Prep roundup for Wednesday, Jan. 19
Jan. 19—Western's swimming and diving teams swept Eastern on Tuesday night in the Comets' pool.
The Panthers took a 105-71 win in the girls meet and a 125-54 win in the boys meet.
In the girls meet, Anna Moore led the Panthers with victories in the 200-yard freestyle (2:07.09) and 100 butterfly (1:09.74). She also swam on a pair of winning relay teams.
The Panthers also had individual wins from: Autumn Harsh (200 IM, 2:36.04); Chase Hayes (50 free, :27.44); Genesis Everling (100 free, 1:00.36); and Olivia Shoemaker (100 breaststroke, 1:18.53).
Western swept the relays. Everling, Shoemaker, Moore and Hayes won the 200 medley in 2:06.26. Hayes, Shoemaker, Sophia Moreno and Harsh won the 200 free in 1:58.42. And Moore, Moreno, Everling and Harsh won the 400 free in 4:17.14.
"I was pretty apprehensive going into it," Western coach Brad Bennett said of the girls meet. "We had no divers and we we down one of our top swimmers as well. I know Eastern has a pretty good team this year, and I think they might have been in a similar situation to us as far as sickness. Our girls really pulled it together and got it done.
"Coming off our conference meet on Saturday, I expected some people to be a little flat, but our girls really handled it well [Tuesday] and had some solid times."
Eastern had three winners — Leah Jordan in the diving program, Ava Kantz in the 500 free and Lola Williams in the 100 backstroke.
"The girls swam really well for us missing a fair few. It was our last home meet, so it was a little emotional knowing this group [of] seniors will be graduating. I started with this group when they were in sixth grade, and it's been fun to watch them grow," Eastern coach Sarah Nibert said.
"Western is a strong team, but I'm glad we kept the score where it was," she added.
In the boys meet, Western prevailed in six individual events, with six different wins. Luke Mawbey won the 200 IM (2:22.82), Pete Bradshaw won the 50 free (:23.37), Ashton Tso was tops in the 100 butterfly (1:03.63), Taylor Rathbun won the 500 free (5:47.30), Noah Broyles won the 100 backstroke (1:07.63) and Tanner Vance was fastest in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.02).
The Panthers won all three relays. Mawbey, Vance, Bradshaw and Rathbun won the 200 medley (1:51.85). Bradshaw, Mawbey, Rathbun and Avery Berryman won the 200 free (1:37.80). And Rathbun, Bradshaw, Broyles and Vance won the 400 free (3:42.11).
Bennett pointed to Tso and Vance in the 100 fly and Broyles and Wyatt Edwards in the backstroke as highlights.
"It was a good night for the boys," he said. "I'm really enjoying the depth these guys are developing."
Eastern's Eli Hueston won the 100 and 200 free events and Porter Brovont took his usual victory in the diving program.
"It was a fun night with Western for our senior night," Eastern coach Erin Stiner said. "Porter and Eli did a great job as senior leaders with winning their individual events."
TIPTON 42, KOKOMO 34
Class 2A No. 4-ranked Tipton took control in the first half in beating Kokomo at Memorial Gym.
The Blue Devils (17-3) led 25-12 at halftime. They pushed to a 19-point lead, 33-14, in the third quarter and kept the Kats at bay from there.
Ella Wolfe led a balanced Tipton offense with 10 points. Ashlee Schram had eight points, Abigail Parker had seven, Olivia Spidel had six and Macy Earl had five. Backups Rylee Wetz and Hallie Wolfe combined for the other six points.
Schram grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the Devils to a 40-26 rebound advantage.
Chloe McClain led Kokomo (12-6) with 22 points. Brooke Hughes had 11 points and six rebounds.
KOKOMO 50, M-G 15
The Wildkats whipped the Argylls in their regular-season finale. Jordan Bates (113 pounds), Blayke Acord (126), Omarion Clark-Stitts (138), Nathan Conner (145) and Kymani Howard (170) recorded pins for the Red and Blue, Kyan Gamble (152) won by decision and Jaquan East (182) won by tech fall. The Kats picked up two more wins by forfeits.
"We have a lot to work on [before sectional]," Kokomo coach Jacob Bough said. "Now it's fine-tuning. The guys are in pretty good shape. They probably need a little more rest than anything so that's why this next week, we'll be doing a lot of pool workouts, just hydrating back up and taking it easy on the body. We'll also go over some technique."
