By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – There’s always something fun about watching young athletes announce their arrival on the scene, or in the Carmel girls swim team’s case, in the pool.
The Greyhounds welcomed two freshmen to their state championship fold Saturday at the IHSAA state finals, which took place at the IU Natatorium. Those two ninth-graders won some events, set some records, and played a big part in continuing Carmel’s historic state title streak.
The ‘Hounds won their 36th straight state championship with yet another dominating performance. Carmel scored 461 points, the second-highest state meet total in history, behind only the 479 points the Greyhounds rang up at last year’s meet. Carmel won six events, including its usual sweep of the relays. Those events always provide the perfect opportunity to bring the young and the experienced swimmers together, and that carried over into the individual events.
“I thought we had a really good mixture of senior leadership combined with youthful exuberance,” said Greyhounds coach Chris Plumb, who earned a record 16th state championship as a girls swimming coach. “You put those two things together and you get a passionate team that’s excited to be here, but can navigate the challenges that the meet presents.”
Carmel started the meet off with a bang, winning the medley relay by improving on its state record time from Friday night. The team of junior Berit Berglund, junior Vivian Wilson, freshman Alex Shackell and junior Meghan Christman clocked in at 1 minute, 38.55 seconds, lowering its preliminary time by 0.31 seconds. That old mark was set by the Greyhounds’ 2015 team, which is historically thought of as one of the best teams ever.
“You just know you’re headed in the right direction when you can start with a state record,” said Plumb.
Carmel had three swimmers compete in the championship final of the next four swimming events. The ‘Hounds got their next victory in the butterfly race, where Shackell won in a new state record time of 51.71 seconds. A little later, freshman Lynsey Bowen triumphed in the 500 free with a time of 4:49.13. Bowen had tied the state record in that event during the prelims, at 4:45.15.
Next up was the 200 free relay, where senior Gretchen Lueking, sophomore Grace Dougherty, senior MacKenna Lieske and Christman won in a time of 1:32.28. Berglund followed that with a victory in the backstroke, her third consecutive win in that event. Berglund’s time of 51.50 tied the state record that she had set in the Friday prelims.
“This team has been close than ever, I believe, and it’s just so much fun and I’m so grateful to race with all these girls,” said Berglund. “And for the 100 back, I’m happy with it. I’ve definitely been faster and we have a lot of things I can clean up for next year, and I’m just really excited for next year, too.”
The Greyhounds finished the meet with a victory in the 400 free relay, where Lueking, Shackell, Berglund and Bowen clocked in at 3:19.54.
In all, Carmel earned 21 medals at the meet, which means the Greyhounds had 21 swims finish in the top eight in their respective events. Shackell also finished as runner-up in the 50 free, while four more Greyhounds got third-place results: Lueking in the 200 free, Hayley Reed in the butterfly, Alexandra Ward in the 500 free and Vivian Wilson in the breaststroke.
TIGERS REPEAT AS RUNNERS-UP
Fishers placed second at the state meet for the third year in a row, scoring 283 points. That total is easily the most-ever points for the Tigers, and it marked the first time a team finished second three years in a row since Hamilton Southeastern did so from 2007 to 2009.
“It was awesome day to be a Tiger,” said Fishers coach Joe Keller. The coach also pointed out that those 283 points is the second-highest point total for a state runner-up in meet history. Southeastern scored 317.5 points at the 2008 meet.
“For us to be over 280, that’s a big step this year,” said Keller.
Fishers had 12 swims compete in the championship heat, which translated into 12 state medals. The Tigers also had the top diver in the county, with Gretchen Osmun placing eighth in that event.
In the pool, Fishers had four runner-up finishes. Junior Jo Jo Ramey was the runner-up in the 200 free, while Kate Mouser and Avery Stein placed 2-3 in the individual medley. Mouser would later come back to take second in the 500 free, and the Tigers finished the meet as runners-up in the 400 free relay. Mouser, Emma Schumacher, Nalanie Cortez and Ramey swam in that race. Ramey also placed third in the backstroke.
