Jay eyes postseason success

What the Patriots lack in seniors, they make up for in experience.
And the ultimate goal this season hasn’t changed — dethrone Muncie Central to win the sectional title and make the podium at the state finals.
“We lost a little bit of depth, but we’ve had some freshmen come in that are looking really good right now,” said Jay County High School girls swim coach Matt Slavik, whose team opens its season Saturday at Westfield. “One of them is Alex Bader. She comes in and is an instant game changer for us.
“I think our chances of winning sectional are really good barring any unforeseen injuries. We have 28 girls on our squad and it’s going to take every single one of them in strategic places to make a sectional win happen.”
That likelihood, Slavik added, will rest heavily on the shoulders of the five Patriots who advanced to the state finals last season — Jamie Valentine, Sydney Mathias, Anne Vormohr, Sophie Bader and Katy Smeltzer — and set five new sectional records in the process.
Vormohr, who as a freshman became the first swimmer in school history to reach the podium, placed 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke as a sophomore last season at the state finals on a day that saw 10 new state records set.
“I went (to state) in hopes I would place in the top eight, and obviously I did not do what I planned to do,” Vormohr said. “It was a big disappointment. I don’t think I could have done much more than I had that whole season to prepare for state.”
This year, though, the junior has intensified her training in hopes of making it back to IU Natatorium for the third time in as many years.
“I have never done this much lifting,” she said.
The Patriots’ 200 medley (Vormohr, Sophie Bader, Valentine and Mathias) and 400 freestyle (Mathias, Vormohr, Bader and Smeltzer) relays finished 18th and 26th respectively at state. Slavik said the experience they gained with such a fast field could help them earn a return trip to IUPUI.
“I think both of our relay teams that went to state last year, they experienced competition higher than any of them have ever seen before other than Anne and Sophie on the national stage,” he said, adding he thought last year was an anomaly with the number of records that were broken. “I think it was a great experience for them.”
In addition to the state qualifiers and Sophie’s younger sister Alex, Slavik will be looking to another freshman, Elizabeth McDowell, to make an immediate impact. Also in the mix, he said, will be Ashley Mark, Abby Saxman, Cassie Reno, Hannah Lykins, Katie Mast, Lora Beitler and two seniors, Taylor Campbell and Laurann Schoenlein.
“They’re all geared to have a larger impact than what they had last year,” he said.
Diving, Slavik said, is the area in which the Patriots can improve the most from last season. Muncie Central took the lead in the event at the sectional meet a year ago, and then held it for the remainder of the meet on their way to a 23-point win over Jay County.
Louellen Moser joins Heather Stinson and Samantha Link as the Patriot divers, and Slavik is confident the addition of full-time diving coach Mandy Bruce can help the trio get better this season.
“I think sectional for (Link and Stinson) was a little bit different than they expected. It was a little bit stronger at that top end,” Slavik said. “I think both of them, they’re exposed to it now and they know what to expect. It’s helped us tremendously already with training.
“Right now they’re working like crazy and they already have new dives that they didn’t have at the end of last year.”
The goals Slavik and his team have set for this season extend beyond the pool. The girls also want to have the highest GPA of any sports team at Jay County.
“The character of this team is tremendous,” he said. “It’s a fun team to work with. Every year they set the bar higher and higher with the stuff outside of the pool, and I just look forward to a good year.”