Greyhounds ready to make it No. 39

Olympic gold medalist going for fourth butterfly state title in a row

The REPORTER

Carmel is ready to keep its state championship streak rolling at the IHSAA girls state swimming and diving meet.

The Greyhounds hold six top seeds for the state preliminaries, which begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the IU Natatorium in downtown Indianapolis. Carmel qualified all 27 of its swims from last Saturday’s sectional finals, putting the ‘Hounds in great position to win its 39^th consecutive state title.

One of Carmel’s swimmers is competing for an extra bit of history. Senior Alex Shackell will try for her fourth consecutive butterfly state title. The Olympic gold medalist is by far the top seed in that event, with her sectional time of 50.68 seconds nearly two seconds ahead of the second seed. Fishers’ Emily Wolf is ranked No. 2 with a sectional time of 52.66 seconds.

Junior Molly Sweeney is the two-time defender of both the individual medley and breaststroke events. Sweeney holds the top IM seed time of 1 minute, 59.76 seconds and is the second seed in the breaststroke at 1:01.65. Valparaiso junior Madeline Moreth has the No. 1 breaststroke seed, at 1:00.68.

Senior Lynsey Bowen will go for her third consecutive 200 freestyle state title. She is the first seed in that event as well, with a time of 1:48.07. Carmel also holds the top seed in all three relays; the Greyhounds’ relay success is unsurpassed over the past 20 years. Since the 2009 state meet, Carmel has won 45 of 48 relay events, including 16 straight in the medley and 400 free relays.

While the Greyhounds are once again the overwhelming favorite, other Hamilton County teams are looking for high finishes as well.

Fishers has its sights on the runner-up trophy; the Tigers made the podium four years in a row before having that streak interrupted by Penn last year. The Kingsmen placed second with 212 points, while Fishers was third with 202 points.

The Tigers have 17 swims at state. They qualified 14 at the sectional finals, then received three callbacks on Tuesday, with those swims fast enough to fill a field of 32 in each event. Lily Ziino earned a spot in the 200 free, Mia Wilson got the call in the 500 free and Frankie Ramey received a callback in the breaststroke, giving Fishers three swimmers in that event.

Wolf is the top seed in the 500 free, in addition to her second seed in the 200 free. Wolf’s 500 sectional time of 4:43.89 is over 11 seconds ahead of the second seed, Carmel’s Alexandra Ward (4:55.09). Wolf is also seeded second in the butterfly.

Fishers’ main competition will be Fort Wayne Carroll. The Chargers have 19 swims at state, including the top-seeded backstroke swimmer, sophomore Kate Fetters (54.24 seconds).

Hamilton Southeastern will be going for a top-five finish at state. The Royals also have 17 swims, with 14 qualifying at the sectional and three callbacks. Mia Henderson received a 200 free call back, along with Isabelle Schmitt in the 500 free and Kinsey Bogaards in the backstroke.

Southeastern’s relays will be strong, with fourth seeds in the medley and 400 free relays. Royals freshman Kendall Dieckman also has the potential to make a splash at her first IHSAA state meet: she is seeded sixth in the 500 free and eighth in the individual medley.

Noblesville junior Eryn McMahon won the HSE diving regional on Tuesday and has a chance at the medals stand at state, along with Carmel junior Helena Gibson and Hamilton Heights senior Campbell Lively-Mason. Also look out for Millers junior Haddie Vohs, who is seeded sixth in the 200 free. Vohs also qualified in the butterfly, as did Noblesville’s 200 and 400 free relays.

Westfield had two of its 500 free swimmers, Kate Cassidy and Delaney McCulloch, receive callbacks to state, joining freshman Evelyn Wheat in the butterfly. The Shamrocks have all three relays at state as well.

Heights has four swims at state. Ayla Madara and Amira Leer both qualified in the 500 free, with Madara also earning a place in the 200 free. The Huskies’ 400 free relay received a callback as well.

