By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Shaking it up, not letting nothin’ get in the way, Bedford North Lawrence twisted its usual lineup and still had a lot to shout about.
The Stars, moving the usual suspects to different events, roared to a 112-70 victory over Martinsville during the boys meet on Tuesday night. The Artesians, taking advantage of BNL’s ultra-low numbers, coasted to a 90-57 win in the girls meet.
BNL loaded up the relays and swept those three races with ease, and the Stars added three other individual victories while splashing to the triumph in the boys competition. Cole Baker, Trey Kimbley, Alexander Swenson and John Allen combined to win all the relays.
“All the guys got to do things we haven’t done in a long time, or haven’t done at all,” BNL coach Adam Young said. “We were able to do multiple events, took our big guns and filled three relays. So it was very good stuff.
“I like the kids to be well-rounded swimmers. Because we face good competition, it’s easy to end up swimming the same events all season. So when we have a chance, it gives us the opportunity to try some different things. It’s nice to have options.”
BNL’s version of the Fantastic Four stretched out to a win in the 200-yard medley relay (1:46.70), caught fire in the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.42) and rocked the 400 free relay (3:31.24).
Individual winners included Swenson (24.21 in the 50 free), Baker (58.77 in the 100 butterfly), and Garrett Henson (55.42 in the 100 freestyle). Martinsville had double wins from Blake Rains (2:00.67 in the 200 free and 1:03.44 in the 100 breaststroke) and Ian Bain (2:11.91 in the 200 individual medley and 5:26.90 in the 500 free).
In the girls meet, the Stars were down to five swimmers. They got victories from Cookie King (1:10.93 in the 100 butterfly), Emma Gabhart (56.37 in the 100 free), Shelby Slaughter (6:05.61 in the 500 free) and Ashley Starks (126.40 points in diving).
“It’s a challenge when it comes to seeing the team scores on the scoreboard,” Young said. “There’s no doubt about it. But everyone is continuing to improve and really going after it.
“Cookie is just killing it. Her and Emma have a contest, almost daily, to see who works harder. And it’s really paying off.”
Kasey Etter (2:13.50 in the 200 free and 1:12.59 in the 100 backstroke) and Molly Stout (2:20.41 in the 200 IM and 1:08.42 in the 100 breaststroke) were dual winners for Martinsville.
The Stars will visit New Albany on Saturday.
