Now that the finishing touches have been put on the 2009-10 girls regular season, it's time to turn our attention to the most exciting time of the year--the IHSAA championship season.
Today is the deadline for coaches to submit their entries for sectional competition. The psych sheets will be out early next week, and the preliminary events happen a week from tonight (February 4th), in our case, at the Fishers Sectional.
I'll do a more detailed analysis of the Fishers field next week. But on paper, it appears that the battle for the championship will come down to just two teams only a few miles apart--Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers. Both are highly ranked, both are loaded with talent, and both return a significant number of the athletes who scored at the 2009 sectional. It should be a real donneybrook!
YHS has never won a girls swimming sectional title, and it won't this year. But Yorktown is positioned to be the best of the rest; finishing 3rd behind HSE and Fishers is a strong possibility. Oak Hill and Pendleton Heights are the only other teams with enough strength to push Yorktown, and those are outside possibilities. If head coach Brad Grieshop's girls swim up to their capabilities next week, look for YHS to leave Fishers with a 3rd place finish.
Of course, the sectional is part team competition, part individual. So a major portion of the focus is for the top swimmers and divers to put up their best efforts of the season to qualify for the State Meet (or the Diving Regional). Every event winner in the sectional final on February 6th automatically qualifies to go to State. Every non-winner who meets or exceeds the IHSAA qualifying standard also gets to go. If that doesn't fill the State Meet field of 32 per event, the next fastest sectional performers get "called down" to State. The top four sectional finishers in the diving competition move onto the regional.
The Lady Tigers have the potential to send several girls to Indianapolis the second week of February. Sophomore Larah Beaver scored in the 100-yard backstroke at the 2009 State Meet, and appears ready to make a strong run at qualifying for the '10 Finals in both the back and 100-yard freestyle.
Freshman Jessica Extine has the talent to make a push toward State in the 50-yard freestyle. Extine has already gone 24-mid in that event in a club meet earlier this season. Put her in a racing suit, rested and tapered, in a very fast field, and she'll have a great opportunity to punch her ticket for the Nat.
Beaver, Extine, and freshmen Kersea Gable and Caroline Grasso also have an excellent chance to get to State in the 200-yard medley relay. Their best time this season is a 1:54-high two weeks ago at the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet. The IHSAA state cut is 1:52.37; facing Fishers (which returns all four members of its 2009 sectional champion squad) and HSE will help pull Yorktown to a strong finish, especially if they all get to finals on Saturday. Beaver, Extine, Gable and Grasso might have enough to threaten the YHS school record of 1:49.91 yet this season, especially if they can qualify for the State Meet.
Finally, sophomore Sam Mahon is the Tiger with the best shot at advancing in the diving competition. Sam has dominated the event in Yorktown's dual meets this season, but she'll need to improve her scores to make it out of a sectional that may have the toughest diving field in Indiana.
More on the Fishers sectional in the coming days. Until then ...
GO TIGERS!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
BEARCATS SWEEP TIGERS
Muncie Central overtook Yorktown as the best high school swimming program in Delaware County last night. The Bearcat girls survived a back-and-forth battle to beat the Tigers 99-84, while Central's boys won four of the meet's first five events on their way to a relatively easy 105-81 victory.
The girls meet turned out to be the closer of the two Tuesday night, with several lead changes throughout. The Tigers used a 1-2-3 finish in diving (Sam Mahon 200.80, Alexa Voss 154.20, Mary Hazen 118.30 respectively) to take a 40-35 lead heading into the second half of swimming.
Yorktown's ladies held onto the lead through the first three post-diving events. The score following the 500-yard freestyle was Yorktown 62, Muncie Central 61. The meet turned for the final time on the 200-yard freestyle relay (which is also where the Bearcat boys put their foot down, but more on that later).
Central finished 1-3 in the girls 200 free relay to turn a one-point deficit into a 71-66 lead. Yorktown put on its game face and battled back in the next event, the 100-yard backstroke. Larah Beaver and Caroline Grasso finished 1-2 (1:01.27 and 1:07.42 respectively) to bring YHS back within a point at 77-76. But the weakest stroke in the Yorktown arsenal was ahead, and it cost the Tigers any remaining chance to win the meet.
Central put up a 1-2-4 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke to outscore Yorktown 12-4 in that event. It's a stroke Yorktown has struggled to score in for a long time--it's one of our Achilles heels. The breast outcome pushed the Bearcat lead to 89-80 going to the final event, but Yorktown was still alive.
Yorktown would need either a 1-2 finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay or a Muncie Central disqualification for victory. The former would have given the Tigers a 92-91 win, but it was not meant to be. The Bearcats won the relay by more than seven seconds, and put the finishing touches on the 99-84 final score.
Yorktown's girls had a pair of triple winners on the night. Sophomore Larah Beaver won the 100-yard freestyle (:55.06) and teamed with freshmen Kersea Gable, Jessica Extine and Caroline Grasso for a blue ribbon in the 200-yard medley relay (1:56.80) to go with her backstroke win. Extine added victories in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.51) and 100-yard butterfly (1:03.82). Sophomore Sam Mahon grabbed the other YHS 1st in diving.
