Crawfordsville’s five-year streak of boys’ Sagamore Conference swimming and diving championships came to a halt on Saturday, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort.
“We make no excuses,” Athenian coach Kevin Hedrick said. “We swam 70 percent lifetime bests today, and that was after 52 percent on Thursday. We hold dear to lifetime bests and we know that those are where we compete and get better, so we are happy.”
Danville took home the team title with 468 points, while the Athenians were second with 433. Southmont was fifth with 190, and North Montgomery seventh at 120. On the girls’ side, Lebanon won with 393, while Southmont was second at 340, and Crawfordsville third at 300. North Montgomery was fourth at 221.
Thristan Callejas led the Athenians with a win in the 100 butterfly in a time of 54.57 seconds. The sophomore was second in the 200 freestyle in 150:55, and helped the Athenians to a win in the 400 freestyle relay with teammates Ben Brown, Evan Chaney, and Jack Pendleton with a time of 3:24.56.
Hunter Conrad placed second in the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:10.58, while he was second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.26, and helped the Athenians to a win in the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:33.75 with Brown, Pendleton, and Marshall Horton. Brown was third in the 100 freestyle in 51.55 seconds, and fourth in the 50 freestyle in 23.71 seconds.
Chaney placed third in the 200 individual medley in 2:11.71, and second in the 100 backstroke in 59.07 seconds. Horton finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:06.96, and seventh in the 200 individual medley.
Eli Reeves placed third in the diving portion with a mark of 265.9
On the girls’ side, sophomore Alyx Bannon led the Athenians with a pair of second-place finishes. Bannon was second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.12 seconds, and second in the 100 freestyle in 55.16 seconds. She also helped the Athenians to a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay with teammates Jaiden Barber, Abby Bannon, and Halle Smith with a time of 2:01.45. Abby Bannon was second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:13.29, and fifth in the 200 individual medley in 2:34.34.
“Being a solid third after losing solid senior leadership from last year is key,” Hedrick said. “We need that transition and we need those girls to recognize that they are now that senior leadership.”
Smith was eighth in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly with times of 2:25.15 and 1:14.72 respectively. Cathleen McGrady was eighth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 6:19.29, and sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:19.62.
Trinity Deck placed third in the diving portion with a mark of 294.7.
Southmont’s Emma Tyler earned a perfect day in the pool with four wins. The senior swam to a win in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:20.14, and a win in the 500 freestyle in 5:29.53. She also helped the foursome of Jane and Megan Scheidler and Suzi Pedro to a win in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.93, while the same group won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:49.27.
Megan Scheidler was second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:07.35, and fourth in the 500 freestyle in 5:46.71. Jane Scheidler was fourth in the 50 freestyle in 25.47 seconds, and third in the 100 freestyle in 55.73 seconds. Pedro was fifth in the 50 freestyle in 25.87 seconds, and fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.63. Aubrey Jones was seventh in the 100 backstroke with 1:09.51, and Bailey Barker was seventh in the 200 freestyle in 2:17.4.
Jordan Stanley placed second in the diving portion with a mark of 321.4.
“We had a great meet, and I’m really proud for the girls in what they accomplished,” Southmont coach Jane Coudret said. “And the guys they’ve really turned the corner here with what they’ve been doing.”
Trent Jones placed sixth in the 50 freestyle in 23.89 seconds, and third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.48. The sophomore also helped the Mounties to a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:52.38 with teammates John Zimmerman, Logan Harman, and Karter Blankenship.
Zimmerman gave the Mounties their lone win on the boys’ side in the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.87 seconds. He was also sixth in the 200 freestyle in 1:57.23. Gavin Waddell was eighth in both the 200 and 500 freestyle with times of 2:05.59 and 5:38.42 respectively.
Sidney Campbell’s pair of wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle led the Chargers. The junior swam to first in a time of 24.73 seconds in the 50 freestyle, and 53.99 seconds in the 100 freestyle. Kelsey Anderson was fourth in the 200 freestyle in 2:13.82, and sixth in the 500 freestyle in 6:12.57.
Maggie Michael was fourth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:09.15, and fourth in the 100 backstroke in 1:05.86.
Jameson Burget was the top finisher for the Charger boys with a fifth-place finish in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.4. The freshman was also 11th in the 200 individual medley.
Overall North Montgomery coach Erin Yeager saw a lot of lifetime best swims from both sides.
“It was nice to see especially to see from some of my top-tier swimmers,” she said. “They don’t drop times at dual-meets, it just doesn’t happen. So to get in here and see some big time drops. I’m just real pleased with both the girls and the guys with how they’ve done overall.”
