Colpaert earns two state berths

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Zach Colpaert’s head slipped below the surface of the water, leaving his expression obscured.

But his arms, extended triumphantly above the surface, said it all.

The South Adams High School senior had secured his first state berth thanks to his victory in the 50-yard freestyle. He added another later as he also won the 100 freestyle in the sectional meet at Jay County.

Colpaert was the lone local swimmer to advance to the state finals — the winner of each event heads to Indianapolis — as the Starfires and host Patriots finished in the bottom half of the standings.

“Just relief,” said Colpaert, whose Starfires tied Muncie Central for seventh out of 10 scoring teams with 201 points. “I mean, all my life I’ve been trying to get to state but I never really thought I would.”

Jay County’s top finish was third place in the 200 medley relay. The team posted 168 points for ninth place, as Blackford rounded out the field with 96.

“I’m proud of the kids,” said Slavik, whose team opened the season 2-7 before winning three of its final four dual meets. “It’s not a fairytale ending that you envision when you start the season, but we had a group of kids that worked really hard and did the best they could with what we had.

“I don’t like being closer to the bottom than the top. It leaves a little bit of a bitter taste, but I think it also leaves something to work for.”

Delta won five events en route to 375.5 points and its fourth straight sectional title. Bluffton was the runner-up with 299.

Colpaert established himself as the top sprinter in the sectional by claiming the No. 1 seeds during Thursday’s preliminaries, and he left no doubt Saturday that he deserved that title. He was involved in a tight race in the 50 freestyle before pulling away in the final 15 yards to win by 0.31 seconds over Adams Central senior Tristan Anderson.

The same Adams County swimmers led the way in the 100 freestyle, but it was Colpaert’s quick start that put him in control. His first 50 yards was nearly a half-second faster than Anderson’s, and he went on to win by a 0.58 margin in 49.16.

Colpaert’s double triumph followed a 2017 sectional in which he finished third behind a pair of Delta competitors in both events.

“It’s super exciting for me,” said SAHS coach Andy Lehman. “Seeing him four years ago as a freshman, he was a kid that just did not stand out in the pool. … Sophomore year he really just sort of broke out of that. … He’s a kid that works really hard in the pool, no matter what. He’s had his mind set on this for years.”

Colpaert also anchored the Starfires’ third-place finish in the 200 medley relay as he joined Kamden Yoder, Trey Lehman and Curtis Sprunger for a time of 1 minute, 48.45 seconds.

The Patriots’ top effort came in the 200 freestyle relay, a race that they led at the 50- and 100-yard marks. They went on to finish third in 1:35.69, with Sprunger, Lehman, Yoder and Colpaert behind them in fourth.

Campbell was the only Jay County swimmer to crack the top half in a championship race as he finished fourth in the 100 freestyle in 51.29. He was also sixth with a time of 1:01.41 in the 100 backstroke.

Also competing in championship races for the Patriots were Taylor Smeltzer (seventh – 100 butterfly) and Chase McFarland (eighth – 500 freestyle).

Skyler Myers, Campbell, Smeltzer and McFarland were seventh in the 400 freestyle relay, and Alex LeMaster, Griffin Mann, Ben Strausburg and Mitchell Brown took ninth in the 200 medley relay.

Yoder placed in the top eight in both of his individual events for the Starfires, finishing fourth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 200 individual medley. Lehman was seventh behind Colpaert in the 50 freestyle, and Tyler Yoder placed eighth in diving.

Also scoring for Jay County were Myers (ninth – 50 freestyle, 16th – 100 freestyle), Smeltzer (ninth – 200 IM), LeMaster (11th – 100 breaststroke, 13th – 200 freestyle), McFarland (12th – 100 backstroke), Mann (14th – 100 breaststroke) Giovanni Perod (14th – diving), Orlando Castro (15th –- diving) and Justice Murphy (16th – diving).

Adding points for South Adams were Brayden Collingsworth (9th – 500 freestyle, 11th –- 200 freestyle), Curtis Sprunger (10th –- 100 breaststroke), Lehman (10th – 100 backstroke), Blaine Harruff (13th – diving) and Clancy McIntire (15th –- 100 backstroke). Aidan VonGunten, Gavin Bullock, Brayden Collingsworth and Parker Collingsworth were 10th in the 400 freestyle relay.