Seymour relay team sets record

News and Tribune

FLOYDS KNOBS

Seymour’s girls swimming and diving team finished third, behind sectional-champion Jeffersonville and runner-up Floyd Central, at Saturday’s Floyd Central Sectional at Highland Hills Middle School in Floyds Knobs.

The Owls won one event, had six other top-three finishes and beat fourth-place Jennings County by 139 points in Saturday’s strong performance.

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“We swam great this meet,” Seymour coach Dave Boggs said. “The girls came through. Our upperclassmen came through and led the way for us pretty much the entire meet. Couldn’t be happier with them.”

Seniors Sarah Montgomery, Kenzie Persinger and Nastya Yakovlyeva and junior Katie Turner beat runner-up Jeffersonville to win the 200-yard freestyle relay.

At 1:39.78, the Owls broke the school record by more than a second and were only .25 off of New Albany’s sectional record that was set in 2013.

“We were going in thinking we were going to win this relay and we did it,” Montgomery said. “We did it and it feels amazing.”

Despite a slow seed time, Boggs wasn’t surprised his team took the title and broke the existing school record.

“The relay on Thursday (in the prelims) we kind of cruised it,” Boggs said. “We knew we could go pretty fast in the relay. Our goal was to go 1:40, which we did. Not bad.”

Montgomery said she hopes to go even faster at the state meet, which takes place Friday and Saturday at IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.

“We all want to go (under 24 seconds) and maybe lock in this time and maybe get the record one more time even,” Montgomery said.

The Seymour 200 medley relay team — the same foursome that won the 200 free relay — was second to Jeffersonville to kick off the sectional.

Boggs hopes the 1:50.98, which was .85 behind the Red Devils, is good enough for a spot at the state meet.

Montgomery went sub-minute in the 100 butterfly and came up just shy of the sectional championship. Montgomery, who was the sixth seed in the event after Thursday’s prelims, swam a 59.96. Floyd Central sophomore Lauren Thompson edged Montgomery by .65 seconds.

“Going into the prelims, I was thinking I was going to win it,” Montgomery said. “I did terrible at prelims, but today I feel like I made up for that.”

Thompson, who also won the 100 backstroke with a sectional record, slightly pulled away from Montgomery on the final length.

“She was right there with her,” Boggs said. “We told her to go out there and take it. She raced really hard on that.”

Katie Turner finished second to Thompson in the 100 back and was third in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.51.

“She was little off on her [backstroke] today but had a lifetime best, by far, in the 200 freestyle,” Boggs said.

Persinger finished third in two individual events. She came up just short of a couple of school records. Her 54.29 in the 100 free was .11 off the school mark and her 1:03.89 in the 100 breaststroke was only .13 short of the record.

“Both are lifetime bests and she was right there on it,” Boggs said.

Jeffersonville won the meet by a point over defending champion Floyd Central. The Red Devils won the final event to claim their second sectional crown in three years.

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