Jay boys edge Stars

BERNE — From the moment the boys left the blocks to begin the 400-yard freestyle relay, the sound was deafening.
Teammates were screaming. Fans were cheering.
With the Jay County High School boys swim team clinging to an 85-84 lead, the winner of the meet came down to who would win the final race.
South Adams’ second swimmer, junior Drew LeFever, was ahead of Jay County junior Travis Barton by nearly two body lengths.
The screams got louder. An elderly couple in the front row of the bleachers had to cover their ears.
As he waited for Barton to touch the wall so he could dive in, Sok Vormohr of Jay County knew he had to swim fast. Xavier Rupp, the Starfires’ third leg of the relay, was already in the pool.
Vormohr didn’t disappoint.
He took the lead over Rupp in his last 10 yards, and James Keen put the race away in the final 100 as the Patriots held on for a 93-90 victory Monday night at South Adams.
The win quieted the home crowd and gave the Patriots their first Allen County Athletic Conference victory.
Jay County’s girls also won, 109-76.
“I knew it was going to be a close race,” said Vormohr, adding he had no idea he passed Rupp. “I knew I had to get caught back up so James could get the win.”
As his team spent most of the meet behind the Starfires (2-2, 1-1 ACAC) JCHS coach Barry Weaver thought the meet wasn’t going to go in his favor.
“It started to look a little bleak but some of the kids stepped up,” said Weaver, whose team moved to 3-2 overall and evened its ACAC record at 1-1. “(We) got a first in the 500 (freestyle), which was a great race back and forth.”
Like his relay team did to close out the meet, Cody White came from behind to win the 500 freestyle. The Patriot senior trailed Starfire junior Daniel Burson by nearly two seconds at the midway point of the race.
But during the next 250 yards, White, who also won the 200 individual medley, closed the gap and finished in 5 minutes, 33.35 seconds. He beat Burson by less than half a second.
Jay County then won the 200 freestyle relay thanks to Conner Daniels, Keen, Barton and White. South Adams got back within striking distance, however, with victories by Zach Teeple in the 100 backstroke and Daniel Steffen in the 100 breaststroke.
It set the table for a showdown in the final race of the night.
South Adams coach Andy Lehman thought it was going to come down to the final race too.
“I expected it, especially after Saturday at the Norwell Invite (and) losing by 18 points to Jay County,” Lehman said. “We just don’t have the numbers. We swam really well and I couldn’t ask for a better meet from our guys tonight.”
Keen won both the 200 and 100 freestyle. The senior has not lost an individual race this season.
Picking up wins for the Starfires were David Steffen (50 freestyle), Zach Teeple (100 backstroke), Daniel Steffen (100 breaststroke), Rupp (diving) and LeFever (100 butterfly). Teeple, LeFever and the Steffen brothers teamed up to win the 200 medley relay.
For Jay County’s girls team, Monday night was another notch in the win column.
“It was a real good win for us,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik, whose team improved to 6-0 (3-0 ACAC). “We were able to do some things against a very good South Adams team. They surprised me in a few areas.”
The Patriots won six of the nine individual events, with Sophie Bader and Anne Vormohr taking two races each. Bader was first in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and Vormohr earned victories in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Alex Bader swam new career bests in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle. The Patriot freshman won the former in 2:14.03, and finished second (54.81) to SAHS senior Cady Farlow in the latter.
It was the first of two victories for Farlow, a Purdue University commit. She finished the 100 freestyle in 53.65 seconds, and then won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.27. She also anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay team with Ashton and Brette Klopp and Caroline Kloepper.
Brette Klopp won the 500 freestyle for the Starfires (5-1, 1-1 ACAC), and JCHS junior Heather Stinson won the diving event.
Jay County senior Katy Smeltzer joined Vormohr and the Bader sisters to win both the 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle relays.
“It was a fun meet,” Slavik said. “I love coming in here and competing against South Adams. It’s been a rival since I’ve come to Jay County and it’s good to walk away on the winning side of it.”