Clinton Central ended the sectional tied with Frankfort for sixth place. That would seem to be a pedestrian finish for the Bulldogs if you didn’t know the inside information. In reality, the sectional was a huge step forward for the Bulldog swimming program.

 

Sectional competition is divided into two sections; the preliminaries on Thursday evening and the finals on Saturday. In essence, a team positions itself on Thursday for the point gathering round two days later. Clinton Central went into preliminaries with limited expectations. Much of the team had been suffering from the flu in previous days. Can you say, SURPRISE!

 

The Bulldogs recorded 23 personal bests in the preliminary round, placing them squarely in the picture for a sectional title. Included in that performance, was a school record breaking performance by freshman Kendrick Vester.

 

However, Saturday was a different story. The biggest disappointment for Clinton Central came in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. The Bulldogs entered as the top seed in the competition, but were overtaken by a Delphi squad that was part of an Oracle team that had the same kind of day in the finals that Central had experienced of Thursday.

 

No Clinton County swimmers advanced to state finals competition.