By JIM BELSER
Five Hamilton County boys swim teams finished in the top 20 in the 2018 IHSAA state championship competition Saturday at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, but none did better than the Carmel Greyhounds, who captured their 18th Indiana boys state title.
“It’s an amazing day to win as many events as we did, it was a strong performance by these guys,” Carmel coach Chris Plumb. “We won some really close races, and I think they really rallied for each other.”
The last swim of the day summed up the event as Drew Kibler, Wyatt Davis, Brett Sherman, and Jacob Mitchell of Carmel separated from the field and won the 400 freestyle relay by five seconds with a time of 2:59.96. It was a full nine seconds faster than the Greyhounds preliminary time the previous day.
While Carmel played possum on its way to smashing the competition with a state-record 417 points, Fishers, Westfield, Hamilton Southeastern, and Hamilton Heights made strong showings, finishing eighth, tied for 13th, 15th and 20th respectively.
“The kids came back from Friday more comfortable and more relaxed and the back half of the meet they just started getting better,” Fishers coach Joe Keller said.
Fishers Drake Stallworth powered the Tigers to their eighth-place finish by qualifying for two individual events and two team events. The junior grabbed a fifth place in the butterfly and sixth in the 200 yard freestyle.
“I had really big goals for state, I didn’t reach them, but I think I swam really well,” Stallworth said. “Friday was more about getting the times, today was more about racing and putting your hand on the wall, and I thought I did pretty well. I’m happy.”
Teammate Cole Van Devender was the top placing Tiger for the day with a third-place finish in the one-meter dive.
“He is a talented kid, he is going to dive for IU next year, we had a challenging season for him as far as diving coaching goes,” Keller said.
Fishers’ Kyle Haflich also had two top eight finishes, placing seventh in the individual medley and eighth in the backstroke.
But this event, like so many Indiana swimming state championships of late, belonged to the Greyhounds. Carmel swimmers were everywhere and typically ended near the top, as second-place finishing Franklin Community lagged far behind totaling 203 points. Zionsville rounded out the top three with 185 points.
Drew Kibler, one of the top high school swimmers in the nation, led the Greyhounds with two individual wins and two team wins. His time of 19.38 in the 50 freestyle preliminaries set a USA record, held previously by Florida’s Ryan Murphy from 2012. He won the championship in that event on Saturday in a time of 19.50 seconds. The senior nabbed his second 2018 individual state championship in the butterfly with a 47.16 and aided Carmel’s first-place finish in the 200 medley relay.
Kibler got plenty of backup, particularly from Wyatt Davis and Stefano Batista, who both contributed to multiple first-place finishes for Carmel. Davis may have outdone Kibler by making himself a state champion in two individual events, the 200 yard individual medley and the backstroke, as well as two team events.
“We work hard and stay humble and with these guys around you, you know they are going to do their part and be there for you,” Carmel’s Wyatt Davis said.
Batista became a two-time state champion for Carmel, finishing first in the breaststroke with a time of 54.74 and helping the Greyhounds take the 200-yard medley relay. Carmel, which won nine of 12 events, got a one-two finish in the 500-yard freestyle from first and second place finishers Jacob Mitchell and Brett Sherman.
“I’ve been working for this for a long time and I think this team came together. And we are never satisfied, and I think the shows that hard work pays off,” Carmel swimmer Stefano Batista said.
HOLDER, KENNEY GET MEDALS
Heights junior Jared Holder was responsible for all 23 of the Huskies’ points. Holder placed third in the backstroke in a time of 49.99 seconds, the second time this season he swam the event under 50 seconds.
Holder, as a result, earned the first state swimming medal for the Huskies since Jake Wood placed eighth in the breaststroke at the 2011 state meet. Holder also placed 10th in the 50 free, in a time of 21.10 seconds.
Westfield senior Chris Kenney picked up two medals. Kenney finished fifth in the 100 free in 46.06 seconds, and took sixth in the 50 free in 21.02 seconds. The senior also swam on both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which both placed 14th.
HSE WINS MEDLEY CONSOLATION
Hamilton Southeastern’s state finals started with a win in the consolation heat of the medley relay. The team of junior Blake Ratliff and sophomores Andrew Truxall, Connor Harrison and Andrew Christopher swam the race in 1:35.21, officially placing ninth. The Royals also had three other races in the consolation heat, while junior diver Thomas Barr took 12th in the finals of that event.
MILLERS’ WOLFRED MOVES UP
Noblesville junior Jack Wolfred represented himself and the Millers well at state, as he swam in the consolation heat of the 100 free.
