Carmel gets six victories, 22 medals
By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Nothing can stop the Carmel girls swimming team when it comes to winning the IHSAA state meet.
Not even the flu.
The Greyhounds shrugged off the sickness and kept their historic streak going last weekend at the IU Natatorium. Carmel claimed its 39th consecutive state championship at the finals last Saturday, scoring 448 points to win the trophy once more.
“Our whole team got sick last week, and we handled it really well,” said senior Lynsey Bowen. “We all got the flu and it was a lot of adversity, what (coach Chris) Plumb calls it, but I think we handled it really well and we still came out on top.”
The ‘Hounds left little doubt that this meet would be different from those of the past few decades. Carmel won the first two events, starting with the medley relay. The team of freshman Ellie Clarke, junior Molly Sweeney, senior Alexandra Shackell and sophomore Faith Gorey) finished that event in 1 minute, 39.10 seconds.
Bowen then claimed her third consecutive 200 freestyle championship, clocking in at 1:47.89. Bowen was trailing after 150 yards but made her move during the final 50 to win the event again.
“It was really fun having my sister on deck,” said Bowen. “She won the 2-free her senior year and it’s really fun to carry that tradition out, winning it for her and getting to give her a hug after my race, because she coaches for a team in Lafayette, so it’s really nice.”
Kendra Bowen won the 200 free at the 2019 state meet and is now an assistant coach at Harrison, not far from Purdue University, where she had a successful career for the Boilermakers.
Carmel senior Alexandra Shackell won her fourth consecutive state championship
in the butterfly. (Julie Brown)
Shackell became an Olympic gold medalist this past summer and made some more history at this year’s state meet. Shackell cruised to victory in the butterfly (50.67 seconds), where she became the first four-time champion in that event.
“I really wanted this year to be fun,” said Shackell. She graduates Carmel as a 15-time state champion: in addition to the medley relay, Shackell joined Gorey, freshman Alexandria Clark and Sweeney to claim the 200 free relay (1:31.54), then teamed with Gorey, Clarke and Bowen for a victory in the 400 free relay (3:18.39).
Shackell also spent a good portion of the meet “cheering on my teammates,” she said. “A lot of them had lifetime bests by huge amounts, and it just makes me happy seeing them do well. But the end goal is obviously this, 39, and winning the 2-free relay, because we didn’t get a shot at that last year.”
Clarke picked up a state win in the backstroke, finishing that event in 54.34 seconds. That gave the ‘Hounds a total of six event victories at this year’s meet.
Carmel picked up 22 medals at state, with three “A” Final swims in four events. Sweeney was the runner-up in the individual medley and breaststroke, with Gorey placing second in the 100 free. Clarke took second in the 500 free. Freshman Leah Debosch placed third in the IM, while senior Alexandra Ward was third in the 500 free. Junior Lucy Enoch finished third in the breaststroke.
Another third-place went to Greyhounds diver Helena Gibson. The junior soared to the bronze with 413.60 points, reaching that level with two big final fives. She scored a 46.25 on her 10th dive, a back 1-1/2 somersault, 1-1/2 twist free. Gibson became the highest-placing diver for Carmel at state.
“I try to save a lot of DD (degree of difficulty) at the end so that I can score higher on those dives,” said Gibson. She finished with a 41.85 on her 11th and final dive, an inward 2-1/2 somersault pike.
Other top-eight finishers for Carmel were Ward (sixth) and senior Kayla Barr (seventh) in the 200 free, Enoch (fifth) in the IM, senior Priscilla Smith (seventh) in the 50 free, senior Addyson Czarnecki (sixth) and sophomore Sophia Floyd (seventh) in the 100 free, Debosch (seventh) in the backstroke and Czarnecki (fifth) in the breaststroke.
“I think getting the fourth-most points in history speaks to the depth of this team, their ability to have so many girls get into the “A” Final, which is where all those points are scored,” said Plumb. “But I think on a bigger scale, they really came together this whole year.”
Five more Carmel swimmers competed in the “B” Final of their events. They were Clark (10th) in the 50 free, senior Savannah Irizarry (11th) and Bowen (14th) in the butterfly, junior Sabrina Ledwith (ninth) in the 500 free and Barr (ninth) in the backstroke.
Reporter photos by Julie Brown
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