Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 4	January 23, 2008

MCHS honors six senior swimmers

Photos by Bill Rosacker
Meade senior swimmers Matthew Spilman, Sherrie Sullivan, David Lytle, Katie Webb, Katie Bird and Jessie Jordan with their coach, J.P. Lavertu.

By Bill Rosacker
Messenger Staff

The Greenwave swim team practices and competes in an environment far removed from the friendly confines of Meade County High School.

There is no local pool for them to practice in or to hold home meets; they don’t grab their gear and walk to practice. They must commute to Fort Knox, where they share time in the facility with the Fort Knox High School swim team and other post activities.

It’s not like the basketball teams, or football team or wrestling team. Other students don’t just drop in to see the swimmers working out, preparing for competition against other schools. They can’t offer friendly words of encouragement or just satisfy their curiosity as to what really happens at a swim practice to see if they might like to try out. It’s difficult for the administration to take a break from their every day work schedule just to pop in to show support like they do in other sports because other sports are quite handy; just outside their offices, whereas Fort Knox is a long way down the road.

Yet these young men and women (yes it is co-ed) make the commute daily, even though they know what waits for them. Before the meet last Thursday, the team was going through what looked like a grueling workout of swimming laps, and stretching exercises.

Ben Bevill starts his 100-yard backstroke.

When asked if this was wise before a meet, Coach J.P. Lavertu explained, “This is nothing! Every day my ‘A’ swimmers swim at least 4,000 yards, and probably more.” (“A” swimmers are the best swimmers on the squad; “B” swimmers are working to develop their skills to become “A” swimmers.)

“The B swimmers work on technique, but swim 2,500 to 3,000 yards every day,” continued Lavertu. “At 1,650 yards per mile, you do the math!” If you do the math, the “A” swimmers swim about 2 ½ miles a day, while the rest of the squad will do between 1 ½ and 1 ¾ miles a day. It takes dedication, endurance and a willingness to succeed to compete on this team.

Thursday, Jan. 16, was a special night for six Greenwave swimmers. It was senior night and they were given a special tribute during the swim meet against Fort Knox and Whitefield Academy. For the last four years, four of these athletes have formed the nucleus of the Greenwave swim team while the remaining two, since joining the squad, provided additional senior leadership and guidance to the team.

At a break in the competition, each received a white carnation in recognition of their participation and dedication. Every student athlete who graduates leaves a hole that must be filled by underclassmen, but no one can ever replace the personalities of the outgoing seniors. A coach and his team have a special affinity that never goes away, and it was plain to see Lavertu had a special place in his heart for this group.

He held up well until Katie Webb made her way to the podium. The current holder of records in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle, Webb and he exchanged a poignant moment that brought them and the fans to tears. As quickly as it started, the ceremony was over, and the meet resumed, but this special moment will be remembered for the rest of their lives.

Megan Spilman discovers she’s made a personal best in the 100-yard backstroke.

Whether or not senior night proved an inspiration to all, the Greenwave swim team did themselves proud during this meet, setting a total of 32 personal records.

Alex Medley, Lisa Hurt, Megan Spilman, T. J. Osborne, Jimmy Patterson, Tate Wilson, Andrew Lanham and Katie Smith set two personal records each in individual events.

The boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Scott King, Frank Gainer, David Lytle and Matt Spilman knocked nine seconds off of the season’s previous best time for that event. This reduction took a tremendous effort on their part.

Troy Jobe set Meade County High School records in the boys’ 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke. He now holds all eight MCHS individual records as well as records on all three swim relay teams. This is an astounding feat – records in all 11 events.

With all the personal records being set, the Greenwaves rolled over their opponents. Final tallies are as follows:

Combined Score:
Meade County 233
Fort Knox 154
Whitefield Academy 30

Women’s team ranking
Meade County 112
Fort Knox 79
Whitefield Academy 16
Men’s team ranking
Meade County 121
Fort Knox 75
Whitefield Academy 14

Girls’ Individual Results
200-yard freestyle
Brianne Damron 1st
Tara Monchilovich 3rd

200-yard individual medley
Jessie Jordan 1st

50-yard freestyle
Lisa Hurt 2nd

100-yard butterfly
Megan Spilman 2nd

100-yard freestyle
Lisa Hurt 1st
Katie Webb 3rd

500-yard freestyle
Tara Monchilovich 1st

100-yard backstroke
Megan Spilman 1st
Brianne Damron 2nd

100-yard breaststroke
Kelsey English 2nd
Valerie Hobbs 3rd

Boys’ Individual Results
200-yard freestyle
Scott King 1st
Jimmy Patterson 2nd

50-yard freestyle
David Lytle 2nd
Matthew Spilman 3rd

100-yard butterfly
Troy Jobe 1st
Frank Gainer 2nd

100-yard freestyle
Alex Medley 1st
David Lytle 3rd

500-yard freestyle
Clay Mills 2nd 100-yard backstroke
Jimmy Patterson 1st Ben Bevill 2nd

100-yard breaststroke
Troy Jobe 1st
Matthew Spilman 3rd

In the team events both the girls’ and boys’ teams did quite well. The girls’ 200-yard medley relay team of Megan Spilman, Lisa Hurt, Katie Webb and Ashley Crotzer took first while the team of Ali King, Kelsey English, Kenzie Mills and Jessie Coppage came in third. Taking first place among the boys was the team of Troy Jobe, Alex Medley, Matthew Spilman and Jimmy Patterson while third place was garnered by the team of Dalton Waters, T.J. Osborne, Frank Gainer and Clay Mills.

In the 200-yard freestyle event the girls took 1st (Ashley Crotzer, Jessie Jordan, Valerie Hobbs and Katie Webb) and 3rd (Kenzie Mills, Ali King, Jessie Coppage and Kelsey English); while the boys took 1st (Troy Jobe, David Lytle, Jimmy Patterson and Alex Medley) and 2nd (Scott King, Dalton Waters, Ben Bevill and Shawn Mason).

The last event of the day was the 400-yard freestyle relay and Meade girls and boys swept away the competition, taking 1st and 2nd. The first-place girls’ team consisted of Lisa Hurt, Kenzie Mills, Valerie Hobbs and Katie Webb; and the second-place team was Morgan Spink, Brianne Damron, Megan Spillman and Jessie Jordan. The team of Scott King, Frank Gainer, David Lytle and Matthew Spilman took first ahead of the second-place team of Shaw Mason, T.J. Osborne, Clay Mills and Ben Bevill.

For the remainder of the season the Greenwaves will be on the road. They will travel to Shelbyville for the Shelby County Invitational. After that will be the regionals in Versailles and then the state tourney at the University of Louisville.

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