Swimmers Compete at Hendricks County Championships

The Bulldog Swimming & Diving Team wrapped up the first semester Saturday afternoon, hosting the Hendricks County Invitational at the Bulldog Aquatic Center. The Dogs put together a solid performance overall, finishing third on the girls side behind Plainfield and the champion Avon Orioles. The Bulldog boys were runners-up, also behind Avon.

"There is a natural hype factor built into this meet with the end of school, but the kids performed well and with a lot of enthusiasm," Head Coach Josh Saylor said. "We didn't do anything different in our training so to see them do so well with no special preparation is encouraging for the rest of the season."

The Bulldog girls celebrated a pair of County champions, with senior Grace Fulwider having a hand in both. Fulwider teamed with senior Tia Scoggan, junior Kierra Watson and sophomore Madison Kehr to win the opening 200 Medley Relay and added an individual County title in the 100 Breaststroke.

Scoggan was the runner-up in the 100 Backstroke, while Kehr (100 Freestyle) and Watson (100 Backstroke) added third place individual finishes, as did freshman AJ Moll in the 500 Freestyle. Fulwider, Kehr and Watson teamed with senior Chloe Wittig for third place in the 200 Freestyle Relay, while Moll, Scoggan and Wittig teamed with junior Brianna LaPaugh for fourth place in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

Senior Delaney Krug (50 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke); juniors Clarice Cross (50 Freestyle), Ashly Kraatz (500 Freestyle), Alyssa Smock (100 Freestyle) and Megan Wolf (200 Individual Medley, 100 Butterfly) and freshman Kaylee Propst (200 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke) all contributed valuable points in the swimming pool, as did freshman divers Danielle LeClerc and Alli O'Leary on the boards.

The Bulldog boys couldn't top the podium Saturday but recorded multiple runner-up positions, including all three relay events. Senior Bradley Green teamed with juniors Joe Ancel, Diego La Torre and Cameron Howard for second place in the 200 Medley Relay. Ancel and La Torre teamed with junior Kyle Baney and sophomore Vince Partlow for second in the 200 Freestyle Relay, and Baney, Green, Howard and Partlow were second in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

Baney (100 Freestyle), Green (100 Butterfly) and Partlow (200 Freestyle) added individual second place finishes, while Ancel (100 Breaststroke), Howard (100 Freestyle) and La Torre (50 Freestyle) had high finishes of third place individually. Senior Caleb Windler turned in a strong fourth place finish in diving.

Seniors Jared Krug (50, 100 Freestyle) and Donnie Spencer (100 Butterfly, 100 Breaststroke); juniors Jimmy Breedlove (200 Individual Medley, 100 Backstroke), Chad Hale (200, 500 Freestyle) and Adam Moll (500 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke) and freshman Frank Schoemer (200 Individual Medley, 100 Breaststroke) contributed strong finishes for the Dogs.

"We've been working hard to achieve our biggest goals at the end of the season, but it's always exciting to perform well in big meets," Saylor said. "This was our first championship style meet and I'm encouraged by what I saw. We should have a lot of incentive to train over Christmas break."

The Bulldogs will return to action in the New Year, traveling to Purdue University on Friday, January 3 for the Lafayette Harrison Invitational at 10:30am.