JC boys earn stunning win (12/16/03)

PORTLAND — Jay County has lost a bunch of state-qualifying swimmers during the past two seasons. But, they still have some guys who can get the job done in a big way.

In what coach Barry Weaver called “one of the most thrilling dual meets in recent memory,” the Patriots took first and second in the final relay for a stunning 82-81 victory over the South Adams Starfires.

“That was the meet of a lifetime,” said Jay County junior Matt Peterson, who anchored the second-place and win-clinching relay. “You don’t get too many meets that close.”

“It was one of the most exciting swim meets I’ve ever been to,” said senior Dave Johnston, who hit the pool in front of Peterson.

Jay County (2-2) trailed most of the way in the boys competition, taking a brief lead midway through the meet before fading behind by as many as 13 points. But they pulled back within nine points with the 400-yard freestyle relay left to swim, and Weaver got his pencil scratching to try to find a way to win.

He found it, and his team executed.

“I just figured, ‘hey, if you don’t try, you’re just throwing in the towel,’” said Weaver. “We decided to just go for it. The kids did a great job.”

Needing to take the top two spots in the final relay to eke out a win Weaver divided his “A” relay swimmers, sending Adam Miller and Josh Hawn to lane six with Todd McCowan and Nick Ehrhart, and putting Johnston and Peterson in lane four with Scott Willoughby and Greg Current. For a while, it didn’t look like the most brilliant decision.

Both newly formed Jay County teams fell a good distance behind, even trailing at one point by a full length of the pool.

However, Miller quickly turned the tide for his group, making up the team’s deficit on the second leg. Nick Ehrhart and Josh Hawn turned in outstanding swims to led that group to the victory in 4-minutes, 29.28 seconds.

Still, the Patriots needed the lane-four team to take second, and it faced and even greater deficit. But then Johnston and Peterson dived in.

Johnston erased almost all of the Starfires’ lead, and by the time Peterson was getting ready for his final leg the fans from both teams were on their feet and at a fevered pitch. He did not disappoint.

Peterson caught South Adams’ Lyle Koehler in his first 50 yards, and held him off in the final 150, winning by just over one second in 4:38.05. The Starfire team of Drew Dull, Dave Koehler, Brent Hirschy and Lyle Koehler hit the wall in 4:39.23.

“It was very intense,” said Peterson. “It was strange having to switch our relay around at the end to get that point. It was hard. All the pressure feels like it’s on you.”

“We started out and we were behind, and I was like, “I don’t know about this,’” said Johnston. “I just had to get in there and do my best and hope it was enough. And it was.”

Weaver got the best out of every swimmer on his team down the stretch.

Each swimmer turned in personal-best time after personal-best time down the stretch, especially in the final relay. Six of the final eight individual swims for the Patriots also resulted in personal bests.

Peterson, who Weaver pulled out of diving so he could swim an extra event, turned in a hugely impressive effort. He competed in three of the final four events of the meet, turning in personal-best times in all three.

He earned an amazing victory in the 100-yard backstroke — an event he rarely swims — scoring a personal-best time by more than four seconds as he finished in 1:07.37. He was also on the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay team before anchoring the second-place 400-yard freestyle relay squad.

Hawn was awesome despite missing a week of practice because of the flu, which he was still battling during the meet. He scored a personal best as he anchored the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team, joining the “50-second club” for the first time in his career before his illness caught up with him again after the meet.

“(Peterson) did an outstanding job,” said Weaver. “He had a great swim in the 200.

“I would have never thought that,” he added of Peterson’s emergence as one of the team’s top swimmers. “But, that’s Matthew. He’s decided he’s going to do some things and do them well.

“Hawn did a really nice job, getting under a minute. He probably won’t feel very well for the next day or two, but he did an outstanding job.”

Jay County won the meet despite taking first in just four of 12 events. Other victories came from Adam Miller in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.00 and Todd McCowan in diving with 107.35 points.

Heath Lehman and Carson Sprunger each grabbed two wins for the Starfires (3-1) in the defeat. Lehman won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, and Sprunger was first in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke.

Carl Masters was victorious in the 100-yard freestyle, and Andy Lehman won the 100-yard butterfly.

“We didn’t swim real well,” said South Adams coach Janelle Gresla, whose team took its first loss of the year. “We didn’t have great swims overall, that that hurt us with the boys.”

Jay County will face another tough test when it travels to Delta Thursday at 5:15 p.m. South Adams will also be in for a difficult meet as it hosts Norwell Thursday at 5:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]