The boys meet turned out to be a lot more anti-climactic than many people anticipated. Muncie Central made a statement in the first event of the night, whipping Yorktown by more than three seconds in the 200-yard medley relay. Tim Miller, Dan Proctor, Zach Haller and JP Dowdle threw down a 1:42.18 to hand Cameron Watters, Austin Dunn, Adam Voss and Michael Heavilon (1:45.25) their worst defeat of the season. It was a foreboding sign of things to come on Yorktown's Senior Night.
Central built a 45-33 lead over the Tigers coming out of the diving competition--a hole for YHS, but not insurmountable. Yorktown managed to cut that deficit in half following the 500-yard freestyle, leaving the score Muncie Central 66, Yorktown 60 heading into the 200-yard freestyle relay.
But that's where the meet turned, due largely to Yorktown's lack of depth. Central went 1-3 in the relay; the Bearcats were able to put Haller, Proctor, Miller and Dowdle in the water for that event. Yorktown's best swimmers could only watch from the deck as Thommy Brown, Michael Stocker, Joe Eskew and Harrison Slater fought their way to a 2nd place finish, nearly 14 seconds behind the Central 'A' team. The Bearcats had rebuilt their 12-point lead to 76-64, and would never be threatened the rest of the night.
In fact, Central pushed the lead to 88-68 following the 100-yard backstroke, and the Bearcats expanded their advantage to a whopping 101-71 after the 100-yard breaststroke (in which Central finished 1-2-3). There's that weak stroke rearing its ugly head again. I can't put my fingers on the last time a Yorktown High School boys team trailed by 30 points in a dual meet, but it has been quite a while. Let's hope we don't see it again for a long time.
Yorktown showed a great deal of pride in the night's final event. The team of Michael Heavilon, Cameron Watters, Joe Eskew and Aaron Kalley dug deep and held on for a win in the 400-yard freestyle (3:49.84 to 3:50.52) when the meet's outcome was already certain. They could have mailed it in, but didn't. Kudos to you, boys!
Yorktown had two boys double winners last night. Juniors Adam Voss and Michael Heavilon led the way, Voss taking the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.85) and the 100-yard butterfly (:53.94); Heavilon captured the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.24) in addition to his relay blue ribbon. Sophomore Austin Dunn was the Tigers other victor on the night, topping the field in the 100-yard freestyle (:51.20).
The Tiger boys have one final dual meet left at Anderson Highland on February 2nd. Last night's meet wrapped up the regular season for the Lady Tigers, who now turn their attention to the IHSAA championship season.
The Yorktown girls open the tough Fishers Sectional with preliminary swims on Thursday, February 4th.
GO TIGERS!
The girls meet turned out to be the closer of the two Tuesday night, with several lead changes throughout. The Tigers used a 1-2-3 finish in diving (Sam Mahon 200.80, Alexa Voss 154.20, Mary Hazen 118.30 respectively) to take a 40-35 lead heading into the second half of swimming.
Yorktown's ladies held onto the lead through the first three post-diving events. The score following the 500-yard freestyle was Yorktown 62, Muncie Central 61. The meet turned for the final time on the 200-yard freestyle relay (which is also where the Bearcat boys put their foot down, but more on that later).
Central finished 1-3 in the girls 200 free relay to turn a one-point deficit into a 71-66 lead. Yorktown put on its game face and battled back in the next event, the 100-yard backstroke. Larah Beaver and Caroline Grasso finished 1-2 (1:01.27 and 1:07.42 respectively) to bring YHS back within a point at 77-76. But the weakest stroke in the Yorktown arsenal was ahead, and it cost the Tigers any remaining chance to win the meet.
Central put up a 1-2-4 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke to outscore Yorktown 12-4 in that event. It's a stroke Yorktown has struggled to score in for a long time--it's one of our Achilles heels. The breast outcome pushed the Bearcat lead to 89-80 going to the final event, but Yorktown was still alive.
Yorktown would need either a 1-2 finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay or a Muncie Central disqualification for victory. The former would have given the Tigers a 92-91 win, but it was not meant to be. The Bearcats won the relay by more than seven seconds, and put the finishing touches on the 99-84 final score.
Yorktown's girls had a pair of triple winners on the night. Sophomore Larah Beaver won the 100-yard freestyle (:55.06) and teamed with freshmen Kersea Gable, Jessica Extine and Caroline Grasso for a blue ribbon in the 200-yard medley relay (1:56.80) to go with her backstroke win. Extine added victories in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.51) and 100-yard butterfly (1:03.82). Sophomore Sam Mahon grabbed the other YHS 1st in diving.
The boys meet turned out to be a lot more anti-climactic than many people anticipated. Muncie Central made a statement in the first event of the night, whipping Yorktown by more than three seconds in the 200-yard medley relay. Tim Miller, Dan Proctor, Zach Haller and JP Dowdle threw down a 1:42.18 to hand Cameron Watters, Austin Dunn, Adam Voss and Michael Heavilon (1:45.25) their worst defeat of the season. It was a foreboding sign of things to come on Yorktown's Senior Night.
Central built a 45-33 lead over the Tigers coming out of the diving competition--a hole for YHS, but not insurmountable. Yorktown managed to cut that deficit in half following the 500-yard freestyle, leaving the score Muncie Central 66, Yorktown 60 heading into the 200-yard freestyle relay.
