Published: November 25, 2009 10:23 pm      

POOLSIDE: Boys' swimming season preview

With sophomore Zach Blankenbeker back to lead Jeffersonville’s boys swimming team, the Red Devils could have one of Indiana’s best teams this upcoming season.

Blankenbeker, who holds the Jeff school records in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle as a freshman, is ranked third in the state in both events in the pre-season. He was also a member of the 200 free relay team that set a school record that returns all four swimmers.

“Our goal for him is to win state titles in the 200 and 500,” Jeff coach Keith Gast said. “He’s ranked No. 3 in the state in both, so we think he has a shot.”

Blankenbeker isn’t the only talented sophomore for the Red Devils, who finished second in the Floyd Central sectional last season to the host Highlanders.

Austin Smith, Lucas Mays, Brad Reinhardt and diver Jordan Searcy lead a strong Jeffersonville sophomore class.

Smith won the sectional in the 200 individual medley and finished second in the 100 butterly. Mays finished seventh in the 500 free and ninth in the 200 free.

“We have a couple of good seniors and a couple of good juniors, but the strength of our team lies in the sophomore class,” Gast said.

Besides the sophomores, Gast said he expects senior Ben Hennegan and junior Dylan Applegate to make a run at the state finals in Indianapolis.

Hennegan finished sixth in the 100 free in last year’s sectional and Applegate finished in the top seven in the 100 breaststroke and the 50 freestyle.

Jeff should contend for Hoosier Hills Conference and sectional titles in 2009-10, but the pool will be filled with a lot of talent in both events.

Seymour, a sectional and conference opponent, is ranked ninth in the state. Defending champion Floyd Central is ranked 18th and Bedford North Lawrence, the four-time HHC champion, is No. 24.

“Our conference and sectionals are going to be really, really competitive,” Gast said.



HENRYVILLE

In its fourth year, Henryville swimming should field its best team in school history.

Seven Hornets will compete, including Matt Reynolds, who was one of the area’s best swimmers as a junior last season.

Reynolds, the son of coach Dave Reynolds, finished fifth in the Floyd Central Sectional in the 50 freestyle (23.31) and seventh in the 100 free (51.69).

Reynolds’ brother, Henry, should also become a sectional contender despite recent knee surgery. Because of his injury, he will likely compete in the backstroke instead of the breaststroke.

Along with the Reynolds pair, the Hornets could have some strong relay teams now that they have seven swimmers.

“We’d like to get at least one relay team in the consolation round at the sectionals,” Dave Reynolds said. “

First-year sophomore swimmers Tanner Bottorff and Jordan Hahn should help provide some depth.

“They’re picking it up pretty quick,” Dave Reynolds said.



CHARLESTOWN

Charlestown coach Bill Batke has taken a wait-and-see approach to his boys’ swimming team early in the season.

Still, the first-year head thinks he has some talent.

“We should be stronger than last year,” he said. “At the end of last year, we were down to four (swimmers on the team). We have seven now, so I’m looking forward to being able to fill out the lineup, as opposed to leaving a bunch of events blank.”

The Pirates have two seniors, Kyle Jenkins, who Batke called, “the heart of the upperclassmen,” and Tyler Newcomb, who started swimming competitive last year.

Sophomores Colt Barker, a sprinter and Cody Brinck, a freestyler, should also help the Pirates in dual meets.



SILVER CREEK

Silver Creek should have its strong boys swimming team in several years.

“They practice hard and they push each other a lot,” said Dragon coach Beth Turk about her 10-member squad.

Silver Creek has a strong group of seniors — led by Garrek Harris and Andrew Hellmig — but they are being pushed by sophomore Sean Lurding.

“That aggravates the seniors a little,” Turk joked. “They don’t like that they’re being pushed by a sophomore, but it makes them practice even harder.”



PROVIDENCE

Three seniors lead the way for Providence in 2009-10.

Distance swimmer Kameron Johnson, four-year varsity butterflyer Dylan Young and diver Holden Henderson should help the Pioneers improve from last year’s eighth-place finish in the Floyd Central Sectional.

“They’re great leaders,” Providence coach Sara Schutz said.

Henderson was the sectional diving champion, then finished ninth in the Bloomington North Regional, two spots from the state finals. With three seniors ahead of him graduating, Henderson’s goal is reaching the state meet this season.

“I definitely think he’s a state contender this year,” Schutz said.

Johnson placed in the 500 free and two relays at last year’s sectional.

Schutz is also excited about this season’s newcomers, which have provided one of the largest Providence teams in the past few years.

“There are a lot of new swimmers, so we’re already experiencing improvement just these past two weeks in practice,” Schutz said.



FLOYD CENTRAL

Double sectional champion Drew Cato leads a deep Floyd Central team that will attempt to win its third straight sectional title in 2009-10.

Cato, who won two sectional championships and finished fourth in the state in the 100 backstroke, could be a state championship contender in the backstroke, the 200 freestyle and as a member of the 400 freestyle event. Cato also set the 100 backstroke school record at the state meet by swimming it in 52.08, just over two seconds behind state champion Nathan Kinney of Hamilton Southeastern.

But the talent doesn’t end with Cato. The Highlanders return 12 swimmers who scored points in last year’s sectional.

“We have a very deep team, probably the deepest we’ve been in the past four or five years,” Highlander coach Joe Perkins said. “We have incoming freshmen this year who have experience at the club level, so they’re going to help us with depth quite a bit.”

The 18th-ranked Highlanders will know a lot more about themselves after their season opener on Saturday. Floyd travels to Bedford to face four-time defending Hoosier Hills Conference champion Stars. Bedford is ranked No. 24 in Indiana.

“It will be a very good early-season indication,” Perkins said.



NEW ALBANY

The Bulldogs return eight swimmers for a team that coaches figure will be the most improved in the area.

Seniors Evan Truman and Justin Sparks and junior Aaron Zinner headline a Bulldog team that could also have one of the area’s best freshman classes.

Truman finished second in the 100 in the Floyd Central Sectional. He also finished sixth in the 200 free and was a member of the Bulldogs’ second-place 200 medley relay team.

Sparks, who was also on the 200 medley relay team, was third at the sectional in the 100 backstroke and was seventh in the 200 individual medley. Zinner was second in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 500 freestyle.

Freshman Luke Lete, Gabe Salinas and Brandon Whitler should also help the Bulldogs improve on their fourth-place finish in last year’s sectional.

First-year head coach Ben Vigar, who was an assistant under his father, Dutch, for the past several years, said the Bulldogs could compete for Hoosier Hills and sectional crowns.

“I expect that we should be pretty competitive with everybody (in the conference and sectional),” . “The more numbers and quality swimmers you have, the more depth points you can get.”