Somewhat reluctantly, John Regas gave into the pressure. The Franklin athletics director pulled his phone out of his pocket, slipped out of his shoes and plunged into the pool.
After the performance that the host Grizzly Cubs turned in at Saturday afternoon’s girls swimming sectional, they probably could have asked Regas for just about anything they wanted.
Franklin took first place in all 11 swimming events, added a second state cut time in two of them and smashed several school records on the way to a dominating first-place finish. The Grizzly Cubs finished with 549 points, well clear of runner-up Center Grove, which had 355.
“We were all expecting to do pretty well, and I think we actually exceeded what we originally thought,” Franklin junior Ella Phifer said. “Everyone just did so great; so much time has been dropped for all of us.”
Phifer was one of three Grizzly Cubs who qualified for the maximum four events at next weekend’s state meet, swimming to victory in the 50 and 100 freestyle and anchoring the 200 medley and 400 free relay teams.
Sophomore Carla Gildersleeve took first in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, then swam on the triumphant 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Classmate Ali Terrell was on the medley and 200 free relays and also had individual wins in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.
Two other Franklin sophomores, Jessie Fraley and Scarlet Friend, are state-bound in three events. Fraley was a winner in the 500 freestyle, second with a qualifying time of 57.65 seconds in the 100 backstroke and a member of the 400 free relay squad. Friend led off the medley and 200 free relays and edged Fraley in the backstroke by just over half a second.
Junior Anna McCahill rounded out the medley relay team and matched the state cut time of 57.07 seconds in the 100 fly. Senior Abi Gibson was on both winning freestyle relay teams.
Freshman Sarah Hoffman also earned a state bid in the 500 free.
Franklin coach Zach DeWitt had been hoping to get a few more swimmers under the cut line, but he was pleased with the overall result nonetheless.
“If I’m being incredibly picky, maybe wishful thinking, we could have had a couple more,” he said. “But long story short, I’m more than pleased.”
Center Grove’s Sarah Kempf prevented the Grizzly Cubs from a complete sweep by claiming the 1-meter diving title. Kempf qualified for Tuesday’s diving regional at Bloomington North along with Franklin’s Maddie Powell, Whiteland’s Maria Campbell and Greenwood’s Jade Hensley.
The rest of the afternoon, though, belonged to the Grizzly Cubs, who will head to the IUPUI Natatorium with high hopes for a strong state finish.
“Hopefully, we can make some noise on a bigger stage,” DeWitt said. “Obviously that remains to be seen, but I’m really confident in my girls.”
“The eyes are on the prize for state,” Terrell added. “I’m really happy with where the team is at, and I think we’re going to do great things at state.”
Center Grove’s Jillian Castor earned a state callback in the 200 free, and Indian Creek’s Lexi Wilhoit will be advancing in the 100 backstroke.
