Southmont’s girls’ swimming and diving team knew this was the season to make history at the Montgomery County meet, and seniors Jane Scheidler and Emma Tyler were determined to make it happen.
The pair of Mounties were each four-event winners — helping Southmont to their first county title since 2000 with a score of 261. Crawfordsville was second at 210, and North Montgomery third with 209.
Crawfordsville’s boys’ won their sixth-straight title with 327 points, followed by Southmont (152) and North Montgomery (142).
“They (Crawfordsville) lost a big senior class last year, so we knew this was our time to try and step in and do that,” Southmont coach Jane Coudret said. “Our seniors really came through today. We were pretty pleased.”
Scheidler won the 50 freestyle in a time of 25.47 seconds, and the 100 freestyle in 56.18 seconds. Tyler took first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:22.36, and the 500 freestyle in 5:44.53.
Scheidler and Tyler teamed up with Megan Scheidler and Suzi Pedro for a win in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:45.05 and with Megan Scheidler and Bailey Barker for a win in the 400 freestyle relay with an effort of 4:02.38. Megan Scheidler also won the 100 backstroke in 1:07.57.
Jordan Stanley defended her county diving title with a mark of 209.65.
“It was a little rough in the beginning, but after the 100 fly it seemed like we started to get momentum,” Coudret said.
The only event the Mounties didn’t win following the butterfly was the 100 breaststroke, which went to Crawfordsville’s Abby Bannon with a lifetime-best swim of 1:13.27.
“Seeing that continued improvement,” Crawfordsville coach Kevin Hedrick said of his team’s second-place finish. “And that’s all you can hope for, and you hope for the seniors to step up and Abby Bannon had a lifetime-best in her 100 breaststroke and had a season-best in her 200 IM, and a lifetime-best in a 50 free on that 200 free relay.”
The senior was third in the 200 individual medley. Bannon also teamed up with Jaiden Barber, Halle Smith, and Alyx Bannon to win the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:05.46.
Sidney Campbell led the Chargers with a pair of victories. The senior swam to wins in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:02.36, and the 100 butterfly in 1:07.53.
“There were a couple of specific goals we were working on there,” Chargers coach Erin Yeager said. “There a couple records we were chasing, and we thought county was a good meet to get that adrenaline going to get those big swims.”
Maggie Michael was second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:33.9, and the 100 backstroke in 1:08.39.
On the boys’ side, the Athenians dominated from start to finish — winning 11 of the 12 possible events.
“We were pretty much on all 4-6-8 cylinders, whichever car you have,” Hedrick said. “We were pretty much on it. We are really happy with where we are at right now. Overall we are really happy with the guys. They all swam fast and with some good recipes, and we’ve been really talking about technique and things that really carry over from practice to racing.”
Evan Chaney, Marshall Horton, Thristan Callejas, and Jack Pendleton teamed up for a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.66, while Callejas, Horton, Pendleton, and Ben Brown won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:35.33, and Chaney, Cole Hudson, Hunter Conrad, and Ben Brown won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:49.31.
Callejas also won the 200 freestyle in 1:56.73, and the 100 butterfly in 56.46 seconds. Pendleton won the 50 freestyle in 23.43 seconds, and the 100 freestyle in 52.31 seconds. Chaney won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:15.23, and the 100 backstroke in 1:00.69. Conrad won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.89.
Eli Reeves won the diving portion for the Athenians with a mark of 176.05.
Gavin Waddell led the Mounties with a win in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:45.11, and a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle. Trent Jones was third in the 50 freestyle, and second in the 100 butterfly, while John Zimmerman was second in the 100 backstroke.
North Montgomery’s Jamason Burget was fourth in the 200 freestyle, and third in the 100 backstroke, while Kaden Ervin was fifth in the 500 freestyle, and Stevie Gunderman fifth in the 100 breaststroke. Gunderman was also second in the diving portion with a mark of 157.3.
