My View/Your View: Indianapolis-area schools leave their marks in big, big way

The Indianapolis area has given new meaning to the word “dynasty’’ on the Indiana high school sports scene.

And it’s possible we’ve only begun to scratch the surface as the 2009-10 high school season fast approaches.

Carmel’s girls have won 23 straight state championships in swimming. Hey, that’s a national state record.

And, yeah, I’m guessing the Greyhounds will be favored to make it 24 state titles in a row in the new season.

The Heritage Christian girls won their fourth straight Class 2A basketball championship, and the Northeast side school won win three state championships in the same year, when they added the 2A baseball title (11-3 over Cass on Saturday at Victory Field) to the football and girls basketball championships.

Cathedral did it twice in 1999-2000 (football, volleyball, girls basketball) and in 2006-07 (baseball, football, volleyball) and Fort Wayne Luers did it in 2007-08 (baseball, boys basketball, football).

Ben Davis, Indiana’s first girls basketball team to finish the season ranked No. 1 in the USA Today national poll, is the only Class 4A school to win three state championships in this decade. And, of course, coach Stan Benge’s Giants, who will be very good again this season with the return of several players, including sensational Bria Goss. Ben Davis, of course, set a state record in the girls State Finals by posting s 30-0 mark, most wins ever by an Indiana girls team.

A couple other top state feats belong to sophomore tennis sensation Nick Chappell, who served and volleyed his way past 25 opponents en route to the state singles title this past season, and Hamilton Southeastern junior Nathan Kinney, who won state titles in the 100 freestyle and the 110 backstroke and anchored the 200 free relay team.

In football, Cardinal Ritter ended Sheridan’s Class A run of three successive state championships by becoming the first Indiana school to go 15-0.

There were too many state feats to mention, but here are more national achievements that deserve special recognition, such as:

• In girls track and field, Pendleton Heights’ Ellie McCardwell, who has one year remaining, cleared 13 feet, 6 inches, the top national girls pole vault mark this season.

• Carmel’s Megan Detro, Jessie Hammes, Logan Mason and Trish Regan erased the national standard with a 1:32.75 clocking in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Regan, a junior, also won the 200 IM and anchored the record-setting 400 free relay team.

• North Central’s Futsum Zeinasellassie, the state runner-up in cross country as a freshman, raised a few more eyebrows by running the fastest 3,200-meter time (9:11.97) in the nation this Spring. He also won the boys freshman mile in 4:25.05 at the June 20 Nike national champion ships in Greensboro, N.C.


And adding to the impressive season, some winning streaks were also extended.

Scecina’s softball team, which won its sixth straight City softball championship, has won eight of the past nine.

Cathedral’s boys have won six successive City baseball titles and four successive City boys basketball titles. And the Irish girls rolled to their fifth straight city tennis title, sweeping the past two.

The Warren Central boys track and field team won its seventh consecutive sectional, and the Ben Davis boys track team won the school’s third straight sectional and the 11th in the past 13 years to go along with back-to-back state track and field championships.

The Zionsville girls added their ninth consecutive sectional and regional tennis titles.

And, of course, the Park Tudor girls tennis team had won four state team titles in a row before losing to eventual state team champion Carmel 3-2 in the semistate this season and having their winning string of 78 matches snapped. Still, the Panthers have been the most dominant school in tennis this decade, winning five state championships.

Along the way, the Carmel’s girls netted their 19th successive sectional tennis title.

If none of the above, other than Carmel perhaps in swimming, does not come across as a possible dynasty in the minds of some sports fans, then I think you have to agree that many of those feats are quite dominant.

Carmel’s girls swimmers simply have no equal. That, to some, might even be a good argument to categorize swimming into the four-class system. At least, some other schools in the lower classes would have a better chance to make a big splash.

The Carmel girls have dominated for so long that I really think most people take a ho-hum approach to the swimming season.

It’s not likely that anyone will match or better Carmel’s success in girls swimming. I also think Ben Davis has set quite a standard in girls basketball. I mean, no other girls basketball team to my knowledge ever finished the season ranked No. 1 in the USA, and it was just more icing on the cake when Benge was named national basketball Coach of the Year.

Still, I personally think what the Heritage Christian girls program did was without question one of the greatest feats, one that we may never again witness.

Yes, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers won four straight 2A state titles, but they didn’t all come in the same class.

Heritage Christian’s Rick Risinger, who had not been involved in coaching but agreed to assume the coaching reins after the death of good friend and head coach Dr. Mark Richards, was an oh-so-modest coach when he talked about his team and his coaching credentials earlier in the season. Not only was his record 104-8 in four seasons at the school but he also owns the best winning percentage (.929) in the history of Indiana’s game, based on four seasons.

“You have to have really good, dedicated players to accomplish what we accomplished,’’ Risinger Said. “I guess it was an advantage of having only coached a few years with a great start with a great group of ladies/players.’’

And, oh yes, it’s pretty hard to overlook Risinger’s other place in history. You know, the one where he’s the only Indiana high school basketball to win four straight state titles, and Our Game has been around since the 1910-11.

So coaches, if you think you can top that, well, step right up . . . and good luck.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.