Celebrating state (02/26/2009

In his two previous sectional meets, Sam Miller had competed in the 200-yard individual medley, 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

Prior to Saturday, he held school records in the IM, butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

So it would seem a bit out of the ordinary that the Jay County High School senior will cap his career this weekend by competing in the IHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving State Finals in a different event, the 200 freestyle.

But when the opportunity presented itself, Miller was more than happy to take advantage.

"I'm pretty excited," said Miller before practice Wednesday at JCHS. "The 200 free definitely isn't my strongest event, but I'm going, and that's all that matters."

Miller has been the Patriots' leader for the past two seasons and a contender for a state berth, but faced a difficult situation heading into the sectional tournament.

He had finished as the runner-up in both of his events last year, placing behind Muncie Central's Dan Proctor in the individual medley and South Adams' Justin Klopp in the 100 butterfly. Both of them were back this year - Klopp is a senior and Proctor a sophomore - leaving Miller some major hurdles in his specialty events.

And in swimming, only the winner of each sectional event is guaranteed a state berth.

"You try to A, do what's best for the team, B, do what's best for your individuals," said JCHS coach Barry Weaver, who saw an opportunity for Miller in the 200 freestyle. "... Sam's basic principal was he wanted to swim the butterfly, and he wanted to go to state. ... This was another challenge for him, and he's grasped it pretty well."

Miller blew away the field in the preliminary round Feb. 19, swimming three seconds faster than No. 2 seed John Dowdle of Muncie Central. Dowdle hacked more than four seconds off of his preliminary time in the finals, but Miller was ready as he chopped 2.28 seconds.

His time was not only good enough for a sectional title and his first career state berth, but it also put his name on the record board for a fourth time.

His finish in 1-minute, 48.26 seconds surpassed Bob Morrison's 24-year-old mark by nearly a half-second. Morrison was a two-time state champion, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle in 1985.

"It's real cool to see all those (records). He made a comment the other night after sectional that he didn't really want to see Bob Morrison come down off the record board," Weaver said. "That says a lot about a young man ... While he thinks of others in a little bit higher esteem, I think he's made himself into that level of an athlete for us now.

Winning an event that was not his specialty, "really does say just what we've all known all along: He's a pretty special individual as far as swimming goes."

Miller, whose breaststroke record fell later in the sectional meet to junior teammate Aaron Hudson, will face a tall task when he enters the IU Natatorium pool in Indianapolis Friday evening for the preliminary round. Only the top 16 swimmers advance to Saturday's finals, and he is seeded 31st in the field of 32.

The No. 16 seed, Michael Mohler of Plainfield, posted a time of 1:44.26 at the sectional meet, and the final qualifying time at the state meet last season was 1:44.81. Thus Miller would likely need to cut at least 3.5 seconds to have a chance to swim Saturday.

"I think it'll be a good time," said Weaver. "Sam's got a great attitude about getting down there and trying to drops some more time and get in the top 16 ... It's going to be tough ... It's a great deal for him to be at the big dance. ... We're looking forward to it."

The sectional win in the 200 freestyle by Miller made him the first Patriot to qualify for the state finals in a swimming event since 2003. That year Kyle Weaver advance in the 100 butterfly and also teamed with Derek Arnold, Dustin Lee and Ryne Fulton on state-qualifying 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams.

Caleb Bye also placed fifth in the state that season in diving.

Miller said he's looking forward to the opportunity to test his skills against the best the state has to offer.

"I've been to state for USA swimming, but it's not as big of a deal. It's a little easier to get in," said Miller. "So this will be, by far, the biggest swim meet I've ever been to. It'll be fun."[[In-content Ad]]Justin Klopp will have a chance to compete on Saturday, twice.

Klopp, a South Adams High School senior, is seeded 12th and 20th as he heads to the IHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving State Finals at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.

The preliminary round begins Friday at 6 p.m. with the top 16 swimmers advancing to the consolation and championship races Saturday at 1 p.m.

Klopp, who placed 15th in the state in the 100 butterfly last season, is seeded 12th in the event this year with his sectional championship time of 51.86 seconds. The top eight swimmers in each event earn state medals, and Brownsburg's Luke Haynes in the No. 8 seed at 51.27.

In the 50 freestyle at the Jay County senior Klopp finished second behind Devon Hill of Muncie Central, but earned a berth by reaching the state cut time. He is seeded 20th in that event at 21.76, but is well within striking distance of the top 16.

Peter Darric of Northridge holds the 16th seed at 21.69, just seven hundredths of a second faster than Klopp.