Jay swimmers place sixth, SA takes 4th (02/23/04)

PORTLAND — One team was the clear favorite. The runner-up was fairly obvious too.

Everything else was up for grabs.

Jay County’s boys swim team finished in the middle of the remaining pack, scoring 121 points to place sixth as it hosted sectional action Saturday. Bluffton was third with 125 points, and South Adams and Adams Central tied for fourth with 122 as just nine points separated the third through seventh place squads.

As expected, Norwell dominated for its second straight sectional title by winning nine out of 12 events for a first-place total of 350 points. Oak Hill took two victories for second place with 263 points, and the remaining win went to Drew Oliver of Marion in diving.

“We had almost 100 percent personal bests Thursday,” said Jay County junior Derrick Lee or the preliminary round. “I think we did our best. I think we competed well as a team.”

The Patriots would have liked to pick up a couple more points to improve their position in the standings, but all-in-all they had a good day.

Lee had the top finish for Jay County, taking second in the 100-yard butterfly 59.97 seconds. It was the first time in his career he had broken the one-minute mark in the event.

“My brother (Dustin, a state qualifier last year) did it,” said Lee of the 50-second club. “He kept telling me I couldn’t do it, so I wanted to do it. My brother was my inspiration.”

Lee also set a big goal for next season.

“I’m going to state,” he said. “That’s my promise.”

Daniel Fisher turned in the best time of his career in finishing third in the 100-yard breaststroke. The senior reached the wall in 1-minute, 7.61 seconds.

Fellow senior Adam Miller was the lone Patriot to compete in the championship race in a pair of individual events. He was fourth in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.93 and placed sixth in the 50-yard freestyle in 24.11.

Junior Matt Peterson placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:04.99.

“Adam Miller turned in another great day,” said Jay County coach Barry Weaver. “Thursday he had four best performances and turned around today and had at least three.

“All the seniors did real well, and Derrick Lee did a real nice job in the fly. The 50 second club has been a real goal for him.”

Miller, Lee, Fisher and Peterson teamed for the best relay finish for the Patriots, placing third in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:50.84. Jay County was sixth in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.

Fisher, who returned to the Jay County team after two years off, said he was thrilled with the season. The Patriots notched a 5-5 mark in dual meets before their sixth-place sectional finish.

“It was an awesome season,” Fisher said. “It couldn’t get any better.

“Coach was really great. He made it a lot of fun for us. The team was pretty close together. We bonded well.”

“I felt coming into the year if we won very many meets I would be very surprised,” said Weaver, who lost eight state qualifiers over the last two seasons. “Fortunately our seniors did a great job of leading. Overall, I’m very proud of them.”

Heath Lehman was fourth in both the 200-yard freestyle (2:00.13) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:25.45) for South Adams. The only other Starfire individual to reach a final was Carson Sprunger, who placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.68.

Lehman, Carl Masters, Lyle Koehler and Corey Simon teamed to place third in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:44.50, and Lehman, Sprunger, Simon and Masters were fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:38.66. The South Adams team of Andy Lehman, Drew Dull, Brent Hirschy and Carson Sprunger was fifth in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:55.59.

Norwell showed off its best, with three individuals each winning a pair of events.

Nathan Truex started the domination, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay. He was also first in the 100-yard backstroke.

Alex Troxel followed Truex’s first win with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley, and capped the day with a win in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Phillip Towne won a pair of events in between, taking first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.

The Knights also captured wins in all three relays.

Oak Hill’s Tyler Hodge won the 100-yard butterfly, and his teammate Brett Pettit took the 500-yard freestyle.[[In-content Ad]]