Hudson 27th at state meet

INDIANAPOLIS - Jay County High School sophomore Mary Hudson finished her season Friday with a 27th-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke at the IHSAA Swimming and Diving State Finals at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.

"Her making it to state just exemplified the season we had as a team," said JCHS coach Matt Slavik, who has said his team has surprised itself all year. "She did a super job. She worked really hard at it, and it paid off in the end to get the berth to state. ... The girls are already talking about how they're getting a relay down here next year. They're excited."

Hudson finished fifth in her heat, posting a time of 1 minutes, 9.87 seconds. It was the second fastest time of her career, trailing only the school record 1:08.57 she put up at the sectional meet at JCHS.

"I just went out with all I had," said Hudson. "I didn't hold anything back. I was pretty happy with my time ...

"It was pretty incredible," she added of the state experience. "It was a good learning experience for next year."

Hudson finished ahead of Norwell's Dani Thomas, who beat her by 12 hundredths of a second for the sectional title, by more than a second. Thomas finished 30th in 1:11.46.

It was the third straight season in which Jay County has had a swimmer at the state meet in the breaststroke. Cori Vormohr finished 25th in the event in 2008 and 26th last season.[[In-content Ad]]