Contributing Writer
INDIANAPOLIS ââ?¬â?? In the opening event of
the 70th Annual IHSAA Boys Swimming & Diving State Finals Feb. 24 at the IU
Natatorium, Hamilton Southeastern out-touched Chesterton (junior Adam
Thieling, junior Albert Miller, freshman Kyle Whitaker, and senior Thomas Darnell) by .13
seconds.
The victory by the Royals’ foursome of senior Jason Beverl, junior Derek
Paul, junior Cameron Owen, and freshman Nathan Kinney in the 200-yard medley gave Southeastern the lead, and HSE never
trailed en route to the school’s first boys swimming state
championship. Congratulations to coach Andy Pedersen and the swimmers of HSE!
Ben
Wachtel, a junior for Westfield, easily won the 200 freestyle, with Spencer Osborn, a senior from
Hamilton Southeastern, second and Zionsville senior Alex Ismail third.
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Christy and
Whitaker in the highly anticipated 200 IM. Photo by Darrell Butler |
Everyone
was looking forward to the matchup between North Central (Indianapolis)
senior Michael Christy and Whitaker, Chesterton’s ninth-grade
sensation, in the 200 individual medley. Christy was the returning
champion in this
event, but Whitaker had beaten him earlier this year at the Homestead
Invitational.
But this was the state finals, not some early eason showdown. Christy took a
substantial lead in the backstroke, but Whitaker came from behind in the
freestyle to win by .14 seconds.
A freshman winning an event
at a boys state championship is very rare, especially against a standout returning
champion like Christy.
East Central junior Kyle House won the 50
free, with senior Chris Pfaff from South Bend Riley second and Wheeler junior Victor Sikorski third.
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Yorktown junior Kurt Barttrum
shows off his winning form. Photo by Darrell Butler |
Yorktown junior Kurt
Barttrum won the 1-meter diving competition. The victory was the Tigers’ first-ever diving
champion, and their coaches are very excited about the level
the program has achieved in just a few years. Junior Jimmy Page of
Crown Point took second with Plainfield sophomore Tyler Clingerman third.
Whitaker got his second win of the meet in the 100 butterfly. Senior Patrick
Augustyn of Highland was second with Riley’s Pfaff third.
Wachtel then got his second win of
the day in the 100 free. The event looked almost like a repeat of the
200 free, with Osborn second and Ismail third!
North
Central sophomore Ed Minturn took the lead early in the 500 freestyle, then held
off fellow sophomore Sam Trahin of Carroll (Fort Wayne) for the victory. Northridge senior Keven Troyer was third.
The
200 free relay was an exciting, close
race with five teams swimming 1:26s, but in the end it was South Bend
Riley’s foursome of senior Zachary Stockman, senior Daniel
Lucero-Dixon, Pfaff, and sophomore Eric Blue that came out on top.
Hamilton Southeastern was second, with North Central third, Chesterton
fourth, and Homestead fifth.
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Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran senior Tyler Lemert wins
the 100 breaststroke. Photo by Darrell Butler |
Christy
finally got his state title by dominating the 100 backstroke, beating
Crawfordsville junior Cameron Hobson by two seconds. Munster senior Joe
Raycroft was third.
On
Friday night, Tyler Lemert of Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran set a new state
record in the 100 ******. There’s an old saying in swimming: Prelims
are for setting records, finals are for winning.
And that’s exactly what
Lemert did, with a time very close to the record he set Friday. Sophomore Chris
Johnson of Lake Central was second, with HSE’s Paul third.
The
final event, the 400 free relay, found the young Whitaker getting in on
his thrid state championship. The Trojan foursome of Whitaker, Miller,
Thieling, and sophomore Bill
Bass downed Hamilton Southeastern by over a half second, with North
Central third.
Meet results
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