Northrop has a chance, and that’s all coach Tom Knudson can ask for as the 2011 girls track co-state champion Bruins should be in the mix for the team title again Friday at Indiana University in Bloomington.FORT WAYNE – With his last name, Bellmont senior Jay Watters had better be a pretty good swimmer.
Talked into swimming as a sixth-grader, Watters will leave Bellmont as the school record-holder in six events and is the sectional favorite in two individual events and two relays.
“Nobody brings it up as much as I thought they would,” he said of his surname. “It’s mainly older people, and they say it is ironic. I like that my last name has to do with what I do. It is pretty neat.”
Watters has school records in the 50-yard freestyle (21.71), 100 freestyle (49.02) and 100 backstroke (57.97), while also swimming on relay records in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay.
“Jay’s (last) name is pretty apt for his sport,” Bellmont coach Drew Norby said. “Jay is an exceptional talent and a great swimmer. He has been a cornerstone of our team. He has the kind of talent that only comes around once in a coaching career.”
In the sixth grade, Watters was persuaded to try swimming by a friend.
“They said I was pretty good for what I was doing then, and they put me in the 50 free right away,” Watters said. “I have always loved swimming and more than anything swimming in front of people. It is like an adrenaline rush, more than anything.”
Headed to Olivet College, a Division III school in Michigan, to continue swimming, Watters tried longer distances in middle school and has even swam butterfly and the individual medley this year, but sprinting is his forte.
“I really kicked it up my freshman year, and I started getting faster,” Watters said of the shorter distances.
Watters won the 100 free last year at the sectional and was second in the 50 free. His time in the 50 free is ranked No. 11 in the state.
Watters will swim in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free relay and 400 free relay at the Jay County Sectional on Saturday, and he said he hopes to get first in all four events – with school-record times. At state, Watters wants top-16 finishes in all four events.
“I am looking to go all out,” he said.
