As usual, Hamilton County will have a large number of swimmers at this weekend’s IHSAA state finals.
The meet begins at 6 p.m. Friday with the swimming preliminary round. Saturday begins with the first round of diving at 9 a.m., with the semi-finals immediately to follow. All swimming and diving finals begin at 1 p.m.
Here is a list of information and notable stats for this year’s meet:
TICKETS: General admission tickets are $8 per session or $15 for both days and available at the Natatorium ticket office. Preschool children admitted at no charge for unreserved seating.
DOORS OPEN: Doors open to spectators at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
PARKING: Spectators may park in the Sports Garage located off New York Street just east of the Natatorium. Please note that IUPUI charges a parking fee to access the garage.
VIDEOSTREAM AT IHSAAtv.ORG
Saturday’s championship and consolation heats will be streamed at IHSAAtv.org. The stream will begin at 1 p.m. and also be available in the On-Demand tab following the meet’s conclusion.
▪ Play-by-Play Mark Jaynes
▪ Color Analyst Tony Young
▪ Deck Reporter Tony Donohue
▪ Diving Analyst Dan Johnson
Advancement
The top 16 in each swimming event during Friday’s prelims will return for competition on Saturday with the top eight individuals vying for state championship honors. Those finishing nine through 16 on Friday will make up the competitors in the consolation heats.
All diving will take place on Saturday with the top 20 of 32 competitors advancing from the prelims to the semis after five dives each. After three dives each in the semis, the top 16 will advance to the final round for another three dives each.
Defending Girls Team Champion
Carmel is the 32-time defending state champion, the longest active string of state championships in the country in any sport or gender. Coach Chris Plumb, also the school’s boys coach, has guided the Greyhounds to their last 12 girls titles, the most in state history.
Defending Individual State Champion
Only one individual returns to defend her state title from a year ago. In fact, Yorktown senior Emily Weiss (pictured right) is the three-time defending champion in the 100 breaststroke, the top seed (1:00.97), and is chasing a career sweep in the event. After setting the national high school record (58.40) in last year’s meet, she would become the 11th different individual in state history to sweep an event and the second in the breaststroke joining Center Grove’s Michelle McKeehan who won four straight from 2005-08. Carmel senior Kelly Pash won both the 100 and 200 freestyles in 2018 but is not entered in either race this time around. Instead, she’s competing as the top seed in the 200 individual medley (2:02.47) and sits second in the 100 butterfl y (54.44) behind sophomore Teagen Moon (54.24) of Fort Wayne Carroll. Pash owns eight state championship medals, the most of anyone this weekend, having earned five of them as part of Carmel’s relay teams the last three seasons. Another individual to watch is Homestead senior Jackie Brenn, who will compete in the diving competition for the fourth straight year. She won the event as a freshman in 2016 and finished as the runner-up in 2017 and 2018.
Top 10 state championship streaks from across the nation
Longest streaks of consecutive state championships, all sports, all states
32: Carmel, Ind., girls swimming, 1986-2018.*
31: Bolles, Jacksonville, Fla. boys swimming, 1988-2018.*
30: Mt. Anthony Union, Bennington, VT, wrestling, 1989-2018.*
30: St. Xavier, Louisville, Ky., boys swimming, 1989-2018.*
29: Punahou, Honolulu, Hawaii, boys swimming, 1958-86.
28: Bolles, Jacksonville, Fla. girls swimming, 1991-2018.*
27: Hopi, Keams Canyon, Az., boys cross country, 1990-2016.
27: Pickford, Mich., boys track and field, 1952-78.
26: Mt. St. Charles Academy, Woonsocket, R.I., boys hockey, 1978-2003.
25: Paulsboro, NJ, wrestling, 1983-2007.
*Active streak.
(Source: National Federation of State High School Associations)
NOTABLES
Eighty schools and 556 student-athletes have qualified for this weekend’s event. Sectionals began last week with 237 schools and 3,393 participants.
Top Seeds
200 Medley Relay: Carmel 1:43.34
200 Freestyle: Kendra Bowen (12) Carmel 1:48.83
200 Individual Medley: Kelly Pash (12) Carmel 2:02.47
50 Freestyle: Elsa Fretz (10) Northridge 23.44
One Meter Diving: Daryn Wright (9) Plainfield 500.65
100 Butterfly: Teagen Moon (10) Fort Wayne Carroll 54.24
100 Freestyle: Emma Wright (10) Hobart 50.00
500 Freestyle: Samantha Hietpas (12) Fishers 4:51.54
200 Freestyle Relay: Fort Wayne Carroll 1:34.87
100 Backstroke: Madelyn Christman (10) Carmel 54.96
100 Breaststroke: Emily Weiss (12) Yorktown 1:00.97
400 Freestyle Relay: Fort Wayne Carroll 3:27.31
Defending State Champions in Field
(Individual Events)
100 Breaststroke: Emily Weiss (12) Yorktown.
Other Former State Champions in Field
(Individual Events)
Kelly Pash (12) Carmel (2-time champion 100 free; 2018 champion 200 free)
Jackie Brenn (12) Homestead (2016 diving champion)
State Championships Won by This Year’s Participants
(Individual and Relay Events)
8: Kelly Pash (12) Carmel.
5: Grace Pangburn (12) Carmel.
3: Emily Weiss (12) Yorktown.
1: Jackie Brenn (12) Homestead.
1: Elsa Fretz (10) Northridge.
1: Jenna Nethercutt (11) Northridge.
1: Ashlyn Underhill (12) Carmel.
