Indiana Men’s High School State Championships

By Brian Savard

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 6. INDIANA, a state widely regarded for having one of the fastest state meets in the country, exceeded expectations by delivering flat-out ridiculous times across the board at the Indiana Men's High School Championships.

Chesterton kicked off the meet by turning in one of the fastest medley relay times in the history of high school swimming. The 200 medley relay contingent of Adam Thieling, Albert Miller, Kyle Whitaker and Tyler Fozkos lit up the scoreboard with a 1:32.05 time, erasing a state record in the process. Their swim overtook the 2006 record of 1:32.95 set by North Central. The Woodlands (Texas) still holds the national public high school standard of 1:31.25, which its medley relay team set in 1999. Chesterton touched out Hamilton Southeastern in the 200 freestyle relay, as the relay quartet of Fozkos, Thieling, Gregory Franzen and William Bass turned in a 1:24.89 time.

Whitaker lowered the national public high school record and the state record, both of which were held by Jason Lancaster of Carmel, with his 1:46.75 showing in the 200 IM. Lancaster swam the former record of 1:46.90 back in 1994. Whitaker's time, however, fell just short of the national independent record (1:46.31), which is held by Bradley Ally of St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Ally set the record in 2004. Whitaker matched the excitement of his 200 IM swim with his win in the 100 butterfly, swimming his way to a 48.44 time. His swim, however, fell short of the state standard, which Matt McDonald of Hamilton Southeastern set in 2000.

Ben Wachtel, Westfield's sole representative at the meet, tallied 40 points, taking wins in the 200 freestyle (1:39.25) and the 100 freestyle (45.82). Wachtel is a Swimming World three-star recruit who's headed for Purdue University next year.

Andrew Elliott from Penn downed current Indiana University standout and former Jeffersonville swimmer Ben Hesen's state record in the 100 backstroke. Elliott went out in a 23.62 and brought back his final 50 in 25.37, bringing his final time to a 48.99. Hesen swam the previous mark of 49.12 in 2004. Elliott also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle (46.37).

Jimmy Page from Crown Point surpassed the 500-point mark in the diving competition, bringing home the gold with a 510.20. Rylan Ridenour from Lebanon placed second with a 481.80 score while Casey Johnson from Indian Creek garnered the bronze-medal honors with a 459.55 score.

In the team competition, Chesterton edged Hamilton Southeastern for the state title by a final score of 271-266. North Central scored 232 points and settled for a third-place finish.

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