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Thursday, November 1, 2007
Catch 22
Central Indiana, IN
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The Carmel girls swim team has captured an astronomical 21 straight state titles heading into this season, while Hamilton Southeastern has been consistently closing in on the Greyhounds over the past decade. Can HSE catch Carmel before they nab No. 22? Everybody in the pool.
It's an impressive fraternity, the scroll of girls high school swim programs in Indiana able to achieve runner-up status at the State Meet since 1987. There's North Central, a five-time visitor having been bridesmaid every year from 2000-2004, and don't forget about Elkhart Central and its four second-place finishes.
All told, the list is comprised of nine different high schools. Alphabetize them and it's Center Grove to Yorktown; opt for geographical categorization and it's Columbus North to the south and Valparaiso to the north.
The common denominator in this splashing safari of girls swimming superiority is the Carmel Greyhounds, who have incorporated five different head coaches and hundreds of dedicated young athletes since the 1986-87 school year to construct an amazing 21 consecutive state championships.
Do the math and what this means is that the 12th-grade swimmers on that groundbreaking '87 squad are now close to touching the wall of 40 years on this planet.
Every one else is playing catch-up. Have been for over two decades now. What Carmel has accomplished under the guidance of coaches Ray Lawrence (five titles), Tony Young (nine), Ken Stopkotte (3), Tom Burchill (3) and current Greyhounds' mentor Chris Plumb (1) is rivaled in Indiana prep sports only by Muncie Burris' 19 state volleyball titles, including 11 straight beneath the Class 2A umbrella.
"It's amazing. I'm astounded at the job they've done. Their consistency has just been amazing," said 15th-year Hamilton Southeastern coach Andy Pedersen, whose Royals were second to Carmel at the 2005 and 2007 state meets – the latter tallying 280.5 points, most ever for a non-championship team. "We tell our girls that they have to get a little bit better each year. I put graphs up about how we're scoring (at state) and we've made positive advancements eight of the last 10 seasons."
Plumb, a 32-year-old native of Buffalo, N.Y. whose specialties as a swimmer for the Indiana University men's program were the 200 and 500 freestyle events, is the latest coach to position himself beneath this state's most-intense prep swimming microscope.
Difficult as it may be to believe, the second-year Carmel coach doesn't lie awake at night staring at the ceiling wondering if "The Streak" will ultimately end on his watch. With his alarm sounding at 4:30 a.m. five days a week during the season to wake him so that he can preside over Carmel's 5:15 a.m. practices, Plumb can't afford to.
"I try not to get caught up in the wins and losses. I never look at this as pressure. You're looking at athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 who work very hard, and I firmly believe in hard work," he said. "I was not a highly-touted athlete coming out of school so I got where I got with work ethic, and I'm trying to instill that work ethic.
"In this program, we're really about the process. We're concerned with what we're doing and not what other people are doing."
Nonetheless, it's virtually impossible not to notice the presence of Hamilton Southeastern. Both Hamilton County programs return plenty of talented athletes for the 2007-2008 season, making a second consecutive 1-2 finish at the IUPUI Natatorium a distinct possibility.
If so, which is '1' and which is '2'?
Among the returnees for the Greyhounds are three-fourths of the state runner-up 200 medley relay team in senior Emy DiBenigno and juniors Jessica Hammes and Megan Detro. DiBenigno also took fourth in the 200 individual medley, fifth in the 100 breaststroke and was part of the second-place 200 free relay quartet.
Hammes was fourth at state in the 100 backstroke, while Detro took eighth in both the 50 and 100 freestyle races and, like DiBenigno, lent a hand in the Greyhounds' 200 free relay. Also watch for Patricia Regan and Samantha Partridge, fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 200 freestyle. Partridge came in fifth in the 500 free and Regan played a role in the 200 and 400 free relays.
Also joining the Greyhounds this season is senior Amber Molina, who paced the North Central 200 medley relay team to third at state a year ago and was 15th in the 200 individual medley.
Amazingly, Carmel did not take first in a single event at the 2007 State Meet. The Greyhounds' ability to produce a 21st consecutive titles despite an unintentional avoidance of the winner's podium speaks to the program's depth, says Plumb.
"It shows the depth of the entire program and the commitment to excellence from the girls," he said. "Of course they wanted to win an event, but later, when they reflected on it, they were proud it was a total team effort."
Meanwhile, Pedersen's Royals took first in the 200 individual medley, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. Sophomores Carly Mercer, Paige Copeland and Aubrey Hertzler each played a role in two of those triumphs, as did junior Maegan O'Connor and senior Lindsay Rogers. Mercer took third individually in the 50 freestyle race and fifth in the 100 free, while classmate Hertzler came in third in the 200 free and 100 backstroke. Rogers is the returning state runner-up in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke – behind only a national record-holder in Michelle McKeehan of Center Grove.
In 1-meter diving competition, senior Sarah Clay should be primed for a big season having placed seventh at state last February. Pedersen says there’s probably no way his team beats Carmel without Clay’s contribution on the board. Also keep an eye on seniors Emily Schroeder, Christina Jacobs, Alexis Snyder and Kylene Wilder and junior Erin Kelley.
This season's state meet features qualifying on Feb. 8 and the true suspense of the finals the following day.
Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern…on your mark, get set…
"I can tell you that if we won a state championship, I would just really be excited for our program," said Pedersen. "But if I know Carmel the way I think I know Carmel, they're going to be up for the challenge."
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