The Carmel boys swimming team put itself in solid position to defend its state championship, as the Greyhounds had a great night at the IHSAA state preliminaries Friday at the IU Natatorium in downtown Indianapolis.
Carmel qualified 24 swims into today’s state finals, with 17 headed to the championship heat and the other seven to the consolation heat. The ‘Hounds picked up seven top seeds, including all three relays. The medley relay team of Sean Sullivan, Ryan Malicki, Leo Han and Graham Seaver clocked in at 1 minute, 37.97 seconds to begin the meet. Sullivan and Seaver later joined Andrew Robertson and Christopher Holmes for a 1:23.31 effort in the 200 freestyle relay, then Shackell, Rikito Iwase, Gregg Enoch and Sullivan teamed up for a 3:01.89 finish in the 400 free relay.
Carmel’s individual top seeds were Shackell in the butterfly (47.48 seconds), Sullivan in the 100 free (44.35), Enoch in the 500 free (4:23.99) and Malicki in the breaststroke (53.80). Other Greyhounds advancing to the championship heat were Shackell and Enoch in the 200 free, Malicki and Michael Gorey in the IM, Holmes in the 50 free and butterfly, Han in the butterfly and backstroke, Connor Lathrop in the 500 free and Brandon Malicki in the breaststroke.
Carmel swimmers advancing to the consolation heat were Brandon Malicki in the IM, Robertson in the 50 and 100 freestyles, Carson Szotek in the 500 free, Lathrop and Emile Haig in the backstroke and Gorey in the breaststroke.
Fishers also had a successful prelims, sending 11 to the finals. The Tigers had seven qualify for the championship heat and four advance to the consols.
Kyle Ponsler picked up a top seed in the 200 free, clocking in with a time of 1:36.64. Ponsler also advanced to the championship of the 500 free. Connor Carlile qualified for the championship of the IM and 100 free.
All three Fishers relays reached the championship heat. The 200 free relay team of Ponsler, Reed Beaumont, Daniel Bennett and Carlile finished fourth, the 400 free relay group of Ponsler, Keaton Chop, Taichi Kataoka and Carlile was fifth and the medley relay team of Logan Ayres, Reed Beaumont, Daniel Bennett and Keaton Chop qualified sixth. Tigers swimming in the consols will be Beaumont in the IM and breaststroke, Jonathan Hines in the 500 free and Ayres in the backstroke.
Westfield advanced seven swims to the finals, including two in the championship heat. Noah Brauer qualified sixth in the IM, while Evan Lake took eighth in the 200 free.
Brauer also reached the consolation heat of the butterfly, while Lake is in the consols of the 500 free. Bennett Morse made the consolation heat of the 100 free. Westfield’s relay team of Brauer, Morse, Aiden Yonkus and Lake qualified for the consols of both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Hamilton Southeastern advanced its medley relay team of Ryan Harrison, Matthew Truxall, Jihoon Jung and Chouchi Ding to the championship heat, while Truxall also qualified for the breaststroke consols. Noblesville’s Aidan Biddle advanced to the championship heat of the breaststroke and the consolation heat of the IM.
The state finals begin this morning with the diving prelims and semi-finals at 9 a.m., followed by the swimming and diving finals at 1 p.m.
Positions 1-8 qualify for championship heat, positions 9-16 qualify for consolation heat, positions 17 and 18 are alternates.
200 medley relay
1. Carmel (Sean Sullivan, Ryan Malicki, Leo Han, Graham Seaver) 1:28.87, 6. Fishers (Logan Ayres, Reed Beaumont, Daniel Bennett, Keaton Chop) 1:34.91, 8. Hamilton Southeastern (Ryan Harrison, Matthew Truxall, Jihoon Jung, Chouchi Ding) 1:35.28, 19. Noblesville (Jeremiah Ledwith, Aidan Biddle, Cavan Cameron, Wyatt Wade) 1:37.28.
200 freestyle
1. Kyle Ponsler (F) 1:36.64, 2. Aaron Shackell (C) 1:37.28, 4. Gregg Enoch (C) 1:37.97, 8. Evan Lake (Westfield) 1:41.19, 20. Rikito Iwase (C) 1:43.51, 27. Quinn Sweeney (Guerin Catholic) 1:46.03.
200 individual medley
2. R. Malicki (C) 1:47.41, 4. Connor Carlile (F) 1:49.53, 6. Noah Brauer (W) 1:51.54, 7. Michael Gorey (C) 1:51.86, 12. Biddle (N) 1:54.82, 14. Brandon Malicki (C) 1:55.01, 16. Beaumont (F) 1:55.03, 17. Jung (HSE) 1:55.37, 19. Bennett (F) 1:56.38.
50 freestyle
3. Christopher Holmes (C) 20.75, 14. Andrew Robertson (C) 21.43, T17. Graham Seaver (C) 21.47, 20. Bennett Morse (W) 21.55.
100 butterfly
1. Shackell (C) 47.48, T4. Holmes (C) 48.92; Han (C) 48.92, 15. Brauer (W) 50.80, 22. Jung (HSE) 51.96, 25. Luis Sanchez (F) 52.27.
100 freestyle
1. Sullivan (C) 44.35, 6. Carlile (F) 45.86, 12. Robertson (C) 46.64, T16. Morse (W) 47.08, 20. Iwase (C) 47.32.
500 freestyle
1. Enoch (C) 4:23.99, 3. Ponsler (F) 4:29.91, 8. Connor Lathrop (C) 4:32.98, 10. Carson Szotek (C) 4:35.64, 15. Lake (W) 4:42.10, 16. Jonathan Hines (F) 4:42.35, 17. Nicholas Viola (F) 4:44.14.
200 freestyle relay
1. Carmel (Sullivan, Robertson, Seaver, Holmes) 1:23.31, 4. Fishers (Ponsler, Beaumont, Bennett, Carlile) 1:24.40, 10. Westfield (Brauer, Morse, Yonkus, Lake) 1:26.26.
100 backstroke
4. Han (C) 50.10, 13. Ayres (F) 51.44, 15. Lathrop (C) 51.81, 16. Emile Haig (C) 52.02, 18. Harrison (HSE) 52.36.
100 breaststroke
1. R. Malicki (C) 53.80, 6. Biddle (N) 56.32, 7. B. Malicki (C) 56.40, 10. Gorey (C) 57.21, 12. Beaumont (F) 57.46, 14. Truxall (HSE) 57.93, 21. Bennett (F) 58.64.
400 freestyle relay
1. Carmel (Shackell, Iwase, Enoch, Sullivan) 3:01.89, 5. Fishers (Ponsler, Chop, Taichi Kataoka, Carlile) 3:06.90, 9. Westfield (Brauer, Lake, Yonkus, Morse) 3:10.74, 25. Noblesville (Cameron, Wade, Mason Snyder, Biddle) 3:18.14.