Evening News and Tribune
By KEVIN HARRIS

GEORGETOWN — Last year, the Floyd Central boys’ swimming team needed to win the final event of the meet to capture the Floyd Sectional championship and did just that.

On Saturday at Highland Hills Middle School, the Highlanders did not need a dramatic ending to claim their second straight sectional crown.

Nevertheless, this title was just as rewarding as last year’s.

“They take pride a lot swimming the meet here,” Floyd head coach Joe Perkins said about his swimmers, who claimed back-to-back sectional titles for the first time since their program won three in a row from 1997-99. “When you’re swimming in your home pool, it’s one of those things where you want to step up and do a fantastic job.”

The Highlanders’ depth was a critical factor in the meet, enabling them to score 287 1/2 points. They defeated second-place Jeffersonville (235) by 52 1/2 points. Seymour finished third (227 1/2), followed by New Albany (164 1/2) and Jennings County (111).

Along with winning two events, Floyd earned six second-place finishes and two thirds. Perkins said strong performances in Thursday’s preliminaries helped set the stage for the Highlanders in Saturday’s finals.

“We came out with a big sense of purpose on Thursday night. Putting 21 out of 24 swims in the finals was huge for us,” said Perkins, who was named the sectional’s Coach of the Year. “Our relays were on Thursday night. They did what they needed to do.

“Across the board, we had huge time drops. We just followed exactly what we planned out over the last couple of weeks.”

Sophomore Drew Cato had the biggest day for Floyd. He broke three different records in repeating as the 100-yard backstroke champion in a time of 52.70 seconds. Cato set new sectional, pool and school marks in the event after being sick the latter part of the week.

Cato swam the anchor leg in the 200 freestyle relay team’s victory, snapping the pool record in 1:30.04. Other relay members included senior Sam Schreier and sophomores Nick Wolfe and Brock Slavens.

“Those guys (Schreier, Wolfe and Slavens) dropped a tremendous amount of time on Thursday night in their 50 frees,” Perkins said. “I told them (Friday) in practice that I wanted (Cato) to hit the water with the lead, and he was able to bring it home well for us.”

Cato finished second in the 200 free in 1:44.08, exceeding the state cut time. Event winners and individual and relay teams who break the state cut time qualify for next weekend’s IHSAA State Finals in Indianapolis.

Other Highlander swimmers earning runner-up finishes were Slavens (50 free), senior Brad Barnett (200 individual medley), junior Brandon Davis (diving), junior D.J. Hall (500 free) and the 400 free relay team of Cato, Barnett, Slavens and senior Shelby Foster.

Despite finishing second in the team standings, it was a productive day for Jeff. The Red Devils broke three school records and won three events, and the freshman duo of Zach Blankenbeker and Austin Smith played key roles in those accomplishments.

Blankenbeker set two school records in winning the 200 and 500 freestyles, which were previously held by former state and national champion Ben Hesen. His first-place time in the 200 free was 1:42.37, which was good enough to break the pool and sectional records. He also set new pool and sectional marks in his 500 free victory, posting a time of 4:46.8.

“He is the hardest working kid that I have ever coached,” Jeff head coach Keith Gast said. “The sky’s the limit for him. He has a realistic shot of scoring in the top 16 at the state meet in two events. Ben Hesen just got wiped off the board on two events and those are some big footsteps to follow.”

Smith reserved his spot at state by prevailing in the 200 IM in 2:08.46. He also finished second in the 100 butterfly.

Smith, Blankenbeker, junior Ben Hennegan and sophomore Dylan Applegate teamed up to set a school record in the 200 free relay in 1:31.48, which placed them second.

Gast thinks his relay squad has a shot at being among the top 32 fastest sectional times in the state, which would qualify the team for state. The Red Devils will find out early this week if it will compete in Indy.

Gast thinks Floyd’s experience was a big factor in winning the sectional.

“I think we got beat by a little more experienced team,” Gast said. “We swam well and they swam awesome. I think they just have a little bit more experience and were able to step up a little bit bigger Thursday night.

“I think we had at every spot a lifetime-best in this meet. If you can do that at a sectional meet, you can’t walk away disappointed.”

New Albany will have one representative at the state finals in Zacharia Litzelswope. The senior won the 100 butterfly in 54.82. Litzelswope is the first Bulldog to win a sectional title since Robert Hicks won the 200 IM in the 2007 Jasper Sectional.

Litzelswope helped New Albany’s 200 medley relay team place second. Other team members were juniors Justin Sparks and Evan Truman and sophomore Aaron Zinner. Truman finished second in the 100 free and Zinner was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke.

Providence junior Holden Henderson successfully repeated as sectional diving champion, setting new pool and sectional records by scoring 350.8 points. He broke the sectional record last season, which was 284.5.

The next step in Henderson’s quest to reach state will be Tuesday’s Bloomington North Diving Regional, where he must finish in the top eight to earn a trip to Indy. The top four finishers at sectional qualified for the regional.

Joining Henderson in Bloomington will be Davis and Jeff junior Andrew Shelly, who placed third on Saturday. Pioneer senior Spencer Kraft finished sixth.

Providence finished eighth in the team standings with 61 points. Henryville was 12th (20) and Charlestown placed 14th (five).

Junior Matt Reynolds posted the Hornets’ highest finish, placing fifth in the 50 free. The Pirates’ 200 medley and 200 free relay teams each finished 12th.

Perkins thinks the swimming in Southern Indiana has gotten a lot better, and it has showed in both the Floyd boys’ and girls’ sectionals this season.

“The girls’ meet got a lot faster this year. The boys’ meet got a whole lot faster this year,” he said. “The local teams are doing a fantastic job of getting their kids ready to come in here and swim well. It’s fun to host this meet.”