“The best year yet” – Carmel’s streak reaches 40

Hounds win five events, Gibson takes second in diving

By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com

INDIANAPOLIS – As they prove year after year, decade after decade, the Carmel girls swim team is up to whatever challenge comes its way.

Carmel’s Molly Sweeney won three events, including individual victories in the butterfly and breaststroke. (Julie Brown)

The Greyhounds were challenged this past weekend at the IU Natatorium as the state swimming finals were expected to be close. But Carmel came through again, winning five events and using its trademark depth to claim its 40^th consecutive state championship on Saturday, Feb. 14.

The Hounds scored 326.5 team points, comfortably ahead of the two squads that tied for runner-up, Fishers and Fort Wayne Carroll. They both scored 227 team points.

“It feels amazing,” said Carmel senior Molly Sweeney, a state champion in four events. “And I honestly think this is the best year yet, because the competition has been closer. Winning doesn’t feel as special when you win by like, 10 seconds, but since some of the relays were close, the individual wins were close, it was much more rewarding.”

Sweeney was involved with three of the Greyhounds’ five event victories. Carmel began the meet with a win in the medley relay; Sweeney joined Leah Debosch, Ellie Clarke and Sophia Floyd to finish the race in a time of 1 minute, 40.90 seconds.

Clarke claimed an individual event win several minutes later, with Clarke taking the individual medley crown. The sophomore edged out defending state champion Jordyn Glassley of Carroll by 0.12 seconds, clocking in at 1:57.73.

Clarke trailed Glassley and Zionsville’s Haley Hunter going into the last leg, the freestyle portion of the IM.

“My coach told me before the race that it was going to come down to freestyle,” said Clarke. “I just feel like I had the best freestyle and I knew that I could catch them if I was with them.”

Sweeney was the first winner after the diving break, taking the butterfly race in 52.78 seconds. Carmel then picked up 43 points from the 500 freestyle, where Haley Morris, Sabrina Ledwith and Helayna Weller finished 3-4-7.

Helena Gibson finished second in diving, the best result ever for Carmel in that event. (Julie Brown)

The Hounds won the final two individual events to clinch the team championship. Clarke defended her backstroke title in a time of 53.08 seconds, with Debosch placing third. Sweeney won the breaststroke in 59.24 seconds, giving her a third state title in that event. She also won the breaststroke as a freshman and sophomore.

“Our team swam really well as a whole,” said Clarke. “I think everyone really stepped up when they needed to, and we got a lot of important races. Personally, I swam all right, but I think this is a meet where place is more important than time.”

Carmel finished the meet with 14 “A” Final finishes, the most of any team. Carmel’s two freestyle relays both placed highly, with the 400 free relay taking third and the 200 free relay finishing fourth.

Greyhounds coach Chris Plumb, who coached his 20^th Carmel girls team to victory, said his team did “a great job to put themselves in position” to claim another state title. The Hounds had six swims reach the “B” Final as well, scoring even more team points.

“The meet’s won on Friday night and they did an awesome job, and they even did better today,” said Plumb. “It was just a great weekend, but a tribute to their responding to the challenge of the other teams.”

The Greyhounds made some history in diving, too. Helena Gibson finished second in that event, the best-ever finish for a Carmel diver at state. Gibson, an Air Force Academy recruit, scored 488.85 points over her 11 dives.

“It has been crazy,” said Gibson, who placed third last year. “I never thought that I would be where I am in diving. Seeing the improvement every year just makes me so happy.”