Whether she got there in the fashion she had hoped for is irrelevant. Lexi Wilhoit is going back to the state meet.
The Indian Creek sophomore had high hopes heading into last weekend’s girls swimming and diving sectional at Franklin — but an illness that hit at the worst possible time left her well short of the goals she had set for herself leading into the meet.
Seeded first in the 100 backstroke after Thursday’s preliminary round, Wilhoit faded to third in Saturday’s final, finishing behind Franklin’s Scarlett Friend and Jessie Fraley with a time of 58.06 seconds.
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“I really want to go 56.5 and get my Junior National cut,” Wilhoit had said prior to the sectional meet.
While the 58.06 left her short of the state cut time, Wilhoit wound up receiving a callback for one of the open slots, and she’s seeded 22nd among the 32 backstrokers competing at the state meet beginning Friday. (Friend and Fraley are 18th and 19th, respectively.)
As an added bonus, Wilhoit picked up a second chance to swim this weekend at the IUPUI Natatorium — the Braves were one of three Johnson County teams, along with Franklin and Center Grove, to earn a state berth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Because her sectional times weren’t what she had expected, she may actually be able to sneak up on the rest of the field undetected. That’s a luxury she hasn’t really had all year after breaking out as a ninth-grader.
“For her to have the success she had as a freshman definitely put the target on her back, and we’ve actually talked about that,” Indian Creek coach Brad Smith said. “We use that as the motivation for this year to maintain and actually continue to go forward.”
Regardless of how this weekend turns out, there’s no denying that the future is bright for Wilhoit — and for a Braves program that has no senior boys or girls.
It’s not a particularly large team, but it’s a close-knit one.
“Since we’re so small, we try to stick together,” Wilhoit said, “and we all push each other to go as fast as we can go.”
In Wilhoit’s case, that’s already pretty fast — and her coach thinks she’s just getting started.
”I think we’re looking at a Division I scholarship and doing big things,” Smith said, “and I think she’s going to be one that will actually blossom later on in college, just because I still think she’s so raw.
“She’s going to be a huge force. … Indiana has tons of phenomenal swimmers, but she’s one of them.”
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IHSAA girls swimming & diving state finals
At IUPUI Natatorium
Preliminaries, 6 p.m. Friday
Diving prelims and semis, 9 a.m. Saturday
Event finals and consolations: 1 p.m. Saturday
Admission: $8 per session or $12 both days
Webcast: IHSAAtv.org
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