February 5, 2016 at 6:29 p.m.
Patriots are the favorites, again
Jay girls claim eight top seeds for Saturday's sectional final
Two weeks later, not much has changed.
The Patriots are still the favorites. And the Starfires are right on their heels.
Jay County High School’s girls swim team earned eight No. 1 seeds as it hosted Thursday’s sectional preliminaries and is the favorite to walk away with back-to-back championships. But its margin based on those results is less than 20 points over South Adams, which claimed a pair of top seeds and finished second in five events.
As was the case with the Allen County Athletic Conference meet Jan. 23, the rivals are set to square off in a tight battle.
“We set the table really nicely,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik, whose team won its first sectional championship last season. “We had some crazy fast swims tonight. …
“It’s going to come down to a lot closer than what you hope. But that’s what makes sectional time in Indiana fun."
In addition to their two top seeds, the Starfires were also second in five others.
Their goal this season was to close the gap on Jay County after finishing as the sectional runner-up by 71 points last year. After trailing the Patriots by 29 at the ACAC meet, they hope to pull even closer Saturday.
“There’s lots of things that we can do just to fine tune in the water,” said SAHS coach Andy Lehman, whose lone individual top seed is Ashton Klopp in the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 0.49 seconds). “But more importantly, just get excited. I think we need that drive behind us, so that’s what we’re going to shoot for.”
The only other team to hold a No. 1 seed is Delta, which is projected to finish third followed by Muncie Central in fourth in the 10-team field.
Diving preliminaries begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by swimming and diving finals at 1 p.m.
The separation between Jay County and South Adams is mostly based on the host team holding a majority of the No. 1 seeds, including two each from Alex Bader, Anne Vormohr and Sophie Bader.
Alex Bader turned in one of the highlight swims of the evening, zooming past her career-best time in the 100 freestyle to earn the No. 1 seed by nearly four seconds. She finished in 53.22, about 1.6 seconds faster than her previous best.
The sophomore’s other top seed was in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.49.
Vormohr took the top spot in the 100 backstroke in 57.39 and the 50 freestyle in 24.18, both of which surpassed the state cut times, and Sophie Bader claimed the No. 1 seed in the 100 butterfly in 57.89 and 200 individual medley in 2:10.26.
The trio also teamed with Ashley Mark for times of 1:40.3 and 1:50.76 respectively in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays for the other two top seeds.
Elizabeth McDowell was third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 500 freestyle, and Mark took the No. 4 seed in the 100 butterfly and the No. 6 seed in the 200 IM. Jamie Valentine was fourth in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 IM, in which she hacked seven seconds from her previous best time.
“She hit her taper nice,” said Slavik. “She felt good. It’s probably the first time she’s felt good this year. A lot of them, they’re swimming faster just simply because they’re rested.”
Kaitlyn Dow, Cassie Reno, Valentine and McDowell picked up the No. 4 seed in the 400 freestyle relay. South Adams nabbed the top seed in the event, with Ashton Klopp teaming with her twin sister Brette, Ashley LeFever and Olivia Von Gunten for a time of 3:47.57.
Ashton Klopp is second behind Sophie Bader in the 100 butterfly, and Brette Klopp is the No. 2 seed in the 100 backstroke and the No. 3 seed in the 200 IM. LeFever, a freshman, is the No. 2 seed in the 100 freestyle and the No. 3 in the 50 freestyle, and Ashley Burson claimed the No. 2 spot in the 100 breaststroke.
Von Gunten is seeded fourth in both the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, and Caroline Kloepper is fifth in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Swimming in Saturday’s consolation finals for Jay County will be Dow (ninth – 200 freestyle, 11th – 500 freestyle), Vivienne Kunkler (ninth – 100 breaststroke), Abby Saxman (10th – 100 backstroke) and Reno (11th – 100 freestyle).
Also swimming for the Starfires Saturday will be Riley Thompson (seventh – 500 freestyle, 10th 200 freestyle), Hadi Hawbaker (ninth – 100 freestyle, 13th – 100 breaststroke), Victoria Richardson (10th – 100 breaststroke), Burson (11th – 200 IM) and Korinna Schindler (12th – 100 backstroke).