ROYALS PLACE THIRD
Hamilton Southeastern had a great meet as well. The Royals edged out Concord in a battle for third place, scoring 164 points to Concord’s 162. It’s the first time Southeastern had finished in the top three at state since 2018.
“I’m really happy with how we did,” said HSE coach Christian Hanselmann. The coach said the team came in with goals at the beginning of the season, and the swimmers followed through.
“They swam hard, focused, high-energy, stayed positive,” said Hanselmann. “I’m really proud of all our girls, how they did.”
The Royals earned six medals at state, including strong performances from all three relays. In fact, the medley relay placed second, with Grace Newton, Kennedy Fisher, Audrey Crawford and Ashley Saple swimming to a runner-up finish in 1:42.04.
Crawford later placed second in the butterfly race, while Fisher was the breaststroke runner-up. The Royals also had five consolation heat swims, including some performances where they moved up in position. A good example is Eloise Harrison: She was seeded 16th in the breaststroke, but moved up to a 14th-place finish in the finals. That was a pickup of two points, and every point makes a difference.
“To finish third overall, it comes down to the relays, everyone who jumped in on relays, consolation swimmers,” said Hanselmann. “Anna Stolle had two great swims in the “B” final in the 200 IM, in the breaststroke. Eloise Harrison came in as a 16th seed and she moved up a couple spots. You have to do that to get top three.”
MILLERS’ MCDONALD FIFTH IN BREASTSTROKE
Noblesville sophomore Maya McDonald had a nice debut at the state meet, as she picked up a fifth-place medal in the breaststroke.
“Honestly, it’s insane,” said McDonald, who finished her race in 1:03.14. “My goal coming into the season was to just be underneath the state cut, and I think I really surpassed that. It was just a lot better than I was expecting.”
In addition to McDonald’s medal, the Millers had two relays swim in the consolation heat. The 200 free relay squad of McDonald, Mia Field, Exley Tricker and Caroline Santerre placed a strong 10th, while the medley relay foursome of Sophie Resner, McDonald, Emily Knott and Field finished 15th. Noblesville finished 16th as a team with 32 points.
FOURTH STATE APPEARANCE FOR WESTFIELD’S HOAGLAN
Westfield senior Macy Hoaglan finished her high school career off with another appearance at state, marking the fourth time she competed at the big meet.
Hoaglan placed 13th in the 500 free and 16th in the individual medley. Her five points gave the Shamrocks a tied-for-30th finish.
“It’s been really fun, especially with the good team atmosphere,” said Hoaglan.
Team scores (top five and all county): 1. Carmel 461, 2. Fishers 283, 3. Hamilton Southeastern 164, 4. Concord 162, 5. Zionsville 147, 16. Noblesville 32, T30. Westfield 5.
200 medley relay
“A” Final: 1. Carmel (Berit Berglund, Vivian Wilson, Alex Shackell, Meghan Christman) 1:38.55, new state record, 2. Southeastern (Grace Newton, Kennedy Fisher, Audrey Crawford, Ashley Saple) 1:42.04, 4. Fishers (Jo Jo Ramey, Grace Lux, Kate Mouser, Kalli Agapios) 1:43.70.
“B” Final: 15. Noblesville (Sophie Resner, Maya McDonald, Emily Knott, Mia Field) 1:49.78.
200 freestyle
“A” Final: 1. Kristina Paegle (Bloomington South) 1:45.19, 2. Ramey (Fishers) 1:46.24, 3. Gretchen Lueking (Carmel) 1:46.97, 4. Lynsey Bowen (Carmel) 1:48.06, 6. Emma Schumacher (Fishers) 1:49.71, 7. Alexandra Ward (Carmel) 1:49.96.
“B” Final: 10. Nalanie Cortez (Fishers) 1:51.29, 16. Macy Hoaglan (Westfield) 1:56.47.
