Jay strong after break

With a gap in the schedule, swim teams put in their most demanding few weeks of practice during the holiday break.

The first meet back in January always serves as a gauge for how the athletes respond coming off of grueling workouts.

Matt Slavik was happy with what he saw.

Jay County High School’s girls swim team improved its record to 6-2 Tuesday with a 194-103 triumph over visiting Bellmont.

“All the way, top to bottom, we had good swims,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. “In general, for swimming tired, we’re swimming fast.

“Our relays looked pretty solid.

“We’re where I would hope we’d be at this point, and I think it sets us up well from here.”

The short-handed Patriot boys hung with the Braves before the numbers caught up to them late in a 174-117 defeat.

“Our boys swam great,” said Slavik, whose team was without junior Luke Nichols. “Being short-handed and then missing your key breaststroker hurts. But we came out and won the medley relay. I thought the boys swam great. … All across the board, for how we’ve trained the last couple weeks, I thought they did good.”

The Patriot girls won 11 out of 12 events, including all three relays, with Alex Bader (200-yard freestyle, 100 freestyle), Erica Hathaway (50 freestyle, 500 freestyle) and Elizabeth McDowell (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke) each picking up a pair of victories.

McDowell, Bader and Vivienne Kunkler joined Hathaway to take the 200 medley relay by more than 13 seconds in 2 minutes, 2.58 seconds, and teamed with Jamie Valentine for first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:43.3. Hathaway anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay team, capping off a victory with Kaitlyn Dow, Hannah James and Jenna Dunfee in 4:29.7.

Kunkler claimed the other individual swimming win by cutting another second off of her breaststroke time for a win in 1:14.46. She hacked six seconds in the 200 individual medley, trailing Bellmont’s Natalie Dicke by just 0.17 seconds.

Samantha Link and Mackenzie Knisely turned in a one-two diving finish with 168.5 and 143.35 points respectively.

Jay County’s boys got off to a good start with Christopher McDowell, Garrett Campbell, Alex LeMaster and Tayler Smeltzer winning the 200 medley relay in 1:57.54 and finished strong with McDowell, Campbell, Ian Reynolds and Garrett Campbell taking the 400 freestyle relay in 3:55.73. McDowell (50 freestyle) and Campbell (100 freestyle) added individual victories, but the Braves claimed the top spot in the remaining events.

Campbell (200 IM) and McDowell (100 butterfly) added second-place finishes, as did LeMaster (100 breaststroke) and Smeltzer (500 freestyle).

Slavik complimented swimmers throughout the lineup, noting Chase McFarland’s pair of fourth-place efforts. He narrowly missed a runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle as he, Smeltzer and Bellmont’s David Garner were separated by just 0.76 seconds.

“He showed a lot of gumption … winding up a little bit short in the 500,” said Slavik. “He gave a lot of heart and determination, and I think it taught him a lot about what he’s capable of.”