1: Kenzie Weber (11) Northridge.
1: Rachel Young (12) Carmel.
Last Weekend’s Sectional Champions
Bloomington South, Brownsburg, Carmel, Castle, Chesterton, Crawfordsville, Fishers, Floyd Central, Franklin Community, Greenfield-Central, Homestead, Jasper, Jay County, Lake Central, North Central (Indianapolis), Northridge, Plainfield, South Bend St. Joseph, Warsaw Community, Zionsville.
Active Consecutive Sectional Championship Streaks
35: Carmel.
20: Chesterton.
14: Zionsville.
12: North Central (Indianapolis).
6: Brownsburg, Castle, Greenfield-Central.
4: Bloomington South, Franklin Community.
3: Crawfordsville, Warsaw Community.
Sectional Streaks Snapped
Plainfield ended Avon’s string of eight consecutive sectional titles at the Terre Haute South Sectional and Lake Central supplanted five-time winner Munster during Lake Central Sectional competition last Saturday. It was Plainfields seventh title overall and first since 2002 representing the biggest drought-breaker among this year’s sectional champions. The Lake Central girls won the crown for the 17th time but first since 2004.
Most Consecutive Sectional Championships (thru last weekend)
35 by Carmel (1984-2019).
Most Sectional Championships (thru last weekend)
36: Carmel.
35: Columbus North.
29: Munster.
27: Chesterton.
26: Center Grove, Penn.
23: Crawfordsville, Lafayette Jefferson, Zionsville.
20: Anderson, Bloomington South, Elkhart Central, Mount Vernon (Posey)
Hamilton County swimmers and seed times
200 medley relay: 1. Carmel 1:43.34, 4. Hamilton Southeastern 1:44.24, 8. Fishers 1:45.96, 18. Noblesville 1:47.87
200 freestyle: 1. Kendra Bowen (C) 1:48.83, 2. Ashlyn Underhill (C) 1:49.81, 3. Gretchen Lueking (C) 1:49.86, 4. Hannah Pratt (F) 1:51.14, 8. Molly Pedersen (HSE) 1:52.45, 16. Abigail Jahns (F) 1:53.59, 17. Morgan Booth (F) 1:53.90.
200 individual medley: 1. Kelly Pash (C) 2:02.47, 4. Madelyn Christman (C) 2:03.46, 13. Lydia Reade (F) 2:05.59, 15. Katherine Hand (Westfield) 2:06.18, 16. Corinne Yorkman (F) 2:06.42, 17. Savannah Kennedy (F) 2:06.97, 18. Abigail Harter (HSE) 2:07.15.
50 freestyle: 3. Colleen Duffy (C) 23.47, 6. Avery Williams (C) 23.55, 14. Grace Pangburn (C) 24.02, 18. Ellen Fero (F) 24.07, 21. Alexandra Stein (F) 24.22, 25. Brianna Saple (HSE) 24.33, 26. Kalliopi Agapios (F) 24.37.
One-meter diving: 3. Sarah Ballard (HSE) 444.85, 8. Halli Siwik (HSE) 409.95, 12. Morgan Casey (F) 405.40, 15. Darci Commons (C) 402.95, 20. Ashley Sinicropi (HSE) 381.60, 30. Emma Abdalla (Guerin Catholic) 357.35.
100 butterfly: 2. Kelly Pash (C) 54.44, 8. Meredith Berglund (C) 55.59, 10. Kara Robeson (F) 55.76, 14. Hannah Pugh (HSE) 56.57, 15. Nicole Rueff (F) 56.58, 16. Caitlin Marshall (N) 57.02, 17. Katherine Hand (W) 57.12, 18. Hannah White (C) 57.15.
100 freestyle: 2. Gretchen Lueking (C) 50.66, 4. Avery Williams (C) 51.31, 9. Hannah Pratt (F) 51.61, 15. Molly Pedersen (HSE) 52.08, 17. Rachel Young (C) 52.33.
500 freestyle: 1. Samantha Hietpas (F) 4:51.54, 2. Ashlyn Underhill (C) 4:54.45, 3. Kendra Bowen (C) 4:55.26, 8. Morgan Booth (F) 5:02.20, 9. Morgan Croaning (C) 5:01.99, 10. Abigail Jahns (F) 5:02.20, 17. Caitlin Marshall (N) 5:06.13.
200 freestyle relay: 2. Carmel 1:35.51, 3. Fishers 1:36.03, 7. Hamilton Southeastern 1:37.90, 23. Noblesville 1:40.56.
100 backstroke: 1. Madelyn Christman (C) 54.96, 4. Colleen Duffy (C) 55.45, 5. Taylor Conley (C) 55.45, 7. Abigail Harter (HSE) 55.87, 23. Erin Verbrugge (W) 57.67, 26. Olivia Harter (HSE) 58.01, 27. Corinne Yorkman (F) 58.18.
100 breaststroke: 3. Sammy Huff (N) 1:03.86, 4. Lydia Reade (F) 1:04.04, 5. MacKenna Lieske (C) 1:04.12, 9. Maggie Love (C) 1:04.89, 10. Molly Robinson (HSE) 1:04.92, 16. Sarah Jarding (C) 1:05.32, 23. Kennedy Fisher (HSE) 1:06.04, 24. Mackenzie Pierce (F) 1:06.09.
400 freestyle relay: 3. Fishers 3:30.01, 5. Hamilton Southeastern 3:30.30, 6. Carmel 3:30.85, 11. Noblesville 3:34.65, 13. Westfield 3:35.16.