Wolfred placed 12th with a time of 46.93 seconds. The junior was seeded 16th, so he moved up four places. Wolfred scored five points, which tied Noblesville for 37th in the team standings.
Team scores (top five and all county): 1. Carmel 417, 2. Franklin Community 203, 3. Zionsville 185, 4. Chesterton 151.5, 5. Homestead 148, 8. Fishers 113, T13. Westfield 39, 15. Hamilton Southeastern 37, 20. Hamilton Heights 23, T37. Noblesville 5.
200 medley relay
“A” final: 1. Carmel (Wyatt Davis, Stefano Batista, Drew Kibler, Andrew Couchon) 1:28.03.
“B” final: 9. Southeastern (Blake Ratliff, Andrew Truxall, Connor Harrison, Andrew Christopher) 1:35.21, 11. Fishers (Kyle Haflich, Noah Baldwin, Trevor Adcock, Cory Jacocks) 1:35.60.
200 freestyle
“A” final: 1. Jacob Destrampe (Franklin) 1:37.15, 2. Jacob Mitchell (C) 1:37.40, 3. Augustus Rothrock (C) 1:39.54, 6. Drake Stallworth (F) 1:41.76, 8. Alec DeLong (C) 1:42.08.
200 individual medley
“A” final: 1. Davis (C) 1:47.95, 5. Brett Sherman (C) 1:51.12, 7. Haflich (F) 1:51.34.
“B” final: 11. Andrew Rafalko (C) 1:52.16
50 freestyle
“A” final: 1. Kibler (C) 19.50, 5. Couchon (C) 20.75, 6. Chris Kenney (W) 21.02.
“B” final: 10. Jared Holder (HH) 21.10, 14. DJ Rogers (HSE) 21.25.
One-meter diving
Final: 1. Isaac Khamis (Richmond) 583.40, 3. Cole Van Devender (F) 540.05, 12. Nathan Barr (HSE) 421.95.
Semi-finals: 20. Garrett Garwood (HSE) 368.60.
Preliminaries: 29. Jared Newman (N) 153.75.
100 butterfly
“A” final: 1. Kibler (C) 47.16, 5. Stallworth (F) 49.78.
“B” final: 12. Jota Iwase (C) 50.74, 14. Harrison (HSE) 51.35.
100 freestyle
“A” final: 1. Jack Franzman (Zionsville) 43.70, 5. Kenney (W) 46.06.
“B” final: 11. DeLong (C) 46.78, 12. Jack Wolfred (N) 46.93, 13. Griffin Hadley (C) 47.09.
500 freestyle
“A” final: 1. Mitchell (C) 4:26.17, 2. Sherman (C) 4:28.59, 4. Rothrock (C) 4:31.16.
“B” final: 9. Aaron Frollo (F) 4:37.31, 12. Sam Kuhn (F) 4:40.48.
200 freestyle relay
“A” final: 1. Carmel (Couchon, Batista, DeLong, Mitchell) 1:23.23.
“B” final: 11. Fishers (Stallworth, Joel Crull, Adcock, Jacocks) 1:26.75, 13. Southeastern (Rogers, Christopher, Harrison, Marcus Eden) 1:26.92, 14. Westfield (Kenney, Cameron Clayton, Brett Calvin, Cody Fenimore) 1:27.52.
100 backstroke
“A” final: 1. Davis (C) 47.12, 3. Holder (HH) 49.99, 4. Drew Amaral (C) 50.02, 5. Hadley (C) 50.98, 8. Haflich (F) 51.26.
100 breaststroke
“A” final: 1. Batista (C) 54.74, 3. Couchon (C) 55.42.
“B” final: 10. Rafalko (C) 57.40, 12. Noah Baldwin (F) 57.73.
400 freestyle relay
“A” final: 1. Carmel (Kibler, Davis, Sherman, Mitchell) 2:59.96.
“B” final: 14. Westfield (Calvin, Fenimore, Clayton, Kenney) 3:11.69, 15. Fishers (Stallworth, Christopher Goolsby, Frollo, Haflich) 3:11.73.
ABOVE: The Carmel boys swimming team won its fourth consecutive state championship and 18th overall Saturday at the IU Natatorium. The Greyhounds scored a state-record 417 points and won nine of 12 events. (Bret Richardson)
BELOW: Hamilton Heights’ Jared Holder made the podium in the backstroke event at Saturday’s IHSAA boys swimming state finals. Holder placed third in the backstroke to become the first Heights athlete to win a swimming state medal since 2011. (Doug Sanqunetti)
