Hudson is No. 2 seed

Mary Hudson earned a No. 2 seed Thursday while Erika Waugh put herself in position for a state berth.

Hudson led the host Jay County High School girls swim team in the sectional preliminaries Thursday as she picked up the second seed in the 100-yard breaststroke. Waugh took the top spot in the 100 backstroke for South Adams.

The winner of each swimming event earns a berth in the state meet.

Based on the preliminary results, both Jay County and South Adams look to be in the mix for third place along with Bluffton and Delta. Norwell, which picked up five No. 1 seeds, is the favorite to claim the sectional title.

Defending champion Muncie Central earned three top seeds, but was also disqualified from the 400 freestyle relay. It is slated to finish as the runner-up.

Bellmont, Adams Central, Muncie Southside and Blackford round out the 10-team field.

Hudson was the top individual swimmer for the Patriots in the preliminaries as she finished second to Norwell's Dani Thomas in the 100 breaststroke by about a second in 1 minute, 10.88 seconds.

The sophomore was also sixth with a time of 2:28.51 in the 200 individual medley.

Senior Michelle Landfair picked up the No. 3 seed for Jay County in the 100 butterfly in 1:06.51. She added an eighth-place effort in the 200 freestyle in 2:14.17.

The only other Patriot individual to qualify for a championship race by finishing in the top six was sophomore Eme Miller. She posted a fifth-place finish in the 100 freestyle in 59.19 and was also ninth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 27.16.

Waugh powered the Starfires as she earned the No. 1 seed in the 100 backstroke by more than one second in 1:02.53. She was also the runner-up in the 500 freestyle in 5:29.96.

The junior also helped South Adams to the No. 2 seed in the 400 freestyle relay as she joined Allison Beitler, Jansen Yoder and Alexia Fox in recording a time of 4:00.24.

Kara DeLong, a freshman, had the second-best individual finish for SAHS as she took fourth behind Waugh in the 100 backstroke in 1:08.98.

Beitler was sixth in the 200 freestyle in 2:12.45 and seventh in the 500 freestyle at 5:59.35. Yoder finished just behind Miller for sixth in the 100 freestyle in 59.67, and was also seventh in the 50 freestyle at 27.07.

Fox posted a time of 1:08.39 for sixth in the 100 butterfly, and she finished the 200 individual medley in 2:35.94 for the No. 8 seed.

Jay County qualified in the top six in all three relays

Hudson, Landfair and Miller teamed with Elaine Hemmelgarn for fourth in the 200 medley relay in 2:03.79, and joined Martyna Gajewska for fifth in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:49.22.

Caitlin Ruchgy, Jocelyn Mann, Marissa Murrell and Martyna Gajewska finished the 400 freestyle relay in 4:19.08 to pick up the No. 6 seed.

Others qualifying for Saturday's consolation finals were Ruchgy (seventh - 100 butterfly, 10th - 500 freestyle), Gajewska (seventh - 100 backstroke, 10th - 100 freestyle), Katie Simmons (10th - 100 breaststroke, 11th - 500 freestyle), Mann (10th - 100 butterfly) and Laura Bowen (10th - 200 individual medley).

Waugh, Yoder and Fox joined Rachel Simon for a fifth-place time of 2:04.33 for South Adams in the 200 medley relay. Beitler, Simon, Alyssa Sharp and Mackenzie Rupp finished the 200 freestyle relay in 1:53.67 for seventh place.

Also reaching the consolation finals Saturday were Sharp (eighth - 500 freestyle, 11th - 200 individual medley) and Rupp (10th - 200 freestyle).[[In-content Ad]]