The season is already under way for local girls high school swim teams, and each squad is looking to improve on last year’s performances.
State qualifiers junior Autumn Brown of Pendleton Heights and senior diver Kate Hillman of Shenandoah were last season’s top performers in the area and should lead local competitors again.
Coaches are expecting a lot out of their teams, including Anderson head coach Jeff Eddy, who is stressing the importance of improvement this season.
“We only won one meet last year,” Eddy said. “We’d like to win more this year if we can.”
Eddy’s optimism relies on his core of returnees, who will provide the much-needed depth that was missing in years past.
Senior Hannah Harrison has been coined the team’s new utility swimmer, and Eddy has high hopes for her.
“I’m not positive where she is going to end up,” he said. “But she is a very, very hard worker, and she is versatile. She’ll provide leadership in those spots that need to be filled.”
Other noteworthy returnees include juniors Kali Harrison and Sarah Bohenkamp, who already have put in their work on the soccer field before hitting the water. Harrison is looking for a big comeback after suffering a debilitating shoulder injury last season and hopes to dominate the sprint freestyle. Bohenkamp will be Eddy’s lead breaststroker, and he hopes she’ll top all of her performances in the past.
Pendleton Heights
Although his roster is a little slimmer than usual, Pendleton Heights head coach Jeff Maydak isn’t too worried. He has some top-notch athletes in his midst.
Brown, a repeat state qualifier and a four-time school record holder, will be looked to as a leader. Her primary events include sprint freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. Her latest performance at state was a little disappointing, but Maydak thinks that experience will drive her forward for even better results.
Senior Amberleigh Clauson, who holds three Hoosier Heritage Conference titles in both the freestyle and individual medley, also will be a first-place finisher, according to Maydak.
Jillyan Jackson, one of the few underclassmen on the team, is a multi-dimensional swimmer and will be filling in holes throughout the roster.
Senior Lacey Jackson, a previous conference champion in the 500-meter freestyle, is going to be the key distance swimmer for the Arabians.
Maydak will rely on this quartet and says he’ll worry about depth later.
Elwood
Depth doesn’t worry Elwood head coach Tammy Douglas.
Although she has only 13 swimmers, Douglas believes they will score well.
“Just because we are smaller doesn’t mean we won’t be able to compete and do well,” she said.
Douglas has a particularly fast relay team she hopes will produce some big numbers for her. She also named junior Sophie Sechler her team captain and knows Sechler will use her many years of experience to guide the underclassmen.
Douglas says sophomore Ellie Settig should dominate in the backstroke and individual medley and has shown consistent improvement.
Alexandria
Returners will be the key for Alexandria this season, according to head coach Jamie Haase.
“We have a lot more returners who have swam for us in previous years, and they are stronger,” he said. “We have more numbers, too. So that doesn’t hurt either.”
Ashleigh Wilson is the lone senior and will provide solid leadership and experience, he said.
Junior Sarah Walker is a jack-of-all-trades. Walker holds the school record for diving, and Haase believes she will most likely break the school’s breaststroke record before the end of the year.
Haase says freshman Shelby Anderson also looks extremely promising and will potentially compete in the freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke.
Highland and Shenandoah’s coaches were unavailable for comment.
Local Sports
Girls hit pool looking to improve
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Bearcats upend AHS
Often basketball is a simple game, and it was certainly true for the Anderson boys basketball team here Thursday night. “We had too many turnovers — that’s the game,” said AHS coach Joe Nadaline after the Indians lost to Muncie Central 54-46 for their eighth straight defeat.
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Bulldogs topple Raiders, win 9th in a row
The Bulldogs keep on rolling. Lapel (16-3) led from start to finish as it beat visiting Shenandoah 69-47 Thursday night to push its winning streak to nine games.
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PHHS shoots down Fishers
It can be easy to take Kellen Dunham for granted. But the Pendleton Heights senior reminded everyone why he is a Mr. Basketball candidate with a furious fourth quarter Thursday night against Fishers. Dunham scored 15 of his game-high 32 points in the final eight minutes, connected on all 10 of his free-throw attempts during the period and drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key early in the frame that sent the fifth-ranked Arabians on their way to a 53-42 victory.
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Frankton subdues Liberty
Youth was on display Thursday night in Frankton as the host Eagles squared off against the Liberty Christian Lions boys basketball team. Neither team had a senior start the game, and Frankton proved to be the more seasoned team in a 68-59 win.
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Indians fall to Bearcats 54-46
Photos from Anderson as the Indians hosted the Muncie Central Bearcats.
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Five for fighting
Like other coaches, Alexandria wrestling coach Jack Grimaldi sometimes has to worry about how to motivate his charges as they head into their matches. That shouldn’t be an issue for him with his five Tigers heading into Saturday’s individual semistate at New Castle.
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Red-hot Lapel limiting miscues
Like any basketball coach, Jimmie Howell knows how important it is for a team to be playing its best basketball as the state tournament draws near.
But what’s going on in Lapel might be redefining that theory.
With a 60-42 win on the road over Class 3A No. 6 Guerin Catholic on Saturday, the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to eight games. Over the 32-minute course of the game against the Golden Eagles, Lapel committed a microscopic four turnovers. -
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
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Indians slay Spartans
The last time these two girls basketball teams met on Jan. 17, Anderson defeated Connersville 83-74 in overtime. Lady Tribe coach Chad Cook knew the Spartans would come out with a chip on their shoulder ready for revenge in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class 4A sectional.
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Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
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