Indiana Boys Sectional Preview

By Owen V. Johnson

Hamilton Southeastern boys have won 14 straight sectional championships. This weekend they'll seek their 15th and hope it's a prelude to the Royals' initial state championship.

To do it, they will have to overcome the challenge that faced most of the high school teams in Indiana this week: winter weather that closed most schools for two days, and thus complicated the final tinkering with the taper.

HSE is playing host to one of the 20 sectionals that will determine the lineup at next week's Indiana state boys high school swimming and diving championships in Indianapolis. The Royals led the final state poll of the year with 249 points, followed by North Central (Indianapolis) with 202 and Chesterton with 200. All three of their relay teams are top-ranked in the state.

The main challenger to the Royals in their sectional will be ninth-ranked Yorktown, which features senior Brendan Butler, outstanding in the IM and the 500-yard freestyle.

Two weeks ago, the Carmel girls won their sectional ahead of North Central. The boys sectional is also at Carmel, but this time the Panthers are likely to come out on top. Coach Charlie Fry is tapering a number of his swimmers for the state meet.

The Panthers' top swimmer is senior Michael Christy, who won state titles in both the backstroke and the IM last year. He is the only returning individual state champion. He also helped set two state relay records last year.

Chesterton will be favored to win its ninth straight sectional title at LaPorte. The team is led by freshman Kyle Whitaker, who has turned in the fastest times in the state this year in both the fly and the 200 IM. His older sister Talor, who has signed to swim at Washington State next year, won two girls state championships last week.

Five teams ranked in the state's top 25 will join six other teams in the highly competitive Fort Wayne regional. The highest ranked team is No. 11 Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran. One of the biggest challenges for Concordia coach Dave Thomas is where to enter senior Tyler Lemert, who is ranked third in the state in the 200 IM, second in the 50 free and first in the breaststroke.

Last year, Bishop Dwenger, currently tied for 23rd, won the Fort Wayne sectional.

Hoosier Hills conference champ Bedford North Lawrence has the highest state ranking in the Mooresville sectional, but the Stars will probably have to yield to Bloomington South or Terre Haute North for the sectional championship. BNL features distance swimmer Juston Lee. Senior Evan Childers of Bloomington South is seeded first in two individual events, as is Terre Haute North junior David Broughton.

Fourth-ranked Homestead will be the favorite at home to win its 13th straight sectional title. The Spartans' 200-yard freestyle team is ranked second in the state.

The Homestead sectional will also feature four seniors from Oak Hill, who have led the Golden Eagles to four straight undefeated dual-meet seasons. They had never had any before. Two of the Eagles' younger swimmers are seeded first in their events. Huntington North's Vikings have a chance to squeeze into second.

The top two state-rated teams at Noblesville will be the hosts, No. 13, and Westfield, ranked 14th. Westfield's junior Ben Wachtel is the second-fastest returnee from last year's state meet in the 50 and the 100. Drew Wolfred is outstanding in the distances for Noblesville, which has won the sectional the last three times out.

Thirteen teams will compete at the Crawsfordville sectional, with the host Athenians and Frankfort the favorites. Cameron Hobson of Crawfordsville is outstanding in the 200 IM and the breaststroke while Frankfort features sprinter Alexander Snyder.

What might be called the rubber match is on tap at New Palestine. Two years ago, Mt. Vernon (Fortville) won the sectional championship by 25 points. Last year, the Richmond Red Devils triumphed by five. In their dual meet this year, the Marauders triumphed 96-90. Each team has top seeds in four events.

Brownsburg will be trying to win its fourth straight sectional title in its own pool, but 12th ranked Zionsville stands in the way. Zionsville senior Alex Ismail is the state's fastest returning swimmer in the 200 free and is ranked 10th in the 100 free, where he has already eclipsed last year's tapered time.

Northridge, ranked sixth in the state, should be the favorite in the Concord sectional. All three NHS relay teams are ranked among the state's top five. The host team is ranked 15th in the state.

Munster, which has won more sectionals in Indiana than any other team (sectionals were first held in 1962-63) will be the favorite to win No. 37 at Crown Point. Munster's top swimmer is Joe Raycroft, ranked fifth in the state in both the 200 IM and the backstroke. Lake Central could challenge.

At Penn, South Bend Riley is the state's highest-ranked team at No. 5. Riley's senior Christopher Pfaff is the fastest returnee in the state in the 50 and is second in the 100 back.

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