The Patriots are still the favorites. And the Starfires are right on their heels.
Jay County High School’s girls swim team earned eight No. 1 seeds as it hosted Thursday’s sectional preliminaries and is the favorite to walk away with back-to-back championships. But its margin based on those results is less than 20 points over South Adams, which claimed a pair of top seeds and finished second in five events.
As was the case with the Allen County Athletic Conference meet Jan. 23, the rivals are set to square off in a tight battle.
“We set the table really nicely,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik, whose team won its first sectional championship last season. “We had some crazy fast swims tonight. …
“It’s going to come down to a lot closer than what you hope. But that’s what makes sectional time in Indiana fun."
In addition to their two top seeds, the Starfires were also second in five others.
Their goal this season was to close the gap on Jay County after finishing as the sectional runner-up by 71 points last year. After trailing the Patriots by 29 at the ACAC meet, they hope to pull even closer Saturday.
“There’s lots of things that we can do just to fine tune in the water,” said SAHS coach Andy Lehman, whose lone individual top seed is Ashton Klopp in the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 0.49 seconds). “But more importantly, just get excited. I think we need that drive behind us, so that’s what we’re going to shoot for.”
The only other team to hold a No. 1 seed is Delta, which is projected to finish third followed by Muncie Central in fourth in the 10-team field.
Diving preliminaries begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by swimming and diving finals at 1 p.m.
The separation between Jay County and South Adams is mostly based on the host team holding a majority of the No. 1 seeds, including two each from Alex Bader, Anne Vormohr and Sophie Bader.
Alex Bader turned in one of the highlight swims of the evening, zooming past her career-best time in the 100 freestyle to earn the No. 1 seed by nearly four seconds. She finished in 53.22, about 1.6 seconds faster than her previous best.
The sophomore’s other top seed was in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.49.
Vormohr took the top spot in the 100 backstroke in 57.39 and the 50 freestyle in 24.18, both of which surpassed the state cut times, and Sophie Bader claimed the No. 1 seed in the 100 butterfly in 57.89 and 200 individual medley in 2:10.26.
The trio also teamed with Ashley Mark for times of 1:40.3 and 1:50.76 respectively in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays for the other two top seeds.
Elizabeth McDowell was third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 500 freestyle, and Mark took the No. 4 seed in the 100 butterfly and the No. 6 seed in the 200 IM. Jamie Valentine was fourth in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 IM, in which she hacked seven seconds from her previous best time.
“She hit her taper nice,” said Slavik. “She felt good. It’s probably the first time she’s felt good this year. A lot of them, they’re swimming faster just simply because they’re rested.”
Kaitlyn Dow, Cassie Reno, Valentine and McDowell picked up the No. 4 seed in the 400 freestyle relay. South Adams nabbed the top seed in the event, with Ashton Klopp teaming with her twin sister Brette, Ashley LeFever and Olivia Von Gunten for a time of 3:47.57.
Ashton Klopp is second behind Sophie Bader in the 100 butterfly, and Brette Klopp is the No. 2 seed in the 100 backstroke and the No. 3 seed in the 200 IM. LeFever, a freshman, is the No. 2 seed in the 100 freestyle and the No. 3 in the 50 freestyle, and Ashley Burson claimed the No. 2 spot in the 100 breaststroke.
Von Gunten is seeded fourth in both the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, and Caroline Kloepper is fifth in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Swimming in Saturday’s consolation finals for Jay County will be Dow (ninth – 200 freestyle, 11th – 500 freestyle), Vivienne Kunkler (ninth – 100 breaststroke), Abby Saxman (10th – 100 backstroke) and Reno (11th – 100 freestyle).
Also swimming for the Starfires Saturday will be Riley Thompson (seventh – 500 freestyle, 10th 200 freestyle), Hadi Hawbaker (ninth – 100 freestyle, 13th – 100 breaststroke), Victoria Richardson (10th – 100 breaststroke), Burson (11th – 200 IM) and Korinna Schindler (12th – 100 backstroke).
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