In the immediate aftermath of a third consecutive boys swimming sectional team championship, the topic on the mind of Franklin’s Adam Destrampe was the swim of his teammate, James Pryor.
Pryor, called one of more popular members of the team by coach Zach DeWitt, had just broken the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning the event in 59.49 to highlight the Grizzlies’ team title.
That’s what thrilled Destrampe, who won two individual events of his own.
“Jimmy Pryor’s great swim was the race of the night,” Destrampe said. “He’s had the goal to go under a minute for a couple of years now. He’s been behind (Center Grove’s Alex) Krasutsky all year and to see him come in and beat Krasutsky, get the time he wanted and go to the state for the first time made it kind of a special night.”
For his part, Pryor — a senior — described himself as “immensely happy” with his performance and added that he believes he can swim even faster at Friday’s and Saturday’s IHSAA State Meet at the IUPUI Natatorium. The winners of each event at the sectional automatically qualify for the state meet, while some runners-up may qualify on times based on comparison with results from the other 19 sectionals around the state.
Destrampe calling attention to Pryor was notable in that Destrampe himself and fellow senior Clayton Culp were each part of four first-place finishes at the meet.
Destrampe won the 500 and 200 freestyle events, and Culp took top honors in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle races. Both were also part of the winning 200 and 400 yard freestyle relays, teaming with senior Josh Barrett and sophomore AJ Rice in both.
Franklin won seven of 12 events in all.
All of those first place finishes helped add up to a 453.5 team total for Franklin, 70 points better than runner-up Center Grove at 383.5. Roncalli was third, Whiteland was fifth, and Indian Creek and Greenwood tied for 10th.
DeWitt was pleased with the team’s resilience for retaining the sectional title after losing some key seniors from last year’s squad and for performing well after a disqualification in the 200 medley relay cost the Grizzly Cubs valuable points in the opening event of the meet.
“From that point forward I think the boys were out of control, and I was pleased with their times the rest of the day and their attention to detail,” DeWitt said.
For his part, Culp is delighted to be part of a sectional legacy for the Cubs’ boys program.
“Center Grove girls have won something like 29 sectionals in a row, so it’s possible that we’re starting something that good,” Culp said. “It feels pretty good to be part of that”
Center Grove’s depth proved to be its main source of points, with only the 200 medley relay taking a first place for the school at the meet. Freshman Grant Wasserman joined junior Alex Krasutsky and seniors Dan Godfrey and Chase Bettner on that team.
Indian Creek’s Wyeth Brock had a big day, swimming career-best times in both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly to win each event.
Brock credited the training and instruction he’s received from the Indian Creek coaching staff with helping him rise to Saturday’s big occasion.
“We shortened our yardage and really worked on details this week to make our swims better,” Brock said. “I’ll get a little nervous before the state meet, but again it’s going to come down to preparation.”
Destrampe has one of the top times in the state for the 200 freestyle. His training schedule has been designed for him to peak at next week’s state meet and the senior said that helps boost his confidence ahead of the event.
“The taper itself will knock off maybe a second from time, but what it does for you mentally and for you to be able to come back from one swim to the next will be important,” Destrampe said. “People don’t realize just how big the mental part of swimming really is.
DeWitt said the week’s training schedule will be designed to help the team improve on last year’s overall performance.
“These boys’ mission has always been the state meet so we need to get them a scouting report to make sure they are ready,” Dewitt said. “It’s always been our goal to be the brightest light on the biggest stage.”
