Baughman Leads Carmel Girls to 19th Straight Indiana State High School Crown

INDIANAPOLIS, February 13. CARMEL senior Taylor Baughman successfully defended her state championships in the 50 and 100 freestyle to lead coach Tom Burchill’s Greyhounds to their 19th consecutive title at the IHSAA State Finals at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.

Carmel began its unprecedented streak in 1987, with Burchill the fourth coach during their run. It is the longest active title streak in any sport in the nation.

Baughman prevailed in the 50 with a 23.44 effort to edge runner-up Ariel Martin of Jeffersonville (23.61). In the 100, Baughman recorded a winning time of 50.83, with Jasper sophomore Kayla Sergesketter second in 51.42. Baughman then put the exclamation mark on the meet by anchoring the victorious 400 freestyle relay. She combined with sophomores Alex Young, Megan Sparks, and Katie McRoberts for a time of 3:29.61. Baughman and Young were part of the winning 400 freestyle relay at the 2004 state finals.

Junior Alyssa Rosinko of Carmel gave her team its first lead of the meet in event six with a tight victory in the 100 butterfly. Rosinko was victorious in 56.66, nipping Mary Grace Godfrey of South Bend St. Joseph’s by .08 in the closest finish of the meet. Defending champion and top seed Christy Grcevich of Chesterton placed sixth in 57.25.

Hamilton Southeastern ended North Central’s run of five straight years as meet runner-up with its highest finish ever in the state meet. Coach Andy Pederson’s Royals scored 200 points in the meet, with Pederson voted “Coach of the Year” by his peers.

Hamilton Southeastern opened Saturday afternoon’s finals by winning the 200 medley relay in a meet-record time of 1:45.31. Senior Kelley Otto, freshman Lindsay Rogers, senior Erika Paul, and junior Kiersten Stolen combined to break the previous mark of 1:45.73 by Carmel in 1988-89 and record the first relay state championship in school history. The former relay standard was the oldest record among the 12 events in the IHSAA State Finals! Carmel had won the 200 medley relay in 17 of the previous 18 championships.

North Central (Indianapolis) senior Christine Shehorn repeated as state champion in the 500 freestyle, nipping 200 freestyle winner Margaret Bird of Yorktown. Shehorn prevailed in 4:58.03 to help her team to third place, with Bird finishing in 5:00.18. Shehorn received the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award following the meet.

Freshman Michelle McKeehan of Center Grove joined Baughman as a double winner in the meet and became the first frosh to win two individual titles since Lacey Boutwell of Noblesville pulled it off in 1997-98 and just the third overall. She dominated the 200 individual medley with a winning time of 2:00.98, prevailing by an amazing 3.95 seconds. McKeehan followed with a victorious effort in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.68 (1:02.23p) for her second state title of the day. McKeehan led Center Grove to a 10th-place finish in the team standings among the 50 teams that scored points in the meet.

The one-meter diving event wasn’t decided until the final dive, with sophomore Kelci Bryant of Harrison (West Lafayette) becoming the first person in state history to break the 500-point mark. Bryant won the event with a total of 504.10 points, edging defending champion Brittney Feldman of Indianapolis Broad Ripple. Feldman, a junior who finished second with 497.60 points, also shattered the previous state record of 477.00 by Julie Broms of North Central (Indianapolis) in 2003.

Junior Margaret Bird of Yorktown finished strongly to edge Shehorn, the top seed, for the 200 freestyle title. Defending champion Aubree Biegel of Lake Central placed fifth in the event.

Chesterton, which finished sixth in the meet, held up as the top seed in the 200 freestyle relay with its first-ever relay state championship. Sophomore Talor Whitaker, freshman Taylor Lipniskis, junior Sarah Kehe, and sophomore Christy Grcevich were victorious in 1:36.51.

Jeffersonville sophomore Ariel Martin earned the state title in the 100 backstroke with a 56.47 effort.

Top 10 Teams
1. Carmel, 269
2. Hamilton Southeastern, 200
3. North Central (Indianapolis), 179
4. Homestead 151
5. Fort Wayne Snider, 149.5
6. Chesterton, 133
7. Yorktown, 132.5
8. Munster, 131
9. Lake Central, 118
10. Center Grove, 104

State Champions
200 Medley Relay – Hamilton Southeastern (Kelley Otto 12, Lindsay Rogers 9, Erika Paul 12, Kiersten Stolen 11) 1:45.31.

200 Freestyle – Margaret Bird, 11, Yorktown, 1:50.42.

200 Individual Medley – Michelle McKeehan, 9, Center Grove, 2:00.98.

50 Freestyle – Taylor Baughman, 12, Carmel, 23.44.

One Meter Diving – Kelci Bryant, 10, Harrison (West Lafayette), 504.10.

100 Butterfly – Alyssa Rosinko, 11, Carmel, 56.66.

100 Freestyle – Taylor Baughman, 12, Carmel, 50.83.

500 Freestyle – Christine Shehorn, 12, North Central (Indianapolis), 4:55.19.

200 Freestyle Relay – Chesterton (Talor Whitaker 10, Taylor Lipniskis 9, Sarah Kehe 11, Christy Grcevich 10), 1:36.51.

100 Backstroke – Ariel Martin, 10, Jeffersonville, 56.47.

100 Breaststroke – Michelle McKeehan, 9, Center Grove, 1:02.68.

400 Freestyle Relay – Carmel (Alex Young 10, Megan Sparks 10, Katie McRoberts 10, Taylor Baughman 12), 3:29.61.

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