STARKVILLE — Starkville High School”s swim teams have consistently placed in the top three through six events this season.
Coach Angela Hobart hopes the team”s return Saturday to Courthouse Pool in Flowood for the North State championship produces the same results.
Starkville is coming off an Oct. 4 tri-meet at the same venue in which its girls and boys beat Brandon and lost to Madison Central.
The senior-less Yellow Jackets have six swimmers Hobart anticipates finishing in the top three this weekend, though just one athlete is an upperclassman.
Junior Andy Vond will compete in the 100-meter freestyle. His personal record this season is 50.55 seconds, which has eclipsed the state”s qualifying mark by 15 seconds.
Sophomore Wilhelm Liano, who swims the 50 free, has a personal best of 24.06. Ching Ye, who Hobart expects to win the 100 breaststroke, is a freshman who is looking to better his 1:04.6 mark.
The Yellow Jackets, who finished ninth at the state meet last season, have just 11 swimmers. The Lady Jackets are nine swimmers deep.
The low roster numbers won”t keep Starkville from fielding at least one swimmer in each of the 22 events.
Hobart hopes the boys can earn a top-10 finish, while the Lady Jackets are aiming to crack the top three after last year”s fourth-place finish. Despite low numbers and youth, Hobart thinks both teams can reach their goals.
“Numbers hurt us because the more girls you have in each event the more points you have a chance to score,” Hobart said. “The top two teams we”ll be competing against will have over 30 swimmers. Still, I”m looking for a lot of effort out of our team this weekend. They”ve worked really hard this week and have been focusing on nutrition and rest, which is a big factor. If they swim their best and get their personal best time, I”ll be happy.”
Mark Anne Hobart, the coach”s daughter, is shooting for a win in the 200 individual medley. Her personal best this season is 2:23.83, which is 31 seconds better than the state”s qualifying mark.
Hobart also races one of the legs on the 200 medley relay, which has the third-best time in the North Half, and is just a half-second off the second-place pace at 4:02.28. Hobart swims the backstroke leg and is joined by freshman Adina Harri (freestyle), eighth-grader Laken Vickers (breaststroke), and Kristen Lacy (butterfly).
The Lady Jackets” 400 relay team (4:02.16) could have the most weight on its shoulders in two weeks, as last year”s 400 team boosted Starkville from fourth place to third at state. Walker Mattox joins Harri, Vickers, and Hobart on the 400 freestyle relay.
Coach Hobart has tinkered with the 400 freestyle relay lineup in recent weeks, and isn”t sure how she will set up the team this weekend.
“We”re really concentrating on that this year,” she said. “We”ve swum that with the girls in different orders. We”re shooting for third, and hopefully that will push there.”
Hobart also said her boys 200 medley relay team of Ching, Liano and Andy and Adam Vond has improved its time to 1:49.08 in the past two meets.
Vickers also is shooting for a top-three finish in the 100 breaststroke, an event in which she has a season-best of 1:11.07. Harri is expected to challenge for a top-three spot in 200 freestyle, where she has a season-best time of 2:23.83.
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