freestyle.

Tayler Smeltzer, Christopher McDowell, Alex LeMaster and Campbell posted a time of 3:53.41 to win the 400 freestyle relay.

“Garrett Campbell came through for us in a couple events,” said Slavik. “He just got out-touched in the 200 relay coming back from the 500 free.”

Other second-place finishes came from Ian Reynolds, McDowell and Smeltzer.