FISHERS, Ind. —
In sports, as often as in life, achievement is often measured by one’s own goals for success.
That was certainly the case for many Anderson and Pendleton Heights swimmers Saturday at the girls’ sectional final round in Fishers.
Although none of the swimmers qualified for the state final meet next weekend, there was plenty to celebrate for both squads.
The Arabians achieved one major goal set before the meet, finishing fourth in the team standings. While it was expected that host Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern and Yorktown would claim the top three spots, Pendleton Heights coach Jeff Maydak knew there would be stiff competition for the following placements.
The Arabians played leapfrog with Oak Hill for nearly the entire meet, finally pulling ahead during the latter stages to claim the coveted fourth spot.
“We’re real happy with the way things went today,” Maydak said. “We battled with Oak Hill, going back and forth with them for five or six events and really took advantage in some of the individual events at the end.”
Anderson finished sixth in the team standings, one spot behind Oak Hill and one ahead of conference rival Marion.
That was a point of pride for Indians coach Dave Renz, who noted that the five first-place finishers all have perennially strong programs.
“In my two years here this is the best we’ve performed at any point,” he said. “Out of 20 swims, we had 16 career-best marks — and we beat out Marion after they kind of embarrassed us at the conference meet. I’ll take that anytime.”
Tori Brown, a senior and the team’s lone sectional returnee, finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke.
Two Anderson relay teams managed sixth-place finishes, with Esther Mishler, Brown, Anna Gustin and Katie Skeen teaming up in the 200 medley and Gustin, Misher, Brown and Jessica Simmons in the meet’s final event, the 400 free relay.
Two Arabian swimmers won the consolation races in their respective events: Mason Mills with a 1:11.61 finish in the 100 butterfly and Jillyan Jackson in the 500 free. Both swimmers set personal events along the way.
“With Mason, we kind of anticipated that she could win that race,” Maydak said. “Of course the disappointment is that she came just five-hundredths of a second from qualifying for the finals.”
Like Mills’, Jackson’s race drew a raucous following from her coach and teammates who understood the importance of winning the consolation bracket.
“There is a two-point difference between finishing ninth and finishing 10th,” Maydak said. “We knew that would be huge for the team, and fortunately those two were able to pull it off.”
Pendleton’s Madison Kordes and Micalah Booher posted points in a more conventional manner, with finishes in the championship races.
Booher finished fifth in the 200 free at 2:02.12, maintaining her preliminary time but ultimately falling back a place. Booher also took fifth in the 500 free. Kordes, meanwhile, took sixth place in the 200 IM.
The Arabians also scored fifth place in all three relay events.
However, neither Pendleton diver was able to finish in the top four to advance to the regional round. Hannah Cochran finished fifth with a total of 437.30, with Taylor Fiew seventh.
“We were all disappointed that our divers didn’t advance because we thought they both had a good shot at it,” Maydak said. “But overall we had a good day. It was a good season. We had a 10-3 record, and that’s good coming off of a couple season where we were below .500. The majority of our points today were won by freshman, and we only graduate two seniors. So the future looks bright for our program.”
Elwood finished eighth in the team standings, with two eighth places and one seventh place in the relay events. Liberty Christian finished ninth.
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Pendleton Heights' Micalah Booher dives into the pool as she competes in the 200-yard freestyle during the girls swimming sectional at Fishers on Saturday. Don Knight
Discussion
Swimmers meet team goals
PH, Anderson girls find own measure of success
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