200 individual medley
“A” Final: 1. Devon Kitchel (Zionsville) 1:57.82, 2. Kate Mouser (Fishers) 2:01.24, 3. Avery Stein (Fishers) 2:01.84, 4. MacKenna Lieske (Carmel) 2:01.95, 5. Crawford (Southeastern) 2:01.96, 7. Alyssa Street (Carmel) 2:03.56, 8. Keira Kask (Carmel) 2:05.83.
“B” Final: 10. Lydia Reade (Fishers) 2:06.97, 14. Anna Stolle (Southeastern) 2:08.09.
50 freestyle
“A” Final: 1. Lillian Christianson (Penn) 22.14, new state record, 2. Shackell (Carmel) 22.48, 4. Christman (Carmel) 23.03, 7. Grace Dougherty (Carmel) 23.64.
“B” Final: 9. Fisher (Southeastern) 23.70, 11. Agapios (Fishers) 23.84.
One-meter diving
Finals: 1. Mia Prusiecki (Center Grove) 524.00, 8. Gretchen Osmun (Fishers) 426.80, 10. Hannah Justice (Southeastern) 403.95.
Preliminaries: 23. Melaina Munson (Carmel) 159.20, 24. Ellie Lee (Westfield) 159.15, 25. Ella Penny (Southeastern) 155.80.
100 butterfly
“A” Final: 1. Shackell (Carmel) 51.71, new state record, 2. Crawford (Southeastern) 54.36, 3. Hayley Reed (Carmel) 55.11, 5. Parker Kurzawa (Carmel) 56.16.
“B” Final: 13. Diane Koo (Fishers) 57.17, 15. Abigail Miller (Fishers) 57.41.
100 freestyle
“A” Final: 1. Paegle (Bloomington South) 48.29, 3. Berglund (Carmel) 48.70, 4. Lueking (Carmel) 49.48.
“B” Final: 9. Dougherty (Carmel) 51.84, 10. Cortez (Fishers) 52.08, 15. Agapios (Fishers) 52.92.
500 freestyle
“A” Final: 1. Bowen (Carmel) 4:49.13, 2. Mouser (Fishers) 4:51.30, 3. Ward (Carmel) 4:52.11, 5. Erin Cummins (Carmel) 4:55.08, 7. Schumacher (Fishers) 5:03.61.
“B” Final: 13. Hoaglan (Westfield) 5:03.89, 14. Arabelle Johnson (Fishers) 5:08.43.
200 freestyle relay
“A” Final: 1. Carmel (Lueking, Dougherty, Lieske, Christman) 1:32.28, 4. Fishers (Av. Stein, Agapios, Schumacher, Alexandra Stein) 1:34.90, 6. Southeastern (Fisher, Stolle, Ava Olson, Saple) 1:35.05.
“B” Final: 10. Noblesville (McDonald, Field, Exley Tricker, Caroline Santerre) 1:38.75.
100 backstroke
“A” Final: 1. Berglund (Carmel) 51.50, ties state record, 3. Ramey (Fishers) 54.02.
“B” Final: 9. Keira Kask (Carmel) 55.88, 12. Kiarra Thomas (Carmel) 56.52, 13. Newton (Southeastern) 57.24.
100 breaststroke
“A” Final: 1. Kitchel (Zionsville) 1:01.18, 2. Fisher (Southeastern) 1:02.13, 3. Wilson (Carmel) 1:02.58, 4. Lieske (Carmel) 1:02.79, 5. McDonald (Noblesville) 1:03.14, 6. Av. Stein (Fishers) 1:03.44, 7. Lux (Fishers) 1:03.58, 8. Christman (Carmel) 1:05.15.
“B” Final: 10. Lydia Reade (Fishers) 1:04.58, 11. Stolle (Southeastern) 1:05.20, 14. Eloise Harrison (Southeastern) 1:05.73.
400 freestyle relay
“A” Final: 1. Carmel (Lueking, Shackell, Berglund, Bowen) 3:19.54, 2. Fishers (Mouser, Schumacher, Cortez, Ramey) 3:24.06, 7. Southeastern (Crawford, Amelia Vicory, Stolle, Saple) 3:29.60.