Putnam County graduates making waves

A trio of former Putnam County high school swimmers and divers have been making a splash at the collegiate level this season.

Diver Nick Whitaker, a North Putnam graduate, has been having a big year at Ball State.

In the Cardinals' most recent meet, the 2006 House of Champions in Indianapolis, Whitaker emerged with a second-place finish in the men's one-meter drive with a score of 248.05.

Whitaker has a pair of first-place finishes on the season, the most recent being recorded Nov. 28 at the Doug Coers Invitational in Muncie. Whitaker won the one-meter dive at that event, tallying a 280.15.

He picked up a win in the same event Nov. 5 when Ball State visited Miami (Ohio).

Former Greencastle High School swimmers Jessie and Tracy Menzel have both been in action at Kenyon College in Gambler, Ohio, but have been experiencing mixed results.

Jessie, who competes in both the breaststroke and individual medley races, has yet to record a top five finish this season.

The senior most recently finished 14th in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Nike Cup Invitational at Kenyon Dec. 2 with a time of one minute, 12.64 seconds.

Tracy, a sophomore, was also in action at the Nike Cup, as she and teammates Jessica Wise, Katie Randall and Katie Moore finished seventh in the 800-meter freestyle relay, clocking in at the 7:53.01 mark.

Tracy has one first-place finish this season in the 200-yard medley relay. Her team won the event with a time of 1:48.47 Oct. 21 at the North Coast Athletic Conference meet at Kenyon.

She has also posted a pair of second-place finishes on the season, both in the 200-yard medley relay.

Her team finished with a time of 1:50.63 Nov. 3 at Ohio University and posted a time of 1:51.31 the next day at Denison.

Compiled by Jason Jarman