By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – It seems redundant to say this year after year: Carmel makes history at the state swim meet.
But it’s always true. This year, it was more true than ever for the Greyhounds boys team. Carmel dominated the IHSAA state swimming finals Saturday at the IU Natatorium, scoring 331 points to claim its sixth consecutive state championship. That’s a record for most state titles in a row in the boys competition.
The six straight titles record is the first of several records that were re-written at the meet. The ‘Hounds established new meet record times in five events, saw one of its senior swimmers join an ultra-elite group, while another senior received a major award once the competition was finished.
“It’s just an amazing performance by these guys,” said Carmel coach Chris Plumb. “It’s one thing to have the potential to do it, and it’s a whole ‘nother thing to step up and actually do it in so many races in such a short amount of time. Give these guys a lot of credit for their work in coming in it today and just swimming great.”
The tone was set early, as the Greyhounds won the first three events. First was the medley relay, which senior Wyatt Davis, sophomore Ryan Malicki, junior Griffin Hadley and senior Jake Mitchell won in a new state record time of 1:27.94.
It was just the beginning for Mitchell and Davis, two swimmers who are going to make the University of Michigan very happy over the next four years. Mitchell went first, winning the 200 freestyle race by over three seconds.
Then it was Davis’ turn. He set a new state record in the individual medley, finishing the race in 1:44.17. That broke the 10-year old record of 1:44.55 set by Chesterton’s Kyle Whitaker, who was a rare four-time state champion in that event, a winner from freshman year to senior season, 2007 to 2010.
Later, Mitchell ran away with the 500 free. He set a new state record of 4:14.68, finishing over 10 seconds ahead of second place. A few minutes later, Davis shattered his own state record in winning the backstroke, clocking in at 45.80 seconds.
That made Davis a four-time winner in the backstroke. His first victory was as a freshman in 2007, when he won it in 48.43. Davis dropped time every year in the event, and became the fourth four-time champion in IHSAA history. He joins Joe Sheehy of Columbus (now Columbus North), who won four butterfly races from 1963-66, Crawfordsville’s Josh Mikesell, a backstroke champion from 1985-88, and the aforementioned Whitaker.
“It just goes to show you his dedication to his craft,” said Plumb. “Just pushing the envelope and getting better every year, never being satisfied with one.”
The Greyhounds finished the meet with a bang, as Mitchell, junior Gus Rothrock, Hadley and Davis won the 400 free relay. The team set a new record in that race of 2:56.56, lowering its record of last year by over two seconds. With that, the Greyhounds won their 78th event championship, breaking the long-standing record of 77 by Columbus/Columbus North.
Davis finished his career with 14 state championships, a new record for most state titles by a boys swimmer.
“First off, I just want to thank all the coaches at Carmel and just the program in general for allowing me to really access all my skills and really develop those in order to four-peat in the 100 backstroke,” said Davis. “But also, just the team chemistry, it was just a lot of fun. It’s just been a lot of fun training with the guys, so it just made practice a lot more fun and just being able to have fun with them, know that they’re going to support me no matter what. I feel like that’s a huge part of what led me to be successful.”
After the swimming was done, Carmel received another honor: Mitchell was named the Herman F. Keller Mental Attitude Award, becoming the first Greyhounds boys swimmer to receive the honor.
“Honestly, I was more excited about that than any of my swims, because it just means a lot more,” said Mitchell. “There’s the side that we have in the water, and then there’s also the side that a lot of people don’t see: It’s outside of the water. It just felt really good to get recognized for the life that we live outside of the water.”
“Jake has come so far,” said Plumb. “He’s the silent worker and he just gets it done in the pool and gets it done in the classroom. Does an amazing job outside the pool. I’m just so proud of those two and Jake and Wyatt for leading this team and pulling up everybody with them.”
The event wins and state records obviously get most of the attention, but Carmel’s depth helped it to another team state title. The Greyhounds had 10 other swims earn state medals Saturday.
Rothrock placed second in the IM and fourth in the butterfly, and joined senior Brandon Edwards, Malicki and junior William Kok in taking fourth in the 200 free relay. Hadley finished third in the 100 free and fifth in the backstroke, while Malicki took third in the breaststroke and sixth in the IM.
Freshman Kayden Lancaster picked up two medals by placing seventh in the 200 free and eighth in the 500 free. Nolan Kopp finished eighth in the backstroke. In consolation heats, Kopp took 10th in the 200 free, while senior Griffin Seaver placed 12th in the 500 free and 13th in the butterfly.
The Carmel boys swim team won its sixth consecutive state championship Saturday at the IU Natatorium. The Greyhounds won six events, including five in new state record time. (Kent Graham)
Carmel’s Jake Mitchell won the Herman F. Keller Mental Attitude Award at the conclusion of the meet. He is pictured with his parents Michael and Tina Mitchell. (Kent Graham)