COLUMBUS – Alexander Swenson splashed to a Hoosier Hills Conference title while Bedford North Lawrence settled for third place during the boys swimming league meet on Saturday afternoon.
Floyd Central claimed the conference championship in a tight three-team race with 248 points. Columbus East was second with 245, while the Stars were third with 236.
Swenson was the lone BNL winner as he touched the wall first in the 100-yard butterfly in 56.50 seconds.
“It’s hard not to feel that the day was a bit of a disappointment,” BNL coach Adam Young said. “We felt it was ours for the taking and we let it get away. The opportunity to take the HHC doesn’t come around often, and to miss it by 12 points is tough to swallow. We have to learn from it, move on and turn our focus to the sectional.”
BNL had runner-up finishes in the 200 medley relay (Cole Baker, Garrett Henson, Swenson and John Allen in 1:43.91), Baker in the 50 freestyle (22.59), and the 400 free relay (Swenson, Trey Kimbley, Baker and Allen in 3:26.05). Kade Bailey was third in diving with 254.70 points, and Baker was third in the 100 backstroke (57.87).
“Two things kept us from ending up where we wanted to,” Young said. “Taking second in two relays and having way too many spots move from scoring position coming into the meet and either dropping down the ladder or out of scoring altogether.
“Plenty of bright spots though. A number of PRs and nice time drops. Across the board we had lots of the guys right around lifetime best times. So that is very promising as we look ahead. I think it’s important to remember that, even though we didn’t have some of the time drops we were going for, in many of those cases individuals are already faster heading into the sectional than last year. We are just beginning the taper phase of the season and everyone was still noticeably fatigued today. The sectional meet is the big prize and ultimately what we work toward every year. The opportunity is there if we can put a total team effort together.”
BNL’s girls will compete in the sectional at Jasper on Thursday and Saturday.
