Pair of twos

It’s been a decade since the Patriots sent anyone to the state finals.

In many of the ensuing seasons, they haven’t had anyone seriously contending for a trip to Indianapolis.

Though not the favorite in either of his events, a freshman is on the verge of breaking that drought.

Cooper Glentzer led the host Jay County High School boys swim team as he earned a couple of No. 2 seeds Thursday in the sectional preliminaries.

"It's exciting,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. The team’s last individual state qualifiers were James Keen and Sok Vormohr in 2015. (A relay also qualified that season.) 

“With Cooper being a freshman, it's breathed some new life into this team with him, between him and Carson. ... Cooper ... seeded second in both the fly and 500 free, normally not two events you are competing in, I think he's got a legitimate shot to get out. So we'll see. Saturday's going to be a fun day."

The top 16 swimmers from Thursday’s preliminaries advance to swim in the championship and consolation finals as the meet resumes Saturday. (Diving begins at 9 a.m., with swimming to follow at 1 p.m.) The top swimmer in each event Saturday will advance to the IHSAA Boys Swimming State Finals on Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.

Based on Thursday’s results, the Patriots project for a seventh-place finish, as finals berths were difficult to come by beyond the pair from Glentzer. Bluffton, the top seed in five events including a pair of relays, is projected to repeat as the sectional champion by about 100 points, with Delta, Norwell and Muncie Central in a three-way skirmish for second. Bellmont and Burris look to be in a battle for fifth ahead of Jay County, Huntington North, South Adams, Blackford and Adams Central.

"Overall, I thought it was a great meet,” said Slavik. “We had significant time drops across the board. ... They did what the goal was. I was happy with how everybody performed. ... Big improvement over where we've been the last couple of years."

Glentzer showed he is within striking distance of a state berth, especially in the 100-yard butterfly. His time of 54.55 seconds put him just 0.24 seconds behind Bluffton’s top-seeded James Isaac Wheeler, the defending champion.

The Patriot freshman is also the No. 2 seed by a couple of seconds to Delta’s Zach Baty in the 500 freestyle after posting a time of 4:59.75 Thursday. (His time was less than a second off of the school record of 4:59.18 set by James Keen in 2014.)

The next best result for Jay County in the preliminaries came in the 400 freestyle relay, with Carson Westgerdes, Peyton Yowell and Lincoln Clamme joining Glentzer to pick up the No. 4 seed with their time of 3:43.41. The same quartet was fifth in the 200 freestyle relay.

Westgerdes and Yowell each made championship finals in one event. Westgerdes, a freshman, was seventh in 1:59.89 in the 200 individual medley while Yowell, a junior, took the No. 8 spot as he finished in 53.57 in the 100 freestyle.

“Peyton Yowell, he came back in the 100. I wasn't expecting him to come back in the 100,” Slavik said. “He just finished ninth in the 50. In both, moved up two spots."

Also qualifying for Saturday’s consolation finals were Yowell (ninth — 50 freestyle), Matthew Fisher (10th — 100 backstroke), Westgerdes (13th — 100 freestyle) and Clamme (16th — 100 breaststroke).

Max Klopfenstein, David Keen, Kamdyn Carter and Matthew Fisher teamed for ninth in the 200 medley relay in 2:01.22.