But that's where the meet turned, due largely to Yorktown's lack of depth. Central went 1-3 in the relay; the Bearcats were able to put Haller, Proctor, Miller and Dowdle in the water for that event. Yorktown's best swimmers could only watch from the deck as Thommy Brown, Michael Stocker, Joe Eskew and Harrison Slater fought their way to a 2nd place finish, nearly 14 seconds behind the Central 'A' team. The Bearcats had rebuilt their 12-point lead to 76-64, and would never be threatened the rest of the night.
In fact, Central pushed the lead to 88-68 following the 100-yard backstroke, and the Bearcats expanded their advantage to a whopping 101-71 after the 100-yard breaststroke (in which Central finished 1-2-3). There's that weak stroke rearing its ugly head again. I can't put my fingers on the last time a Yorktown High School boys team trailed by 30 points in a dual meet, but it has been quite a while. Let's hope we don't see it again for a long time.
Yorktown showed a great deal of pride in the night's final event. The team of Michael Heavilon, Cameron Watters, Joe Eskew and Aaron Kalley dug deep and held on for a win in the 400-yard freestyle (3:49.84 to 3:50.52) when the meet's outcome was already certain. They could have mailed it in, but didn't. Kudos to you, boys!
Yorktown had two boys double winners last night. Juniors Adam Voss and Michael Heavilon led the way, Voss taking the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.85) and the 100-yard butterfly (:53.94); Heavilon captured the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.24) in addition to his relay blue ribbon. Sophomore Austin Dunn was the Tigers other victor on the night, topping the field in the 100-yard freestyle (:51.20).
The Tiger boys have one final dual meet left at Anderson Highland on February 2nd. Last night's meet wrapped up the regular season for the Lady Tigers, who now turn their attention to the IHSAA championship season.
The Yorktown girls open the tough Fishers Sectional with preliminary swims on Thursday, February 4th.
GO TIGERS!
Monday, January 25, 2010
HELLO BEARCATS, GOODBYE SENIORS
It's hard to believe, but the end of the 2009-10 regular season is just around the corner. The Muncie Central Bearcats visit Yorktown High School for the Tigers' Senior Night meet on Tuesday, and it should be a real barnburner between neighboring school districts.
It'll be the final meet at home for seniors Kyle Bonneau, Heather Elston, Kara Martin, Harrison Slater, Michael Stocker, and Cameron Watters. I'd like to acknowledge each of them for their contributions to Yorktown Swimming over the years--this is a tough sport that demands a great deal, both physically and mentally, from those who take on the challenge. So congratulations, members of the class of 2010!
Now, a closer look at how this meet might transpire. These two teams are pretty closely matched on both the girls and boys side of the ledger. These kids know each other, some are friends, others are rivals; they have a history of taking each other to the limit; and with the meet at Yorktown this year, the frenzied crowd will be right on top of the water. The atmosphere should be electric.
Yorktown carries the state's #29 team ranking into the girls meet, while the Bearcats are unranked as a team. Muncie Central's 200-yard Free Relay squad is ranked #32 this week. Kaitlin Kerrigan, Brittany Sheffield, Anne Tinder and Heidi Bryant won the North Central Conference championship in that event Saturday with a 1:44.13. That's more than four seconds faster than the Tigers have swum so far this season, so Yorktown has its work cut out for it in that event.
The Lady Tigers have the edge in the other two relays. In fact, Yorktown's 1:54.97 at the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet would be good enough for the state's #22 ranking this week had the time been reported. The quartet of Larah Beaver, Kersea Gable, Jessica Extine and Caroline Grasso did it without being shaved and tapered while wearing regular suits. Watch out when the sectional rolls around--these girls have a legitimate shot at surpassing the IHSAA state cut of 1:52.37, and if the adrenaline really kicks in, an outside shot at the YHS school record of 1:49.91.
Central defeated Yorktown by nearly 20 points in last year's meet. But look for the Lady Tigers to rise to the occasion Tuesday night and win the meet by somewhere between 10 and 20 points.
The boys meet should be a classic again in 2010. Last year's matchup went down to the final event, the 400-yard Free Relay. A packed house went crazy as the YHS boys sealed the deal. Tuesday night's meet could be just as close.
The Tiger boys are the state's #22 ranked team in this week's poll, Central is unranked. But don't let that fool you. The Bearcats have several top-level swimmers ready to come into Mt. Pleasant township and emerge with a victory.
Central's Dan Proctor carries the #10 ranking in the 100-yard Breast and the #17 ranking in the 200-yard IM. Timmy Miller is Indiana's 17th ranked swimmer in the 100-yard Back. And Central's 200-yard Medley Relay team of Proctor, Miller, Zach Haller and Adam Parks holds down the 27th ranking.
Proctor and Miller won NCC titles in the 100-yard Breast and 100-yard Back, respectively, over the weekend. The Bearcats also took the blue in the 200-yard Medley Relay at the NCC. So Central is a powerful opponent with quality depth.
Yorktown's cupboard is far from bare. Adam Voss remains Indiana's #6 ranked swimmer in the 200-yard Free, and Voss is 7th in the 100-yard Fly; Austin Dunn joins Voss in the Fly rankings at #16; and all three of Yorktown's relays are among the state's best. The Tigers are #17 in both the 200-yard Free Relay and the 400-yard Free Relay, and 20th in the 200-yard Medley Relay.
The margin in the boys meet appears to be razor thin going in. The outcome will probably be determined by the team that can add important 2nd and 3rd place finishes to its total.
I predict Tuesday night's meet will come down to the 400-yard Free Relay, and that Yorktown will hold on for just enough points to win the competition by less than five points.
