Boys' & Girls' Swim/Dive Pick up a Road Win Against McCutcheon

A tired but spirited Bulldogs Swimming & Diving Team picked up a pair of road victories Thursday night in the middle of heavy training, traveling to McCutcheon and taking down the conference rival Mavericks. The Bulldog boys (3-1) cruised to a 118-64 win while the girls – who won only three events on the night – used superior depth and strategy to up their season record to 5-2 with a 95-90 victory.

 

The boys were led by triple winners Joe Ancel and Kyle Baney – both sophomores – and benefitted from a strong start, taking the top two spots in the opening 200 Medley Relay. Baney teamed with junior Bradley Green and sophomores Jimmy Breedlove and Diego La Torre for first while juniors Grant Anspach, Jared Krug and Albert Turk and sophomore Hunter Dahlke finished second.

 

Baney picked up individual wins in the 100 Butterfly and 100 Breaststroke, while Ancel won the 200 & 100 Freestyle and teamed with Breedlove and Green (double winners on the night) and sophomore Chad Hale for first place in the 200 Freestyle Relay.

 

The boys also got a huge performance on the diving boards, with freshman Logan Hannie notching his first career win and leading a 1-2-3 sweep with juniors Kyle Johnson and Caleb Windler.

 

The Bulldog girls also finished 1-2 in the 200 Medley Relay, but needed several key performances later in the meet to outduel the Mavericks, who won 9 of 12 events. Senior Madeline Ketchem, junior Grace Fulwider, sophomore Kierra Watson and freshman Madison Kehr took the top spot in the medley while senior Kristin Verpe, juniors Delaney Krug and Tia Scoggan and freshman Piper Lovett finished second.

 

Fulwider displayed toughness by winning the very next event, the 200 Freestyle, which was the first of several critical swims for the Dogs. Coming up with important finishes in key events, Scoggan (100 Freestyle), Verpe (100 Freestyle) and Watson (100 Butterfly) all picked up vital points as did junior Chloe Wittig (100 Freestyle), sophomores Brianna LaPaugh and Megan Wolf (500 Freestyle) and freshman Shelby Smith (100 Butterfly).

 

The turning point for the girls came in the 100 Backstroke, when Lovett and Scoggan teamed with sophomore Ashly Kraatz for a 1-2-3 finish, which vaulted the Dogs back into the lead to stay. Strong swims by Kehr, Krug and sophomore Emily Kraatz in the 100 Breaststroke sealed the victory.

 

The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow (Saturday, January 5) at the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Invitational at Purdue University. Both the swimming and diving competition begin at 11:30 a.m.