Slavik takes over Jay boys team

As coach of the girls swim, Matt Slavik helped the team show vast improvement.
He’s hoping the same will be true during his first season leading the Jay County High School boys swim team.
“I’m excited for the boys,” said Slavik, whose 13-member team opens its season Tuesday at Bluffton. “I think last year … a lot of them, let’s face it, weren’t all that excited for some of this change.”
A year ago, in conjunction with then-coach Cori Vormohr, the boys saw a drastic increase in their training regimen.
Slavik said at the time they were not sold on the new ways of practicing.
“I’m hoping the way we do things will get the best out of them,” he said. “They are buying into the way we do things. If they believe they can do something, they can do it.”
Ian Reynolds was one of those swimmers who Slavik said wasn’t convinced at the beginning of the season the increase in workload would work.
But as the season went on, he saw a drop in his times. He ended up finishing 15th in the 100-yard backstroke at sectional.
“I look forward to Ian Reynolds having a great year and everybody coming through,” Slavik said. Reynolds is the only senior on the squad.
Christopher McDowell, a junior, and sophomore Tayler Smeltzer are the lone returning Patriots to finish in the top eight at sectional last season. McDowell was sixth in the 500 freestyle in addition to his 11th-place finish in the 200 freestyle. Smeltzer was seventh in the 100 butterfly and 10th in the 200 individual medley.
Fellow juniors Luke Nichols and Alex LeMaster were 11th and 14th respectively in the 100 breaststroke a year ago. Garrett Campbell, who is also a junior, was 12th and 16th respectively in the 200 and 100 freestyle races.
“Every single boy is working super hard,” said Slavik, whose team was fourth at sectional last season behind Delta, South Adams and Muncie Central. “We’re building some strength in trying to fill some gaps in some areas.”
That includes the loss of Connor Daniels and Sok Vormohr. Daniels was a freestyle sprinter, and Vormohr, a state qualifier in 2015, could compete in just about any event.
Finding a role for each swimmer is the challenging part, Slavik said, as he has no specific stroke specialists.
“They are going to have to get used to wearing several hats in order for us to be successful as a team,” Slavik said. “Right now that is the No. 1 thing on our minds.”
After the season opener at Bluffton, Jay County returns home against Anderson nine days later. On Dec. 3, the Celina Bulldogs host the Celina Sprints at JCHS, and the Patriots will be one of the participants.
Jay County hosts dual meets against Norwell (Dec. 8), Delta (Dec. 13), Bellmont (Jan. 3) and Celina (Jan. 5). It has a double dual Jan. 24 at home against Blackford and Burris, while also hosting the Jay County Invitational on Jan. 7 and the Allen County Athletic Conference championships Jan. 20 and 21.
“I’m looking for a winning season,” Slavik said. “I’m looking for a lot of time improvement and I’m looking for our freshmen to come in and fit nicely.”
Those newcomers include Avery Dann, Chase McFarland, Ben Strausburg and Calvin Whitney. Sophomore Gabe Blankenship is also on the team.
Still, the focus is on improving from one meet to the next.
“If we keep things in perspective and understand that there’s only 12 of us, and that if we compare ourselves to ourselves and show continued improvement each week it will be a successful season,” he said.