Boys' and Girls' Swim/Dive Splits with Plainfield

After a lengthy layoff from dual meet action, the Bulldog Swimming & Diving Team returned to action Tuesday night, hosting Hendricks County rival Plainfield. Both teams put forth a strong performance with the Bulldog boys dominating the Quakers 136-46, while the girls dropped a nail biter by the slimmest of margins, 93-92.

"It's really easy to go through the motions this time of year, but we avoided that pitfall tonight and swam well," Head Coach Josh Saylor said. "The boys rolled pretty convincingly while unfortunately for the girls, the Plainfield coaches and I had the same idea at the end of the meet about splitting our last relay. Their move paid off, mine didn't but overall, I'm pleased with our performance after such a long absence from dual meet competition."

Junior Kierra Watson and sophomore Madison Kehr were triple winners on the night, both teaming with seniors Grace Fulwider and Tia Scoggan to win the opening 200 Medley Relay. 

Watson touched first individually in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, leading a valuable 1-2 sweep in the latter with senior Chloe Wittig. Kehr won the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Breaststroke. Fulwider and Scoggan were double winners, with Fulwider winning the 100 Freestyle and Scoggan leading a 1-2 sweep of the 100 Backstroke with freshman AJ Moll.

Kehr and Wittig, senior Delaney Krug, juniors Clarice Cross, Brianna LaPaugh, Alyssa Smock and Megan Wolf and freshman Amy Vertacnik all had clutch performances in the 200 Freestyle Relay, as did junior Ashly Kraatz in the 100 Backstroke.

"This one stings a little bit personally, because I felt like I could have made a move to get the girls a win," Saylor said. "But, they delivered a spirited performance against a team that handled us easily at the County meet, and this will pay off as we get closer to our goal of winning a championship."

The boys won 11 of 12 events, displaying versatility and depth by competing in several "off" events. Juniors Cameron Howard and Diego La Torre and sophomore Vince Partlow were double individual winners on the night, with Howard touching first in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Breaststroke and La Torre claiming top honors in the 200 & 100 Freestyle. Partlow won the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke.

Juniors Joe Ancel (50 Freestyle) and Kyle Baney (500 Freestyle) picked up individual wins against the Quakers. The Bulldogs also swept the top 3 spots in 4 events, with seniors Bradley Green and Donnie Spencer, juniors Jimmy Breedlove, Chad Hale and Adam Moll and freshman Andrew Fulwider picking up valuable places in those events.

The Dogs also swept the relay events: Baney, Green, Partlow and freshman Frank Schoemer won the 200 Medley Relay; Ancel, Breedlove, Howard and La Torre won the 200 Freestyle Relay and Ancel, Baney, Green and Moll finished the night with first place in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

"It feels like the boys are getting on a roll, which is exciting considering the opportunities we'll have during the championship season," Saylor said.

The Bulldog girls (4-4) and boys (2-3) take their show on the road next week, traveling to Ben Davis to take on the Giants at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21.