Here is a list of Hamilton County qualifiers:

200 medley relay: 1. Carmel 1:40.09, 4. Hamilton Southeastern 1:43.04, 6. Fishers 1:43.88, 18. Westfield 1:48.75.

200 freestyle: 1. Lynsey Bowen (C) 1:48.07, 5. Kayla Barr (C) 1:49.79, 6. Haddie Vohs (Noblesville) 1:50.03, 7. Emma Schumacher (F) 1:51.04, 11. Alexandra Ward (C) 1:51.50, 15. Ayla Madara (Hamilton Heights) 1:52.17, 20. Mia Henderson (HSE) 1:53.71, 22. Lilly Ziino (F) 1:54.64.

200 individual medley: 1. Molly Sweeney (C) 1:59.76, 4. Lucy Enoch (C) 2:01.77, 5. Leah Debosch (C) 2:02.95, 8. Kendall Dieckman (HSE) 2:03.78, 9. Avery Hannon (F) 2:04.50, 10. Claire Francis (F) 2:04.56, 17. Kinsey Bogaards (HSE) 2:07.01, 21. Mia Wilson (F) 2:07.93.

50 freestyle: 6. Kiley Zoeller (HSE) 23.59, 8. Emma Schwertfeger (F) 23.64, 10. Clark (C) 23.81, 17. Priscilla Smith (C) 23.99, 27. Maryn Sims (C) 24.16.

One-meter diving: 5. Eryn McMahon (N) 410.05, 6. Helena Gibson (C) 406.15, 7. Campbell Lively-Mason (HH) 401.95.

100 butterfly: 1. Alex Shackell (C) 50.68, 2. Emily Wolf (F) 52.66, 6. Vohs (N) 54.66, 7. Savannah Irizaarry (C) 55.07, 8. Bowen (C) 55.17, 12. Ellason Miller (HSE) 55.25, 17. Evelyn Wheat (W) 56.22, 18. Naomi Haines (HSE) 56.27, 27. Lacey Huston (HSE) 57.21.

100 freestyle: 2. Faith Gorey (C) 50.04, 7. Addyson Czarnecki (C) 51.36, 10. Schwertfeger (F) 51.51, 12. Sophia Floyd (C) 51.88, 13. Kiley Zoeller (HSE) 52.16, 15. Henderson (HSE) 52.42.

500 freestyle: 1. Wolf (F) 4:43.89, 2. Ward (C) 4:55.09, 3. Schumacher (F) 4:57.17, 6. Dieckman (HSE) 5:00.53, 8. Ellie Clarke (C) 5:01.85, 9. Madara (HH) 5:02.67, 12. Sabrina Ledwith (C) 5:06.28, 14. Amira Leer (HH) 5:08.03, 16. Isabella Schmitt (HSE) 5:10.13, 18. Wilson (F) 5:10.71, 19. Kate Cassidy (W) 5:11.35, 22. Delaney McCulloch (W) 5:13.61.

200 freestyle relay: 1. Carmel 1:32.26, 4. Fishers 1:35.72, 7. Hamilton Southeastern 1:37.00, 18. Westfield 1:38.94, 22. Noblesville 1:39.28.

100 backstroke: 7. Barr (C) 56.21, 9. DeBosch (C) 56.47, 11. Clarke (C) 56.93, 12. Haines (HSE) 56.95, 17. Bogaards (HSE) 57.68.

100 breaststroke: 2. Sweeney (C) 1:01.65, 4. Enoch (C) 1:02.70, 8. Francis (F) 1:03.48, 9. Czarnecki (C) 1:03.49, 12. Lauren Ing (HSE) 1:04.44, 16. Polina Sopova (F) 1:05.65, 21. Frankie Ramey (F) 1:06.85.

400 freestyle relay: 1. Carmel 3:21.46, 2. Fishers 3:25.39, 4. Hamilton Southeastern 3:27.02, 14. Westfield 3:35.45, 15. Noblesville 3:35.66, 25. Hamilton Heights 3:40.59.