Vormohr set for state (02/11/2009)

Cori Vormohr has already left her mark. But she hopes to do it one more time this weekend.

Vormohr, who dominates the Jay County High School record board, will compete in the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

"I want to have (personal) best times, and just have a good time," said the senior, who placed 25th in the breaststroke and 26th in the butterfly last season. "Really I don't have anything to lose. I'm going in seeded at the bottom. The only thing I can do is move up."

South Adams' Erika Waugh will also compete Friday in the 500 freestyle.

Vormohr helped the Patriots to one of their best seasons ever this year.

JCHS won its first ever Olympic Athletic Conference title this season, and its 10 wins were the most since going 11-1 in 1999-2000. Its runner-up effort at the sectional meet matched the best finish ever, also accomplished in 1984, 1991 and 1992.

"Cori's a phenomenal individual," said first-year coach Matt Slavik of his senior leader. "She sets the bar awfully high. She gets in every day and works hard. She took a lot of young girls under her wing.

"For me it's been a great way to start as a first-year coach, having a leader who is so receptive to what I'm trying to do. ... She's going to be sorely missed when this is all said and done."

Vormohr will need to make a significant move in both events to qualify for Saturday's championship or consolation races. Only the top 16 out of 32 swimmers in Friday's preliminaries advance.

She enters as the No. 29 seed in both events, having posted times of 1-minute, 0.03 seconds in the butterfly and 1:08.74 in the breaststroke at Saturday's sectional meet.

"It's just kind of a matter of how everybody swims on Friday," said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. "I think just going out and shooting for (personal) best times is the key. I think she can do whatever she sets her mind to. She's pretty realistic about everything."

The No. 16 seed in each event is Columbus North's Myra Retrum (1:06.87) in the breaststroke and Bloomington South's Casey Papp (57.95) in the butterfly. Cut-off times for the top 16 were 1:07.54 and 58.46 respectively last season.

Even though she would likely have to swim more than a second faster in the breaststroke than she ever has before, Slavik says he believes she will make a run at a top-16 finish in the event. Part of that belief comes because she set new pool and sectional records Saturday despite being a full five seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

"That's pure adrenaline," said Slavik. "Now she's going to have the best 32 girls in the state to (compete with). I think that'll be a big advantage for her."

No Jay County female has ever made it into the top 16 in swimming, and only two boys - state champion Bob Morrison and Jason Arnold - have ever accomplished the feat.

South Adams' Waugh is the No. 28 seed in the 500 freestyle following her time of 5:24.24 at the sectional meet. The No. 16 seed, Lake Central's Lesley Payonk, had a qualifying time of 5:11.09, and the cut-off time for the top 16 in 2008 was 5:13.29.

No matter what happens Friday and possibly Saturday, Vormohr is already arguably the best female swimmer in JCHS history.

Of the 11 swimming events, she holds school records in seven - five individual and two relays.

The last of those came at Saturday's sectional when she teamed with junior Michelle Landfair and freshmen Eme Miller and Mary Hudson for a time of 1:56.82. The same group broke the record in the 400 freestyle relay earlier this season.

Vormohr set the breaststroke school record at 1:08.66 at last season's state finals, and also holds individual marks in the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle.

"It feels good," said Vormohr, "but I know records are meant to be broken and I'm sure in the next few years there'll be a lot of swimmers that break those records.

"And also it's cool to have two relays up there. It was fun to be a part of that this year."

Along with all the school records, Vormohr also claimed pool and sectional records in the breaststroke Saturday. She is the only swimmer, male or female, to hold a pool record.

Carmel, which has won every girls swimming state championship since 1987, is responsible for most of the pool marks. Sarah Miller, JCHS class of 2003, owns the pool record in diving.

Vormohr is also one of just five girls swimmers to advance to the state finals in an individual event, joining Elizabeth Husmann, Abby Arnold, Lisa Vold and her aunt Missy Stults. She and Arnold share the record for individual sectional titles with four apiece.

Also, Vormohr is the only female swimming in JCHS history to crack the 1-minute mark in an event other than the freestyle. She did it with her record time of 59.98 in the butterfly last season.

"To be as versatile as what she is, that's amazing," said Slavik. "To hold that many personal records and then a couple of relay records. You look at the record board, and I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have your name plastered all over it like that. It's just a phenomenal feat."[[In-content Ad]]