2010-11: ONE GLORIOUS SEASON!

It's hard to believe that another high school swimming and diving season has come to a close. It's seems like only yesterday that our girls were one week away from starting their YHS practice schedule in late October, only to learn that they were losing yet ANOTHER coach. I'll never forget the tears those girls shed, or the determination they showed in a hastily called athletes-only meeting over pizza in the YHS cafeteria that night.

They decided right then and there that no matter what had happened earlier that day, or what might happen over the next four months, they were going to be successful in 2010-11. The boys showed the same kind of grit when their season began two weeks later; those seniors were not about to let their final go-round be tainted by something they had no control over. They were gonna talk the talk AND walk the walk every day.

In short, these Tigers persevered, worked their tails off, and gave parents, fans and THEMSELVES a FANTASTIC season that will not be forgotten.

Just how good? Well, it's easy to lose track of what's being accomplished in the midst of a busy season. Let me try to put it in some perspective.

On a team level, the Lady Tigers brought the Hoosier Heritage Conference trophy back where it belongs for the first time in three years. The girls had two individual HHC champions in junior Larah Beaver (100 free and 100 back), and sophomore Jessica Extine (50 free and 100 fly). They also collected two relay championships, with sophomores Caroline Grasso and Kersea Gable joining Beaver and Extine on the 200 medley relay; junior Brooke Sigler and sophomore Ashley Sexton teamed up with Beaver and Extine to nab the 400 free relay title.

The boys couldn't match Greenfield Central's depth at the HHC meet; the Cougars had the better team that day, but Yorktown had the better swimmers. The YHS Old Men put on a spectacular show that day, winning the FIRST FOUR events, and EIGHT on the day. Seniors Adam Voss (200 free and 100 back), Michael Heavilon (200 IM and 100 fly), and Hunter Hoffman (50 free and 100 breast) were individual double winners. Fellow senior Wes Gustin joined those three on the 200 medley relay titleist, and freshman Scott Heavilon was the fourth member of the 400 free relay champions.

Tournament time was also a joy. The Yorktown girls won three individual events at the tough Hamilton Southeastern Sectional--Beaver earned the blue ribbons in the 100 free and 100 back, with Extine besting the field for the top prize in the 50 free. The 200 medley relay (Grasso, Gable, Beaver, Extine) and 200 free relay (Extine, Grasso, senior Labby LaVoie and Beaver) dashed to State Meet qualifying times.

A week later, the Lady Tigers took their talents to the Big Dance, the IHSAA State Meet at the IU Natatorium. Beaver swam to the best individual finish of her career, 4th in the 100 back. She would add a 10th place finish in the 100 free. Extine was part of an amazing consol final that included THREE ties--Jess nailed down 15th place, a hint of even greater things to come. The 200 free relay failed to make it back on Saturday, but the medley relay got back and posted a 15th place effort. YHS scored 27.5 points and finished 21st in Indiana!

The boys were not to about to be outdone in the post-season. Hoffman led the way in the equally tough Fishers Sectional, winning gold in both the 50 and 100 free's. Voss added a 100 fly championship of his own, and the Heavilon brothers swam with the others to bring home the blue ribbon in the 400 free relay.

Last weekend, the Mighty Men of Yorktown strutted their stuff on the sport's biggest prep stage at the Nat. Hoffman sprinted his way to a State Meet 3rd place award in the 50 free and an 11th in the 100 free. Voss was 7th in the 100 fly and 13th in the 100 back. Heavilon scored valuable points with a 14th in the 100 fly. And the quartet of Voss, Hoffman, Michael Heavilon and Gustin nailed down 12th place in the 200 medley relay. The guys in green and white tallied 51 points, finishing 13th in Indiana!

The post-season awards list for Yorktown will be substantial. Hoffman and Beaver earned automatic 1st team All-State honors, with Voss an honorable mention All-Stater. Hoffman's performance in the 50 free makes him an automatic NISCA All-American in that event; Beaver was just .06 off the 100 back cut on the girls side, and is likely to grab her third All-American honor. And the boys medley relay was also just over the automatic All-American cut, and likely to receive the award if they apply for it.

Keep in mind just how difficult it is to become an All-American. Last year, that status was reserved for the top 130 swimmers or teams in each event in THE USA. The standard is even tougher this season--you have to be in the TOP 100 in the country to call yourself a high school All-American. They are the top one-tenth of one percent of all the participants in their sport in America!

Finally, these kids put quite a dent in the record boards in their pool, other pools, and in the HHC. Beaver broke the YHS 100 back record for the third-straight season, and did the same in the HHC. She also took down the Delta High School pool record in that event. On the boys side, Voss broke the 100 back school record SEVERAL times during the season, and also took down that record at the HHC. And the falling YHS records at the Fishers Sectional looked like a snow flurry. Hoffman would set the standard in the 100 free, Voss did it in the back, and both the medley relay and 400 relay teams put their names on the YHS record board that day!

A special note on Adam Voss--he finished his YHS career having NEVER lost an individual dual meet event. It took one hell of an effort to keep that streak alive in the Muncie Central meet at Southside, when Voss used an AMAZING final turn to come from behind and win the 100 back in the final stroke by .04 of a second. The weather later in the season would make that his final dual meet in a Yorktown speedo, so he went out in STYLE!

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the coaching job Matt Routh, Mary Ehresman and Frank Mattingly did with these kids. To take the reigns under difficult circumstances, with so little advance warning, and lead them to greatness was INSPIRING. Routh got a well-deserved Coach of the Year award for his girls' performance at HHC (before he got dunked), and if this was indeed a one-time affair, you did it with flare, Matt!

Thanks to all of you for bothering to read these blogs during the season, and for viewing the video clips of our outstanding athletes. On to even GREATER things in what promises to be a historic 2011-12 season.

And as always,

GO TIGERS!