LINDEN — North Montgomery girls swimming is off to a perfect 8-0 start this winter. The Chargers are now ready for their biggest test yet of the season on Saturday when they compete in the county meet at Crawfordsville High School. A season ago North was able to de-throne Crawfordsville for the county crown and now the Chargers are looking to make it two straight. The last time the Chargers won two straight county titles was actually when they won three straight from 2015-2017. What makes this Charger team special is that they have plenty of depth and not just depth but talented swimmers across the board. Annabel Anderson, Kylie Sankey, Brooklyn Kerns, Dusty Robinson along with the likes of Annabelle Verduin in diving, and Kate Merica and this is a Charger team that knows it has the talent to repeat on Saturday.
“We want to be successful on Saturday and the girls have worked tremendously hard to get to where they are right now,” Charger coach Erin Yeager said. “We also want to use this a dry run for what we’re going to at conference and the sectional. We’ve been talking about the last couple weeks how this is a chance for them to really see what they need to do in order to put themselves in the best positions possible for those bigger meets in January and early February.”
Of the eight Charger wins this season, four of those have come against conference foes in Tri-West, Frankfort, Danville and an always tough Stars team who is typically competing for the SAC’s top spot. With all of the success so far in the season the Chargers know that their biggest test lies ahead on Saturday against an Athenian team who will want to take back the top spot in the county.
“We’ve all been really excited about this season so far and know we have to swim even better to keep it going,” Anderson said. “Seeing all of our time drops and winning all the meets so far have been nice and we’ve been putting in the work during practice and push one another to get better. That’s the best part about this team is we all want to get better and all have the same goal.”
With their success comes the recognition that the team has been getting. While basketball dominates the winter sports scene most of the time, Kerns notes how the team has been recognized among their peers.
“I’m excited to see where the rest of the year takes us,” Kerns said. “It does feel good to get recognized for all the hard work we’ve put in.”
With the first big meet on the horizon the Charger girls did also mention how there is a little pressure on them coming in has the defending champions with both Southmont and Crawfordsville looking to knock them off the top of the totem poll.
“We’ve raised the bar for ourselves and that does add some pressure,” Sankey said of the expectations for Saturday. “Winning all of these dual meets gives us the confidence we need. We were able to come out on top last year and while we’re excited to defend the title from last year there are some nerves that come along with that.”
What makes good teams great is that they are never satisfied with where they are currently. That is exactly the case for this Charger girls team. Even though they’re 8-0 on the season, they’re practicing as if they’re 0-0. The competition day in and day out at practice is something that has really stood out to Yeager.
“A lot of spots are up for grabs during practice because these girls are constantly pushing each other,” she said. “Because they’re all pushing each other, that makes it easy for me when I challenge them. They hold each other accountable in ways as a coach you love to see. I never have to get on them about not completing workouts or not getting something done because they all have that internal drive to get better.”
The depth that this Charger team has is one reason they were able to win last year’s county meet. The Chargers followed that up a season ago with a third place finish at the SAC meet. That depth allows them to score more points and place more relay teams and individuals overall. It’s not always about finishing first or second, but being able to score as many points as you can. More swimmers = being able to place more which of then of course means more points. That’s the philosophy that Yeager is wanting her team to focus on as they prep for the county meet.
“We want to use our numbers to our advantage and it’s a big asset for us,” she said. “We’ve made it clear to all of the girls it’s not just our top tier swimmers that win these big meets for us. We have shown them the breakdown of the points even if we don’t get first, and it they’re aware that every single one of them is a part of the process.”
The work has been put in for the Chargers and now it’s time for them to put it to the test when they look to hold onto their county title on Saturday. Regardless of the outcome, this Charger team has the makings of a special team and looks to continue their success the rest of the season.