This is a meet you WON'T want to miss.
Be there, and GO TIGERS!
It'll be the final meet at home for seniors Kyle Bonneau, Heather Elston, Kara Martin, Harrison Slater, Michael Stocker, and Cameron Watters. I'd like to acknowledge each of them for their contributions to Yorktown Swimming over the years--this is a tough sport that demands a great deal, both physically and mentally, from those who take on the challenge. So congratulations, members of the class of 2010!
Now, a closer look at how this meet might transpire. These two teams are pretty closely matched on both the girls and boys side of the ledger. These kids know each other, some are friends, others are rivals; they have a history of taking each other to the limit; and with the meet at Yorktown this year, the frenzied crowd will be right on top of the water. The atmosphere should be electric.
Yorktown carries the state's #29 team ranking into the girls meet, while the Bearcats are unranked as a team. Muncie Central's 200-yard Free Relay squad is ranked #32 this week. Kaitlin Kerrigan, Brittany Sheffield, Anne Tinder and Heidi Bryant won the North Central Conference championship in that event Saturday with a 1:44.13. That's more than four seconds faster than the Tigers have swum so far this season, so Yorktown has its work cut out for it in that event.
The Lady Tigers have the edge in the other two relays. In fact, Yorktown's 1:54.97 at the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet would be good enough for the state's #22 ranking this week had the time been reported. The quartet of Larah Beaver, Kersea Gable, Jessica Extine and Caroline Grasso did it without being shaved and tapered while wearing regular suits. Watch out when the sectional rolls around--these girls have a legitimate shot at surpassing the IHSAA state cut of 1:52.37, and if the adrenaline really kicks in, an outside shot at the YHS school record of 1:49.91.
Central defeated Yorktown by nearly 20 points in last year's meet. But look for the Lady Tigers to rise to the occasion Tuesday night and win the meet by somewhere between 10 and 20 points.
The boys meet should be a classic again in 2010. Last year's matchup went down to the final event, the 400-yard Free Relay. A packed house went crazy as the YHS boys sealed the deal. Tuesday night's meet could be just as close.
The Tiger boys are the state's #22 ranked team in this week's poll, Central is unranked. But don't let that fool you. The Bearcats have several top-level swimmers ready to come into Mt. Pleasant township and emerge with a victory.
Central's Dan Proctor carries the #10 ranking in the 100-yard Breast and the #17 ranking in the 200-yard IM. Timmy Miller is Indiana's 17th ranked swimmer in the 100-yard Back. And Central's 200-yard Medley Relay team of Proctor, Miller, Zach Haller and Adam Parks holds down the 27th ranking.
Proctor and Miller won NCC titles in the 100-yard Breast and 100-yard Back, respectively, over the weekend. The Bearcats also took the blue in the 200-yard Medley Relay at the NCC. So Central is a powerful opponent with quality depth.
Yorktown's cupboard is far from bare. Adam Voss remains Indiana's #6 ranked swimmer in the 200-yard Free, and Voss is 7th in the 100-yard Fly; Austin Dunn joins Voss in the Fly rankings at #16; and all three of Yorktown's relays are among the state's best. The Tigers are #17 in both the 200-yard Free Relay and the 400-yard Free Relay, and 20th in the 200-yard Medley Relay.
The margin in the boys meet appears to be razor thin going in. The outcome will probably be determined by the team that can add important 2nd and 3rd place finishes to its total.
I predict Tuesday night's meet will come down to the 400-yard Free Relay, and that Yorktown will hold on for just enough points to win the competition by less than five points.
This is a meet you WON'T want to miss.
Be there, and GO TIGERS!
Monday, January 18, 2010
THE STREAK IS OVER
I've always believed that the truest measure of greatness in sports is high-level performance over an extended period of time. That has certainly been true of Yorktown High School swimming since 2000. The girls won six-straight Hoosier Heritage Conference championships from 2003-08 before Mt. Vernon dethroned YHS in 2009. The boys put together an even better run, winning eight-straight titles from 2002-2009. But the Yorktown boys simply ran out of bodies in the 2010 HHC meet, and failed in their quest to keep the streak alive.
Here are the final team scores from Saturday:
Girls-1. Mt. Vernon 407, 2. Yorktown 357, 3. New Palestine 344, 4. Pendleton Heights 275, 5. Greenfield Central 253, 6. Delta 236, 7. Shelbyville 162, 8. Rushville 66.
Boys-1. New Palestine 345, 2. Mt. Vernon 337, 3. Greenfield Central 332, 4. Yorktown 300, 4. Pendleton Heights 300, 6. Delta 254, 7. Shelbyville 167, 8. Rushville 67.
It's the first swimming and diving championship for the Dragons, who had just enough to hold off the competition in a very tight boys meet. The five best teams finished within 45 points of each other, and that's a narrow margin under the new scoring system used for the '10 meet:
Relays--1st-40, 2nd-34, 3rd-32, 4th-30, 5th-28, 6th-26, 7th-24, 8th-22.
Individual events--1st-20, 2nd-17, 3rd-16, 4th-15, 5th-14, 6th-13, 7th-12, 8th-11, 9th-9, 10th-7, 11th-6, 12th-5, 13th-4, 14th-3, 15th-2, 16th-1.
