Jane Scheidler gave the Mounties the lead, and Emma Tyler anchored the 400 freestyle relay win to push Southmont past Twin Lakes and to their first IHSAA girls’ sectional swim title since 2001.
The Mounties trailed the Indians by two heading into the final event, but Scheidler pulled ahead of Twin Lakes’ Mya Thompson in the third leg, while Tyler sealed it — giving Southmont the win with a time of 3:46.45.
“She’s (Jane Scheidler) been hitting it on her relays,” Southmont swim coach Jane Coudret said. “They like to swim that relay in that order. And at some point they came up to me and were like ‘hey Emma is willing to go last,’ and I knew we had two strong legs at the end.”
The Mounties finished with 332 points, while Twin Lakes was second with 328, and Crawfordsville third at 263. North Montgomery finished fifth with 221, while Fountain Central was ninth with 130.
“I was a little worried there for a while, because they (her swimmers) worry a lot,” Coudret added. “We are always stronger in the back half. And they said that to me, ‘we are always a back half team, we are going to be alright.’ I can’t say enough. They are just so excited. It wasn’t a perfect day throughout, but it ended up with the perfect ending.”
The win gives Southmont their fourth sectional title in girls’ sports this school year, tying the 1985-86 school year for the most sectional titles in one year.
Jane Scheidler, Tyler, Megan Scheidler, and Suzi Pedro added a win in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:42.28. Tyler won the 500 freestyle in 5:28.5, and was second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:21.23.
Jane Scheidler was also fourth in the 50 freestyle in 25.32 seconds, and third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.41 seconds. Megan Scheidler was second in the 200 freestyle in 2:04.46, and second in the 500 freestyle in 5:37.58. Pedro was sixth in the 50 freestyle in 26.13 seconds, and sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:16.92. Aubrey Jones placed third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:08.03, and sixth in the 100 butterfly in 1:11.25, while Bailey Barker was sixth in the 200 freestyle in 2:14.54, and eighth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:21.58.
Jordan Stanley placed second in the diving portion with a mark of 349.2 to advance to Tuesday’s regional.
Crawfordsville’s Alyx Bannon swam a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle to win with a time of 54.08 seconds and earn a spot in the state prelims on Friday.
“We worked hard this year,” Athenians coach Kevin Hedrick said. “When you have a true sprinter — it’s easy to work with a true sprinter, and to mold that. You have to have someone who is very coachable like she is, and someone who is very motivated like she was, and you just have to have that fighting spirit and man, she’s got it. It was an all-year accumulation.”
Bannon was also second in the 50 freestyle in 24.71 seconds. Abby Bannon placed fifth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:39.45, and was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.2. Frannie Fuller placed ninth in the 200 individual medley, and 10th in the 100 backstroke, while Halle Smith was fifth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:11.83, and ninth in the 100 butterfly. Cathleen McGrady was ninth in the 100 breaststroke, and 14th in the 500 freestyle, while Jaiden Barber was ninth in both the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
The Athenians piled on the points in the diving portion that helped them finish in the top-3. Trinity Deck was third with a mark of 340.2, while Faith Rogers was fourth with a score of 304.55, and both divers advanced to Tuesdays regional. Ella Hudson was seventh with a mark of 273.45.
Crawfordsville had won three-straight sectional titles, but lost seniors Mackenzie Bowen, Emily Humphrey, and Cami McGrady from last season.
“Going into the season if you would have told me we’d end up third at the sectional, I could have probably bet you a Coke against that,” Hedrick chuckled. “It’s a testament to the girls. It’s a hard sport. They’ve worked hard. When you get down to the end of the season those that have worked hard, it shows. And that came out.”
North Montgomery’s Sidney Campbell was unable to repeat as a sectional winner in the 50 and 100 freestyle, but finished third in the 50 with a time of 24.78 seconds, and second in the 100 freestyle in 55.14 seconds.
“It can be rough for the team when you have your heart set on something,” North Montgomery coach Erin Yeager said. “And it’s hard to recover, but I think we recovered nicely. We swam well, and I was very proud of the girls’ races.”
Maggie Michael added a third-place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:26.21, and placed second in the 100 backstroke in 1:06. Michael and Campbell along with Maddie Mershon and Kelsey Anderson finished third in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:50.69.
Mershon placed eighth in the 50 freestyle and seventh in the 100 freestyle, while Anderson was ninth in the 200 freestyle, and 10th in the 100 breaststroke.
Fountain Central’s Tyler Bowling finished third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:07.21, and sixth in the 500 freestyle in 5:57.3. Paityn Krout placed fifth in the 100 butterfly in 1:06.81, and was 11th in the 50 freestyle. Nadya Rahm was seventh in the 200 individual medley and eighth in the 100 backstroke.
All sectional winners will compete in the state prelims on Friday night at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.
