Jay breaks record at sectional

As Sok Vormohr tapped the wall, Connor Daniels bounced anxiously on the deck above him.
He thought he and his Patriot teammates had done enough. The timers at poolside told him they had.
But until the time appeared on the scoreboard, nothing was official.
When it did, Daniels threw his arms in the air and screamed alongside teammate Jason Minnich. The 20-year-old standard had been erased.
Travis Barton, Minnich, Daniels and Vormohr put their names on the Jay County High School record board Saturday, turning in the fastest 200-yard freestyle relay time in the team’s 41-year history.
“I was just so pumped once he hit that wall,” said Daniels. “I knew we had it. I just can’t explain it. It was amazing.
“I was just waiting in anticipation, just bouncing up and down waiting. And then as soon as I saw it there was just that moment of relief that all of it paid off.”
The record-breaking swim was the highlight of the sectional meet for the host Patriots, who scored 264 points to finish fourth in the field of 10 teams.
Delta set three sectional records on the way to repeating as champion with 438 points. South Adams edged Muncie Central for the runner-up spot, 309-306.
“I think we had a great day. Placing second overall without taking a single first I think really speaks to the depth of team,” said SAHS coach Andy Lehman, whose team was fifth last season. “This team has really come together this year to figure out what we needed to do. I don’t think anyone would have expected us to be second at sectional.”
Jay County’s highest seed — No. 2 — was in the 200 freestyle relay, but they knew a win and a state berth was unlikely as they trailed top-seeded Delta by 2.5 seconds. The record, however, was within reach.
Barton and Minnich handled the first two legs for the Patriots, putting them in position before turning over the effort to the team’s pair of sprinters. Daniels surged through his 50 yards with the fastest split in the group of 22.33 seconds, and Vormohr followed his classmate’s effort with a 22.41 for a time of 1 minute, 32 seconds.
That surpassed the record of 1:32.35 set by Brian Weaver, Brian Miller, Greg Fisher and Joe Wright in 1996.
“That race was the most exciting race of the meet. Ever since (the Allen County Athletic Conference meet) when they all had pretty good splits, they knew that was something they could do. They’ve had their minds set on it since then,” JCHS coach Cori Vormohr said of the group that was also fourth in the 400 freestyle relay. “They were constantly focused in on that goal. It was just so cool to see them get that time.”
The 200 freestyle relay was the highlight event of the day, as Delta and South Adams also set records. The Eagles took down Muncie Central’s meet and pool record of 1:28.75 with a win in 1:28.24, and Starfires Drew LeFever, Daniel Burson, Zach Colpaert and David Steffen bettered the school record set last season by finishing second in 1:31.82.
Vormohr had the top individual finish for Jay County in third place in the 100 freestyle in 49.57. He was also fifth in the 50 freestyle.
Other fifth-place finishes came from Barton in the 100 butterfly and Minnich in the 500 freestyle.
“I was very proud,” said Cori Vormohr. “Like Thursday, we had several lifetime bests again, which is very difficult after Thursday night when we were 23-for-23. … They swam so well. … I’m really proud of how they did.”
LeFever came nearest to earning a state berth for SAHS, finishing as the runner-up in the 100 butterfly to Muncie Central’s Lukas Bradford by 0.68 seconds in 53.88. He added a fifth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Burson was third in both the 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle, and Xavier Rupp posted a third-place finish in diving. Rupp advances to the regional diving meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hamilton Southeastern.
David Steffen was fourth in both the 50 and 100 freestyle, and his twin brother Daniel was fourth in the 100 breaststroke. Zach Teeple was fifth in the 200 individual medley and 200 backstroke, and other fifth-place efforts came from Camden Yoder (diving) and Jesse Sutton (200 freestyle).
Also scoring points for the Patriots were Christopher McDowell (sixth – 500 freestyle, 11th – 200 freestyle), Daniels (sixth – 100 freestyle, seventh – 50 freestyle), Tayler Smeltzer (seventh – 100 butterfly, 10th – 200 IM), Barton (seventh – 200 IM), Minnich (eighth – 200 freestyle), Ian Reynolds (11th – 100 butterfly, 15th – 100 backstroke), Luke Nichols (11th – 100 breaststroke), Garrett Campbell (12th – 200 freestyle, 16th – 100 freestyle), Rob Garringer (12th – diving), Thomas Boozier (13th – 100 breaststroke) and Alex LeMaster (14th – 100 breaststroke). They were also sixth in the 200 medley relay.
South Adams got additional points from Jesse Sutton (seventh – 100 backstroke), Daniel Steffen (12th – 200 IM), Colpaert (10th – 50 freestyle, 11th – 100 freestyle), Rupp (13th – 100 butterfly), Chris Beitler (14th – 50 freestyle) and Brayden Collingsworth (16th – 500 freestyle). The Starfires were fifth in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.