One false move in a relay could have led to a major shift in the standings. But New Pal had the combination of quality and depth to get the job done. Congrats to the Dragon boys.
Same for the Mt. Vernon girls. The Lady Marauders rode a tidal wave of depth to to repeat as HHC champions. But MV will graduate a lot of seniors who placed on Saturday, so next season's girls meet should be a wide open affair.
I'll have more on the 2010 HHC meet (hopefully with photos and video clips) in the coming days.
Here are the final team scores from Saturday:
Girls-1. Mt. Vernon 407, 2. Yorktown 357, 3. New Palestine 344, 4. Pendleton Heights 275, 5. Greenfield Central 253, 6. Delta 236, 7. Shelbyville 162, 8. Rushville 66.
Boys-1. New Palestine 345, 2. Mt. Vernon 337, 3. Greenfield Central 332, 4. Yorktown 300, 4. Pendleton Heights 300, 6. Delta 254, 7. Shelbyville 167, 8. Rushville 67.
It's the first swimming and diving championship for the Dragons, who had just enough to hold off the competition in a very tight boys meet. The five best teams finished within 45 points of each other, and that's a narrow margin under the new scoring system used for the '10 meet:
Relays--1st-40, 2nd-34, 3rd-32, 4th-30, 5th-28, 6th-26, 7th-24, 8th-22.
Individual events--1st-20, 2nd-17, 3rd-16, 4th-15, 5th-14, 6th-13, 7th-12, 8th-11, 9th-9, 10th-7, 11th-6, 12th-5, 13th-4, 14th-3, 15th-2, 16th-1.
One false move in a relay could have led to a major shift in the standings. But New Pal had the combination of quality and depth to get the job done. Congrats to the Dragon boys.
Same for the Mt. Vernon girls. The Lady Marauders rode a tidal wave of depth to to repeat as HHC champions. But MV will graduate a lot of seniors who placed on Saturday, so next season's girls meet should be a wide open affair.
I'll have more on the 2010 HHC meet (hopefully with photos and video clips) in the coming days.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
CONFERENCE PREVIEW, TAKE TWO
The word dominance was spelled Y-O-R-K-T-O-W-N during the first decade of this century. But this year's Hoosier Heritage Conference meet presents the stiffest challenge yet to the Tigers' status as the league's premier swimming and diving program. It will take a herculean effort for Yorktown to emerge with either championship trophy on Saturday, and here's why.
The psych sheet for the 2010 HHC meet ranks the entrants in each event (except diving) by their seed times. For the sake of this analysis, we assume that each swimmer will score in the position in which he or she is seeded (that never happens, but it's the fairest way to project each team's relative strength).
The top eight relay teams at conference score in this order: 1st-32, 2nd-26, 3rd-24, 4th-22, 5th-20, 6th-18, 7th-14, 8th-10. In the individual events, the top 12 finishers score in this order: 1st-16, 2nd-13, 3rd-12, 4th-11, 5th-10, 6th-9, 7th-7, 8th-5, 9th-4, 10th-3, 11th-2, 12th-1. Based on those criteria, here are the 2010 HHC meet projected standings:
Girls--1. Mt. Vernon 275, 2. New Palestine 207, 3. Yorktown 188, 4. Pendleton Heights 187, 5. Greenfield Central 138, 6. Delta 135, 7. Shelbyville 80, 8. Rushville 30.
Boys--1. Greenfield Central 247, 2. New Palestine 199, 3. Yorktown 195, 4. Mt. Vernon 182, 5. Pendleton Heights 155, 6. Delta 151, 7. Shelbyville 86, 8. Rushville 30.
Mt. Vernon beat Pendleton Heights by 23.5 points to win the 2009 HHC girls title, even though the Lady Marauders won only one event (200-yard freestyle relay). They did it with superior depth, and they will rely on that depth again on Saturday to pile up the points. Mt. Vernon holds just two top seedings in 2010--in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. By comparison, Yorktown and New Palestine both have three top seeds, Pendleton Heights has two and Delta one. But the Lady Marauders are loaded, with three Top 10 seeds in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard IM, 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, and 100-yard breaststroke. Mt. Vernon is seeded 2-3-4 in the 100 free, which would be good for 36 points if the seedings hold water.
Keep in mind, the divers are not seeded for HHC, so their potential scores are not included in any of the above analysis. But MV has three state ranked girl divers competing this weekend, so they're likely to emerge from the day's first event with a huge lead. Look for Mt. Vernon to score 300 points on Saturday and coast to their second-straight girls HHC championship.
The boys meet is closer on paper, and could go right down to the wire. That's what Yorktown has to pin its hopes on if the Tigers are to defend their eight-straight HHC championships (2002-2009). YHS head coach Brad Grieshop's boys have more top-end talent than any other team, with six number one seeds. By comparison, Greenfield Central and New Palestine both have two top seeds, and Pendleton Heights one. But depth is the most critical factor, and the Tigers' small roster makes it difficult to match up in that department.
Yorktown needs four things to happen on Saturday to win the boys title--1. The Tigers top seeds must hold on and win their events. 2. The Tigers need their three #2 seeds and their one #3 seed to rise to the challenge and win those events. 3. The Tigers need their other swimmers to cut time and move up several places in the seeded standings. And 4. The Tigers have to avoid any disqualifications and hope that someone else has at least one DQ. Fans who were at the 2009 meet know that's not impossible; Yorktown was DQ'd in the 400-yard freestyle relay, but still held on to win the team championship.
