July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Patriots pound Elwood (11/16/07)
JCHS girls swimming
Patriots pound Elwood (11/16/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
The Patriots won their opening dual meet by 161 points.
And Thursday they followed up with a 171-point victory.
There wouldn't seem to be much difference between the two blowouts of short-handed teams, but Jay County High School girls swim coach Bev Arnold was much happier with Thursday's 229-58 win over the Elwood Panthers.
"We swam a lot better tonight than we did on Tuesday night," said Arnold, whose team slaughtered Muncie Southside 218-57 in its opener. "We had many season bests or personal bests.
"Even though (Elwood's team was small), we made our own competition."
Michelle Landfair and Cori Vormohr each won twice for the Patriots (2-0), who took first place 9-of-10 contested events against an Elwood team that brought just nine swimmers.
Landfair led a JCHS sweep in the 200-yard individual medley, holding off teammate Briann Saxman by less than a second in one of the several races sparked with tight intrasquad competition. Landfair finished in 2-minutes, 44.14 seconds, Saxman was the runner-up in 2:44.70 and Kelci Reed placed third in 3:01.23.
The other victory from Landfair was also a close battle, this time with freshman Aly Miller in the 100 freestyle. Miller had a slight lead that mid-point of the race, but Landfair rallied to eke out a win in 1:01.79.
Miller finished second in 1:02.13.
"They're both shooting to get under a minute," said Arnold of the teammates battling in the 100 freestyle. "That's good. They created their own competition tonight. That's what we wanted."
Vormohr was in control of her only contested victory, cruising to the win in the 100 breaststroke. She reached the wall more than 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, leading a sweep in 1:14.21. Kelci Reed finished second at 1:30.15, and Elaine Hemmelgarn finished in 1:31.25 for third.
Jay County's group of four divers still has yet to face opposition, but still saw a big improvement Thursday from first-year diver Nadlie Runyon.
The sophomore improved her score from Tuesday night's meet by more than 40 points, winning the event with a total of 170.15. Following her were Tricia Skiver (136.9), April Acker (130.5) and Megan Taylor, who posted 123.95 points in her first career meet.
"I think a lot of that was the unfamiliarity of not really knowing what diving is all about," said Arnold of Runyon, a former gymnast. "She had never done any diving. I think we'll continue to see improvement just because she'll relax and calm down.
"I'm impressed with Tricia challenging herself with more difficult dives. ...
"I think that's an overall event that's going to be strong for us."
Miller, Ivy Simons and Caitlin Ruchgy all added victories for the Patriots.
The win for Miller came as she led a sweep in the 200 freestyle in 2:20.92 followed by Maddie Fennig (2:36.51) and Rachel Osterholt (2:41.68). Simons powered a one-two finish in the 100 backstroke with her time of 1:18.48 as Skiver (1:33.19) took the runner-up spot.
Ruchgy picked up her second consecutive victory in the 500 freestyle, winning with a season-best time by more than five seconds in 6:49.34.
"(Simons is) getting her times back down," said Arnold. "She struggled so much last year with illnesses, so it's really good to see her healthy and starting out strong.
"(Ruchgy) has made that change to distance, and she's going gangbusters right now. She wants to really improve there."
Ruchgy also keyed Jay County's victory in the closest relay of the night, the 200 freestyle. The Patriots trailed in the race after the first 150 yards, but Ruchgy dived in and took control for a victory by more than two seconds as she, Fennig, Osterholt and Acker combined to finish in 2:09.84.
Vormohr's second win came in the uncontested 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.70. Saxman was second in 1:18.84, and Fennig took third at 1:23.68.
Landfair, Vormohr, Miller and Saxman combined for the other two relay victories, taking the 200 medley in 2:12.01 and the 400 freestyle at 1:04.26.
Elwood's lone win came in the 50 freestyle, where Sophia Sechler finished in 30.35 to hold off Ruchgy (30.92).[[In-content Ad]]
And Thursday they followed up with a 171-point victory.
There wouldn't seem to be much difference between the two blowouts of short-handed teams, but Jay County High School girls swim coach Bev Arnold was much happier with Thursday's 229-58 win over the Elwood Panthers.
"We swam a lot better tonight than we did on Tuesday night," said Arnold, whose team slaughtered Muncie Southside 218-57 in its opener. "We had many season bests or personal bests.
"Even though (Elwood's team was small), we made our own competition."
Michelle Landfair and Cori Vormohr each won twice for the Patriots (2-0), who took first place 9-of-10 contested events against an Elwood team that brought just nine swimmers.
Landfair led a JCHS sweep in the 200-yard individual medley, holding off teammate Briann Saxman by less than a second in one of the several races sparked with tight intrasquad competition. Landfair finished in 2-minutes, 44.14 seconds, Saxman was the runner-up in 2:44.70 and Kelci Reed placed third in 3:01.23.
The other victory from Landfair was also a close battle, this time with freshman Aly Miller in the 100 freestyle. Miller had a slight lead that mid-point of the race, but Landfair rallied to eke out a win in 1:01.79.
Miller finished second in 1:02.13.
"They're both shooting to get under a minute," said Arnold of the teammates battling in the 100 freestyle. "That's good. They created their own competition tonight. That's what we wanted."
Vormohr was in control of her only contested victory, cruising to the win in the 100 breaststroke. She reached the wall more than 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, leading a sweep in 1:14.21. Kelci Reed finished second at 1:30.15, and Elaine Hemmelgarn finished in 1:31.25 for third.
Jay County's group of four divers still has yet to face opposition, but still saw a big improvement Thursday from first-year diver Nadlie Runyon.
The sophomore improved her score from Tuesday night's meet by more than 40 points, winning the event with a total of 170.15. Following her were Tricia Skiver (136.9), April Acker (130.5) and Megan Taylor, who posted 123.95 points in her first career meet.
"I think a lot of that was the unfamiliarity of not really knowing what diving is all about," said Arnold of Runyon, a former gymnast. "She had never done any diving. I think we'll continue to see improvement just because she'll relax and calm down.
"I'm impressed with Tricia challenging herself with more difficult dives. ...
"I think that's an overall event that's going to be strong for us."
Miller, Ivy Simons and Caitlin Ruchgy all added victories for the Patriots.
The win for Miller came as she led a sweep in the 200 freestyle in 2:20.92 followed by Maddie Fennig (2:36.51) and Rachel Osterholt (2:41.68). Simons powered a one-two finish in the 100 backstroke with her time of 1:18.48 as Skiver (1:33.19) took the runner-up spot.
Ruchgy picked up her second consecutive victory in the 500 freestyle, winning with a season-best time by more than five seconds in 6:49.34.
"(Simons is) getting her times back down," said Arnold. "She struggled so much last year with illnesses, so it's really good to see her healthy and starting out strong.
"(Ruchgy) has made that change to distance, and she's going gangbusters right now. She wants to really improve there."
Ruchgy also keyed Jay County's victory in the closest relay of the night, the 200 freestyle. The Patriots trailed in the race after the first 150 yards, but Ruchgy dived in and took control for a victory by more than two seconds as she, Fennig, Osterholt and Acker combined to finish in 2:09.84.
Vormohr's second win came in the uncontested 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.70. Saxman was second in 1:18.84, and Fennig took third at 1:23.68.
Landfair, Vormohr, Miller and Saxman combined for the other two relay victories, taking the 200 medley in 2:12.01 and the 400 freestyle at 1:04.26.
Elwood's lone win came in the 50 freestyle, where Sophia Sechler finished in 30.35 to hold off Ruchgy (30.92).[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD