Harmony in the pool for Bloomington South's Judah Thompson, area's top performers honored
The Thompson boys think big when it comes to Harmony School senior graduation projects.
They also think about swimming. A lot.
A year ago, Kobe Thompson wanted to see if he could train himself well enough to take a stab at swimming the English Channel. It's as bold a challenge as a 17-year-old can take on.
This year, it was younger brother Judah's turn. Like his brother, he also attends Harmony in Bloomington and he has also spent a lot of time training with a local swim club with a few limited chances to compete at high school meets in town.
Both were often two of the fastest swimmers in the boys' distance freestyles at the annual Counsilman Classic. At the 2021 event, Judah actually posted the top times in the 100 freestyle (49.07) and 200 individual medley (2:04.05).
More: Depth earns a split in annual Bloomington North, Bloomington South swim meet
Judah was back for this year's version, only now, he had taken sides, joining Bloomington South's program between semesters.
"It's definitely a different environment," Thompson said. "Before South, I was doing club with kids 12 and under. So the transition to South has been better. I'm actually able to socialize more."
Harmony requires that each of its seniors complete a senior project in order to graduate. The idea is to ask a big question, in Judah's case, after bouncing several ideas around, 'What does it take to be a professional athlete?' Then go about finding the answer.
"He's been a great addition to the team," South coach Annie Eakin said. "He's doing more yardage than before he came in and he's making an impact. I love the Thompson family. They're all a great asset to the community and I'm glad he with us."
The first semester is usually a time of preparation, then the second semester, the student carries out the project. In this case, Judah's original plan, inspired by Harmony principal Steve 'Rock' Bonchek, was to transfer to South. Judah actually ended up at the Bloomington Graduation School where he is taking (online) Pluto classes in order to be eligible to swim at South.
He had to transfer since Harmony is a private school not under the MCCSC umbrella.
"So with the training and competing, seeing what it takes to become a professional athlete," Judah said. "What goes through it? What's the training like? How can I push myself to be there? How can I eat to be there?
"And I'm blogging my whole experience."
And what has he learned so far?
"So far, I've learned that it's fun to suffer," he said. "Even more when it's with friends. It's a good experience."
Being on a high school team has made a big difference in not only his training but his meet day performance as well.
"I've definitely been improving," Thompson said. "The training is way more intense and having people to actually push me has greatly improved my ability in swimming."
At the Counsilman Classic, Thompson led off the winning medley relay with the backstroke leg, won the 200 free (1:49.77) and 100 free (48.13) and had a 47.37 anchor for the Panthers' 400 free relay.
"It was different to be able to be on a relay," Thompson said. "It was way more enjoyable than last year. I've been improving greatly and being on an actual team has motivated me to swim faster."
His one and only shot to make the boys' state finals is not far away.
"I've been anticipating it for a while now," Thompson said. "The nerves are building up. I'm getting excited."
TOP PERFORMERS
GYMNASTICS
Jessica Floyd, North
Sophomore had a 9.1 for second on floor against Columbus North. Did that one better with a 9.2 to take second at the Franklin Central Invitational, and added another 9.2 on beam to tie for third.
Sofia Garcia, North
Finished third on bars, beam and floor (9.0) in dual meet win over Columbus North, then had a strong outing at the Franklin Central Invitational, taking fifth on beam (8.85), tying for fifth on floor (9.05) and seventh on bars (8.55).
Sarah Goldsworthy, North
Top five in three events while posting 33.8 all-around score vs. Columbus North. Then won floor with a 9.4 at the Franklin Central Invitational and also took eighth on bars (8.25).
Maddie Kawanishi, South
Led the Panthers at the Franklin Central Invitational, with three top-15 finishes, including tying for eighth on floor (8.8), to place ninth in the all-around with a 32.75.
Amelie Parrish, South
Had a pair of top-10 finishes at the Franklin Central Invitational with an 8.85 for seventh on floor and an 8.5 to tie for ninth on vault.
Hope Taylor, North
Flipped a 9.4 on vault for second against Columbus North and finished the night with a 34.1 all-around score. Then hit a 9.55 vault to win at the Franklin Central Invitational. Also had a 9.1 on floor for fourth.
WRESTLING
Landon Clement, Edgewood
Sophomore, 6-11 coming in, picked up a place from his seed to place third at 126 in the Western Indiana Conference meet. Opened with a 14-5 major before getting pinned by No. 21 Brandon Weaver of Owen Valley in the semifinals. Bounced back with a pin of 1:50 and another of 2:16 of North Putnam's Quenton Brown.
Chase Hostetler, North
A Conference Indiana champ for the second straight year. Won at 152 in 2021, took care of business at 170 this time with three pins. First of 2:51 was followed by another of 2:51 in the semifinals over Southport's Daunte Hon. He needed 5:10 to finish off Nicolas Sconce of Terre Haute North in the final and run his record to 20-5.
Colten Hubbell, Edgewood
Made it to the finals of the 195 bracket at the Western Indiana Conference meet before falling to Owen Valley's Eli Hinshaw, 11-4, in the final. Earned spot with a pin of Varsidy Batchelor of Northview in 27 seconds and another of 5:21 over Sullivan's Dawson Land in the semifinals. Hubbell is 16-8.
Aiden Reynolds, South
Runner-up at 145 last year made it to the top this time at 160. Pinned Terre Haute South's Collin Casad in 4:47 and then pinned North's Cael Hickok in 3:21 in the title tilt. Reynolds is 19-5 and ranked 11th at 170.
Ethan Roudebush, South
Earned a Conference Indiana title at 132 pounds, winning his semifinal with a pin in 3:12 before pinning Jason Shuey of Columbus North in 1:47 in the final. Roudebush, ranked 25th, is now 16-6.
Evan Roudebush, South
Freshman, ranked 22nd, followed up brother's championship with one of his own at 138. Pinned North's Zander Granquist in 31 seconds in semis, then took care of Terre Haute South's AJ Sauer in just 1:10 in the final to run his record to 10-4.
Delaney Ruhlman, South
Junior ran through the Conference Indiana meet for a second year in a row, this time at 152. Started with a pin of Columbus North's Liam Phillips in 23 seconds, then took down Terre Haute South's Jorge Franco in 3:23. Ruhlman (22-1) is ranked third.
Cash Turner, Edgewood
Junior had a short work day at the Western Indiana Conference meet in the 138 bracket. Started with a pin of Owen Valley's Quaid Hinshaw in the semifinals in 1:41, then took Indian Creek's Brayden Bruner to the mat in 3:02 in the final to earn a second conference title and run his record to 20-0.
TEAMS OF THE WEEK
Bloomington South wrestling
Panthers took second at the Conference Indiana meet. In addition to their four champs, Cam Meier (106), Reese Hamblin (145), Jackson Lynch (182) and Aiden Akers (285) all earned runner-up finishes. Aiden Gann was third at 126
Edgewood wrestling
Every Mustang finished higher than their seed to lift the Mustangs to fourth place in the Western Indiana Conference meet despite having to forfeit four weight classes.
Bloomington North gymnastics
Scored a 105.25-104.7 win over Columbus North on Thursday and then posted the third best score in school history with a 106.75 to win the Franklin Central Invitational, finishing first or second in every event.
Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Harmony in the pool for Thompson, area's top performers honored