The group I like to call "Grieshop's Guys" have a lot of talent, and even more heart. They are a close-knit group of boys focused on keeping tradition alive. Look for the "Fab 4" to pull out all the stops, dig deeper than they ever have before, and lead Yorktown to its ninth-straight HHC championship.
See you on Saturday, and GO TIGERS!
The psych sheet for the 2010 HHC meet ranks the entrants in each event (except diving) by their seed times. For the sake of this analysis, we assume that each swimmer will score in the position in which he or she is seeded (that never happens, but it's the fairest way to project each team's relative strength).
The top eight relay teams at conference score in this order: 1st-32, 2nd-26, 3rd-24, 4th-22, 5th-20, 6th-18, 7th-14, 8th-10. In the individual events, the top 12 finishers score in this order: 1st-16, 2nd-13, 3rd-12, 4th-11, 5th-10, 6th-9, 7th-7, 8th-5, 9th-4, 10th-3, 11th-2, 12th-1. Based on those criteria, here are the 2010 HHC meet projected standings:
Girls--1. Mt. Vernon 275, 2. New Palestine 207, 3. Yorktown 188, 4. Pendleton Heights 187, 5. Greenfield Central 138, 6. Delta 135, 7. Shelbyville 80, 8. Rushville 30.
Boys--1. Greenfield Central 247, 2. New Palestine 199, 3. Yorktown 195, 4. Mt. Vernon 182, 5. Pendleton Heights 155, 6. Delta 151, 7. Shelbyville 86, 8. Rushville 30.
Mt. Vernon beat Pendleton Heights by 23.5 points to win the 2009 HHC girls title, even though the Lady Marauders won only one event (200-yard freestyle relay). They did it with superior depth, and they will rely on that depth again on Saturday to pile up the points. Mt. Vernon holds just two top seedings in 2010--in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. By comparison, Yorktown and New Palestine both have three top seeds, Pendleton Heights has two and Delta one. But the Lady Marauders are loaded, with three Top 10 seeds in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard IM, 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, and 100-yard breaststroke. Mt. Vernon is seeded 2-3-4 in the 100 free, which would be good for 36 points if the seedings hold water.
Keep in mind, the divers are not seeded for HHC, so their potential scores are not included in any of the above analysis. But MV has three state ranked girl divers competing this weekend, so they're likely to emerge from the day's first event with a huge lead. Look for Mt. Vernon to score 300 points on Saturday and coast to their second-straight girls HHC championship.
The boys meet is closer on paper, and could go right down to the wire. That's what Yorktown has to pin its hopes on if the Tigers are to defend their eight-straight HHC championships (2002-2009). YHS head coach Brad Grieshop's boys have more top-end talent than any other team, with six number one seeds. By comparison, Greenfield Central and New Palestine both have two top seeds, and Pendleton Heights one. But depth is the most critical factor, and the Tigers' small roster makes it difficult to match up in that department.
Yorktown needs four things to happen on Saturday to win the boys title--1. The Tigers top seeds must hold on and win their events. 2. The Tigers need their three #2 seeds and their one #3 seed to rise to the challenge and win those events. 3. The Tigers need their other swimmers to cut time and move up several places in the seeded standings. And 4. The Tigers have to avoid any disqualifications and hope that someone else has at least one DQ. Fans who were at the 2009 meet know that's not impossible; Yorktown was DQ'd in the 400-yard freestyle relay, but still held on to win the team championship.
The group I like to call "Grieshop's Guys" have a lot of talent, and even more heart. They are a close-knit group of boys focused on keeping tradition alive. Look for the "Fab 4" to pull out all the stops, dig deeper than they ever have before, and lead Yorktown to its ninth-straight HHC championship.
See you on Saturday, and GO TIGERS!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
TIGERS DOMINATE REBELS
Yorktown swimmers and divers spread the wealth last night as the Tigers swept their meet with Muncie South. The YHS girls defeated the Rebels 125-53, while the YHS boys had an even easier time, topping South
128-46. South won just one of the 24 events in the meet--Jamie Smith claiming the girls 100-yard freestyle (1:05.99).
Yorktown head coach Brad Grieshop used the meet against the obviously overmatched Rebels to give several Tigers a chance to shine, and they came through. Junior Joe Eskew made the most of his opportunities, grabbing four first place finishes on the night. Eskew won the 200-yard freestyle (2:16.81) and 500-yard freestyle (6:05.87), teamed with sophomore Austin Dunn, senior Harrison Slater and junior Tyler Donges for victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:46.50), and joined freshman Thommy Brown, senior Cameron Watters and junior Adam Voss to top the field in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:49.84).
The Tigers had several other multiple winners against South. Voss and Dunn matched Eskew with four blue ribbon performances; Voss took the 200-yard IM (2:07.05) and 100-yard backstroke (57.49), teamed with Dunn, junior Michael Heavilon and Watters for first in the 200-yard medley relay (1:50.24), and anchored the 400-free relay. Dunn added victories in the 50-yard freestyle (24.11) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.80) to his relay blue ribbons.
Watters was a three-time winner, twice in relays, and in the 100-yard freestyle (54.06). Heavilon was first to the wall in the 100-yard butterfly (58.16) and part of the pacesetting medley relay. Donges led the way in diving, winning with 180.60 points.
