Carmel advances 23 to finals, Fishers sends 12

The REPORTER

The Carmel boys swim team is ready to make it 11 in a row.

The Greyhounds qualified 23 swims from Friday night’s IHSAA state preliminaries into Saturday’s state finals. Twenty-one of those swims made it to the “A” Final, or championship heat, with the other two moving on to the “B” Final, or consolation heat.

Carmel picked up top seeds in four events. William Allen clocked in at 1 minute, 37.23 seconds to earn the first seed in the 200 freestyle, while Andrew Shackell swam the butterfly event in 47.29 seconds for a top seed there. The Greyhounds also earned top seeds in the medley relay (1:29.40) and the 200 free relay (1:23.54).

Allen led a parade of three “A” Final qualifiers in the 200 free, with Ethan Zhang qualifying third and Lewis Zhang fifth. That was the first of four “Triple A” qualifying events for the ‘Hounds: Yi Zheng (second), Cory Han (fourth) and Michael Gorey (eighth) all reached the fast heat of the individual medley, while Allen (second), Anderson Kopp (third) and Lewis Zhang made the championship final of the 500 free. Kopp, Carter Hadley and Han went 3-4-5 in the backstroke for three more “A” qualifiers.

William Pugh qualified eighth in the 50 free to make the fast heat in that event. Hadley (third) and Ethan Zhang (fifth) both reached the championship heat of the 100 free, while Gorey (sixth) and Zheng (seventh) made the “A” Final of the breaststroke. Carmel’s 400 free relay qualified third, giving the Greyhounds their 21^st “A” Final of the meet.

Pugh placed 13^th in the butterfly and William Lathrop was 14^th in the 100 free; both made the “B” Finals of their respective events.

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Fishers sent 12 swims into today’s finals, with seven reaching the “A” Final and five going to the “B” Final.

Jonathan Hines earned the top seed in the 500 free, swimming that event in 4:21.52. Hines also picked up the second seed in the 200 free. Alex Koo made two fast heats, placing fourth in the 100 free and sixth in the 50 free. The Tigers also sent all three relays to the “A” Final, qualifying third in the 200 free relay and eighth in the medley and 400 free relays.

Fishers’ “B” Final qualifiers include two in the 500 free, with Anthony Adams Jr. taking ninth and Caden Askren placing 10^th. Adams also qualified 13^th in the 200 free to make the “B” Final there. Also advancing were Luis Sanchez, taking 12^th in the IM and Hudson Lee, who placed 15^th in the butterfly.

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Hamilton Southeastern has six swims in today’s finals, three each in the “A” Final and “B” Final.

Jihoon Jung has two of those championship heat swims, qualifying third in the IM and sixth in the butterfly. Collin Huston placed fifth in the breaststroke. The Royals also qualified all three of their relays into the “B” Final, with the 200 and 400 free relays placing ninth and the 200 free relay taking 15^th.

Noblesville and Westfield both advanced two swims to the “B” Final. The Millers made the “B” heat in the 400 free relay, which took 12^th, and the 200 free relay, which placed 14^th.

Garreth Thomas placed 15^th in the IM, advancing him to the “B” heat in that event. Westfield’s 400 free relay qualified 16^th to reach the “B” heat.

Championship Saturday begins at 9 a.m. with the diving prelims and semifinals, with the finals in swimming and diving starting at 1 p.m.