Hammond, Spartans end West's reign

Tue. January 31, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. | By Jason Queen

Logan Hammond of Central Davidson swims to a win in the boys 50-yard freestyle final heat during the Davidson County Swimming Championship in December. (Photo by Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch )

In the words of Central Davidson senior Logan Hammond, Wednesday's victory in the Central Carolina Conference swim meet "has been a long time coming."

West Davidson's boys have won the meet four years in a row but, thanks to Hammond and a deep array of talent, Central snapped that string at the J.F. Hurley Family YMCA in Salisbury. Battling a severe illness during the meet, Hammond swam the anchor leg of the winning 200 medley relay team, won the 50 free, finished fourth in the 100 free and helped win the 200 free relay.

With a steady diet of wins and top-three finishes, the Spartans accomplished the first of their lofty goals for the season.

"This year was a little different than most years," Hammond explained. "We've got a lot of depth, we've got a lot of young talent.
"Swimming is mostly about what's on the stopwatch at the end of the day, but it's also about strategy and what swimmers you put where."

Central coach Chad Hench obviously pulled all the right strings. "Our first meet, we broke a few school records right off the bat," Hammond said. "Because we are so deep, especially on the guys team, we've never really struggled with what events to swim."

Hammond and fellow senior Adam Amende have anxiously awaited the arrival of a trio of freshmen that has completed Central's turnaround. Lucas Rhodes, Connor Sturgill and Jonathan Hench wasted no time making their mark for the Spartans in the water, and that makes Hammond's experience much more enjoyable.

"I've been looking forward to this season since I was a sophomore," Hammond said. "I knew they were coming up, and I knew we were going to be so strong.

"We've never been this deep with natural talent and skill of the team as a whole. I know Coach Hench has too."

Swimming is a rare sport that, while it keeps team results, focuses heavily on individual performances. Speaking of individual performances and records, Hammond doesn't have to look far to find motivation every time he hits the water. "All year long I've been chasing the 50 free, for the school record," he said. "I've just been a couple hundredths off every single time.

"I've got it in the relay legs, but since you're doing a relay you have a relay start, so you don't have to get down and hold the block. So that usually trims a little bit of time."

While time is running out on his career in the water at Central, last week's win could serve as a springboard for the next two weeks. The regionals are this weekend in Huntersville and, if all goes well, the Spartans could be vying for a medal at the state championship meet in Cary in two weeks.

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.