On the girls side, sophomore Larah Beaver was a triple winner. Beaver swam to victory in the 200-yard freestyle (2:05.06), joined freshman Caroline Grasso, junior Gabby LaVoie and freshman Jillian Buche on the blue ribbon 200-yard medley relay team (2:07.10), and teamed with LaVoie, senior Heather Elston and sophomore Chappell Railey to take the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:52.54).
Grasso, LaVoie, Buche and Elston added individual wins to their relay contributions. Grasso outtouched the field in the 50-yard freestyle (27.68), Buche topped the competition in the 100-yard butterfly (1:17.13), and Elston won the 100-yard backstroke (1:13.37). Railey's second blue ribbon came in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with senior Kara Martin, sophomore Kirsten Nickoli and junior Rachel Reising (4:36.98).
The Tigers also got wins from freshman Jessica Extine in the 200-yard IM (2:27.29), sophomore Sam Mahon in diving (201.75 points), freshman Kersea Gable in the 500-yard freestyle (6:18.71), and sophomore Chelsea Watters in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:22.07). The breast was the closest race of the night, with Watters edging LaVoie by a tenth of a second.
In all, 13 girls took home at least one blue ribbon for Yorktown last night.
The Tigers hit the practice pool today before some socializing and team bonding tonight--the pre-conference spaghetti dinner, and the boys trip to have their hair bleached blonde.
Next up--the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet. Diving preliminaries will be held Thursday night, with diving finals and swimming events Saturday morning, all at New Palestine High School.
GO TIGERS!
128-46. South won just one of the 24 events in the meet--Jamie Smith claiming the girls 100-yard freestyle (1:05.99).
Yorktown head coach Brad Grieshop used the meet against the obviously overmatched Rebels to give several Tigers a chance to shine, and they came through. Junior Joe Eskew made the most of his opportunities, grabbing four first place finishes on the night. Eskew won the 200-yard freestyle (2:16.81) and 500-yard freestyle (6:05.87), teamed with sophomore Austin Dunn, senior Harrison Slater and junior Tyler Donges for victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:46.50), and joined freshman Thommy Brown, senior Cameron Watters and junior Adam Voss to top the field in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:49.84).
The Tigers had several other multiple winners against South. Voss and Dunn matched Eskew with four blue ribbon performances; Voss took the 200-yard IM (2:07.05) and 100-yard backstroke (57.49), teamed with Dunn, junior Michael Heavilon and Watters for first in the 200-yard medley relay (1:50.24), and anchored the 400-free relay. Dunn added victories in the 50-yard freestyle (24.11) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.80) to his relay blue ribbons.
Watters was a three-time winner, twice in relays, and in the 100-yard freestyle (54.06). Heavilon was first to the wall in the 100-yard butterfly (58.16) and part of the pacesetting medley relay. Donges led the way in diving, winning with 180.60 points.
On the girls side, sophomore Larah Beaver was a triple winner. Beaver swam to victory in the 200-yard freestyle (2:05.06), joined freshman Caroline Grasso, junior Gabby LaVoie and freshman Jillian Buche on the blue ribbon 200-yard medley relay team (2:07.10), and teamed with LaVoie, senior Heather Elston and sophomore Chappell Railey to take the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:52.54).
Grasso, LaVoie, Buche and Elston added individual wins to their relay contributions. Grasso outtouched the field in the 50-yard freestyle (27.68), Buche topped the competition in the 100-yard butterfly (1:17.13), and Elston won the 100-yard backstroke (1:13.37). Railey's second blue ribbon came in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with senior Kara Martin, sophomore Kirsten Nickoli and junior Rachel Reising (4:36.98).
The Tigers also got wins from freshman Jessica Extine in the 200-yard IM (2:27.29), sophomore Sam Mahon in diving (201.75 points), freshman Kersea Gable in the 500-yard freestyle (6:18.71), and sophomore Chelsea Watters in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:22.07). The breast was the closest race of the night, with Watters edging LaVoie by a tenth of a second.
In all, 13 girls took home at least one blue ribbon for Yorktown last night.
The Tigers hit the practice pool today before some socializing and team bonding tonight--the pre-conference spaghetti dinner, and the boys trip to have their hair bleached blonde.
Next up--the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet. Diving preliminaries will be held Thursday night, with diving finals and swimming events Saturday morning, all at New Palestine High School.
GO TIGERS!
Monday, January 11, 2010
CONFERENCE PREVIEW, TAKE 1
One of the most exciting weekends of the season is just around the corner--the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet at New Palestine High School!
Yorktown has dominated the HHC through the 2000's. The Tiger boys have won eight straight team championships (2002-2009); the Tiger girls had their streak of six straight team titles (2003-2008) snapped by Mt. Vernon last year.
Here's how the final standings looked following last season's HHC meet:
Girls--1. Mt. Vernon 282.5, 2. Pendleton Heights 259, 3. Yorktown 221, 3. New Palestine 221, 5. Greenfield Central 142, 6. Delta 95.5, 7. Rushville 57, Shelbyville 47.
Boys--1. Yorktown 276, 2. New Palestine 260, 3. Mt. Vernon 224, 4. Delta 150, 5. Pendleton Heights 149, 6. Greenfield Central 142, 7. Shelbyville 72, 8. Rushville 52.
In this post, we'll take a look at how many points each school returns from last season's meet, and what it might (or might not) portend for 2010.
