JC boys rally past Norwell

James Keen touched the wall at the end of his 50-yard freestyle, looked up at the board to see his time and raised his fist in the air.
He beat Norwell’s Duke Wang by three-hundredths of a second after trailing by more than a body length.
“I really didn’t want to lose,” said Keen, who slipped off the block and fought to finish in 22.88 seconds. “The turn, I definitely made up some ground. I got a surge of motivation to beat him.”
The come-from-behind victory by Keen was indicative of how the meet went for the Jay County High School boys swim team in its 160-132 win against the Norwell Knights on Thursday.
Slow start. Slight lead. Behind again. Victory.
The Patriots trailed after diving, but led by three, 62-59, at the break following five events.
Norwell regained the lead after placing first and third in the 100 butterfly and sweeping the top three spots in the 100 freestyle.
But a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 freestyle, two top-three places in the 200 freestyle relay and Keen winning the 100 backstroke gave the Patriots (2-2) the surge they needed to get their second win of the season.
“We’re pleased with that,” said JCHS boys coach Barry Weaver. “(We) lost a little momentum after the butterfly and the 100 free. (Then) turn around in the 500 (freestyle) … that was a real momentum boost.
“Our kids had a couple nice swims and picked some more points there.”
Cody White was the driving force for JCHS in the 500 freestyle. The senior had a nearly two-second lead over freshman teammate Christopher McDowell after the first 50 yards and won with a time of 5 minutes, 40.19 seconds. Travis Barton, who later joined the 50-second club on the third leg of the 400 freestyle relay, was second and McDowell placed third.
White also won the 200 freestyle to join Keen as dual-event winners. Conner Daniels, Ian Bentz, Barton and White teamed up to finish first in the 200 freestyle relay.
While the Patriot boys had to battle for their victory, the JCHS girls cruised to a 189-107 win from the first event.
They relied heavily on the depth of its roster, and Thursday that strength came up big.
Coach Matt Slavik had to make a number of last-minute changes because of illnesses, and had to scratch some events because of injuries.
“Our depth was pretty big for us,” said Slavik, whose team improves to 6-0 on the season. “We were able to adjust and had enough depth to go and swim some solid events.”
Laurann Schoenlein, a senior, stepped up to finish second in the 200 individual medley in 2:52.82. She was behind classmate Katy Smeltzer (2:36.47) and ahead of sophomore Cassie Reno (2:57.49), giving Jay County the top three spots. Schoenlein also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle.
Junior Ashley Mark and senior Taylor Campbell swam new career bests in the 500 freestyle, finishing in second and third respectively. Mark as second in 6:14.83, nine seconds faster than her previous best. Campbell was third in 7:08.69. Norwell’s Kayla DeRemer won in 5:54.18.
Slavik was pleased with how much time Mark, who was also second in the 100 breaststroke, was able to drop in the event.
“She didn’t win, but coming in second and dropping nine seconds is an outstanding feat,” he said. “Finishing two-three with Ashley and Taylor was key.”
The Patriots won 11 of the 12 events, with its only loss coming in the 500 freestyle.
Sisters Alex and Sophie Bader and their cousin Anne Vormohr all won two events apiece. Alex picked up wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, and Sophie was first in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Vormohr, who last week competed in the AT&T Winter National Championships in Greensboro, N.C., won the 100 and 200 freestyle races.
Heather Stinson took the top spot in diving, and Jay County won all three relay races.
“This time of year I don’t expect a lot of personal bests from our top-level kids, but our depth is really producing some good results,” said Slavik. “I’m happy with where we’re at.”