The Mt. Vernon girls won just one event last year (the 200-yard freestyle relay), but used superior depth to capture the team crown. MV returns more than 74% of the points it scored in 2009. Here's how the returning points break down for the girls heading into Saturday:
1. Mt. Vernon 221.5, 2. New Palestine 214, 3. Pendleton Heights 194.5, 4. Greenfield Central 124, 5. Delta 95.5, 6. Yorktown 95, 7. Shelbyville 40.5, 8. Rushville 10.5.
The boys meet is even closer based on the returning points comparison. The Tigers' eight year run of championships appears to be in very real jeopardy just a few days from now. Yorktown returns only 49% of the points the Tigers scored in 2009, when YHS was a senior-dominated squad. Here's the breakdown of returning points for the boys:
1. New Palestine 146.5, 2. Pendleton Heights 145, 3. Yorktown 135, 4. Mt. Vernon 130.5, 5. Delta 73.5, 6. Greenfield Central 68.5, 7. Shelbyville 62, 8. Rushville 29.
Now, there's a lot of wiggle room in interpreting returning points--it is by no means a conclusive way to predict the future. Coaches may use swimmers in different events from year to year; swimmers can have great days (or bad days) at conference; and there's no way to know for certain which freshmen will step up and score big points for their schools at HHC.
Later this week, I hope to post an analysis of the 2009 HHC meet, based on the actual entries.
GO TIGERS!
Yorktown has dominated the HHC through the 2000's. The Tiger boys have won eight straight team championships (2002-2009); the Tiger girls had their streak of six straight team titles (2003-2008) snapped by Mt. Vernon last year.
Here's how the final standings looked following last season's HHC meet:
Girls--1. Mt. Vernon 282.5, 2. Pendleton Heights 259, 3. Yorktown 221, 3. New Palestine 221, 5. Greenfield Central 142, 6. Delta 95.5, 7. Rushville 57, Shelbyville 47.
Boys--1. Yorktown 276, 2. New Palestine 260, 3. Mt. Vernon 224, 4. Delta 150, 5. Pendleton Heights 149, 6. Greenfield Central 142, 7. Shelbyville 72, 8. Rushville 52.
In this post, we'll take a look at how many points each school returns from last season's meet, and what it might (or might not) portend for 2010.
The Mt. Vernon girls won just one event last year (the 200-yard freestyle relay), but used superior depth to capture the team crown. MV returns more than 74% of the points it scored in 2009. Here's how the returning points break down for the girls heading into Saturday:
1. Mt. Vernon 221.5, 2. New Palestine 214, 3. Pendleton Heights 194.5, 4. Greenfield Central 124, 5. Delta 95.5, 6. Yorktown 95, 7. Shelbyville 40.5, 8. Rushville 10.5.
The boys meet is even closer based on the returning points comparison. The Tigers' eight year run of championships appears to be in very real jeopardy just a few days from now. Yorktown returns only 49% of the points the Tigers scored in 2009, when YHS was a senior-dominated squad. Here's the breakdown of returning points for the boys:
1. New Palestine 146.5, 2. Pendleton Heights 145, 3. Yorktown 135, 4. Mt. Vernon 130.5, 5. Delta 73.5, 6. Greenfield Central 68.5, 7. Shelbyville 62, 8. Rushville 29.
Now, there's a lot of wiggle room in interpreting returning points--it is by no means a conclusive way to predict the future. Coaches may use swimmers in different events from year to year; swimmers can have great days (or bad days) at conference; and there's no way to know for certain which freshmen will step up and score big points for their schools at HHC.
Later this week, I hope to post an analysis of the 2009 HHC meet, based on the actual entries.
GO TIGERS!
TIGERS RETURN TO ACTION
The Yorktown Tigers resume their 2009-10 high school season tomorrow when they take on the Muncie South Rebels.
Tuesday's matchup marks Yorktown's first taste of competition since hosting Noblesville on December 17th. Since then, the Tigers have endured the most gruelling training regimen of their season, building their endurance for the demands of the quickly approaching championship season.
Tuesday's meet begins at 5:30 p.m. at Yorktown High School.
GO TIGERS!
Tuesday's matchup marks Yorktown's first taste of competition since hosting Noblesville on December 17th. Since then, the Tigers have endured the most gruelling training regimen of their season, building their endurance for the demands of the quickly approaching championship season.
Tuesday's meet begins at 5:30 p.m. at Yorktown High School.
GO TIGERS!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
NATURE 1, SWIMMERS 0
Winter sports teams in Indiana face their own unique challenges--not the least of which are snow, ice and slippery roads. A dose of all three of those elements cost Yorktown its scheduled meet at New Castle on Thursday. At this point, no makeup date has been announced. And with the way the rest of the season schedule is structured, don't expect the Tigers to tangle with the Trojans in the water again until 2011.
That means the YHS club swimmers will turn their attention to the YSC Robbin Lindsey Memorial Meet this weekend. But the next milestone on the schedule comes next week, when eight high schools battle in the 2010 Hoosier Heritage Conference championship meet at New Palestine.
More on that in my next post.
That means the YHS club swimmers will turn their attention to the YSC Robbin Lindsey Memorial Meet this weekend. But the next milestone on the schedule comes next week, when eight high schools battle in the 2010 Hoosier Heritage Conference championship meet at New Palestine.
More on that in my next post.
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