When the Franklin boys swim team posed on the podium at the IU Natatorium this past February holding its state runner-up trophy, Shane O’Sullivan was in the photo.
He was not, however, in his swimsuit.
If the Grizzly Cubs have a chance to take that picture again this winter, O’Sullivan will almost certainly be in a Speedo for it. The senior is being counted on to take a much bigger role this season for a team that has again set its expectations sky-high.
“If we’re going to do what we want to do,” Franklin coach Zach DeWitt said of O’Sullivan, “he’s going to need to make it to state in his individual events, and he knows that. We say around here, ‘Swim like the swimmer you want to be, not the swimmer you are,’ and he’s swam like a state swimmer this entire preseason.”
O’Sullivan was right on the cusp as a junior. He finished third both the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke at the sectional meet, narrowly missing the state meet cutoff in both despite posting better times than a handful of other sectional qualifiers from around the state.
He was also on Franklin’s sectional-winning 200 freestyle relay team, which posted the sixth-best time in the state at 1:25.86. When it came time for the state meet, however, O’Sullivan was bumped out of the lineup for classmate Jacob Destrampe. The Grizzly Cubs finished second in the event and posted the seventh-fastest time in the country.
As excited as he was to see his team put together the best performance in school history, O’Sullivan wasn’t satisfied with watching it from poolside.
“Being an alternate is honestly the worst feeling ever for me,” he said, “because you see your buddies achieving their goals, and you want to be right there with them on the front lines. … That’s a main factor that’s pushing me this year, is not wanting to be on the sidelines, wanting to actually be in the water.”
DeWitt says he sees similarities between O’Sullivan and Brock Lock, who had been a bit player as a junior before breaking through last season, swimming on two state runner-up relays and finishing sixth in the 100 freestyle.
Like Lock, O’Sullivan has been more of a late bloomer physically, and he’s added approximately 15 pounds of muscle to his frame in the offseason. That added strength is part of why DeWitt believes O’Sullivan will be an integral part of his relay lineups this year, perhaps even as an anchor.
“He’s not going to wilt or crumble in big moments,” the coach said, “so we’re going to put him through the pressure cooker this season, try him out on the last leg a little bit and give him situations where he can learn and grow.”
O’Sullivan feels like he’ll be ready for those situations. He’s been working diligently over the summer to improve, and he says his teammates have helped set a high bar for him to try to reach.
“I see these guys like Jacob Destrampe, Max Kramer, they’re going fast times, they’re achieving big dreams,” O’Sullivan said. “And I see that and I think, ‘I’ve got to step it up; I’ve got to push myself harder.’ It makes me go a little bit faster, one more lap, one more start. That’s just the kind of thing that makes me want to get up early in the morning and train hard.”
Though he didn’t want to share any specific numbers, O’Sullivan says that he has some lofty goals written down for himself — goals he seems confident he can reach by season’s end, when he expects to finally have a chance to compete on the state’s biggest stage.
“Now I have to do it,” he said.
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Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Jim Todd
Last year: Third in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, second in county and sectional
Top returnees: Andrew Lee, senior; Brady Ferguson and Tony Gipson, juniors
Outlook: A young outfit dominated by underclassmen didn’t qualify anyone for the state meet last season, but that could change this winter as the Trojans bring back a very deep group and add a promising freshman class. This team may still be a year or two away from challenging Franklin for county and sectional supremacy, but it will be very interesting to see how much Todd’s crew can whittle away at the deficit over the course of the next three months or so.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Zach DeWitt
Last year: Won Mid-State Conference, Johnson County and sectional championships; finished second at state meet
Top returnees: Gauge Creech, Jacob Destrampe, Griffin Edwards and Shane O’Sullivan, seniors; Max Kramer, junior; Barrett Daily, Cade Oliver and Ethan Pheifer, sophomores
Newcomer to watch: Blake Rains, freshman
Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs are looking to replicate last season’s performance and have the horses to do so. Destrampe was the state champ in the 200-yard freestyle and seems poised to chase multiple titles this year. Oliver had a strong summer and should again be one of the best all-around swimmers in Indiana, and the lineup behind he and Destrampe is as loaded as ever. Franklin probably still isn’t deep enough to catch Carmel at the state meet, but it’s got a good shot at beating everyone else again.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Matt Hockersmith
Last year: Seventh in Mid-State Conference, fifth in county, 10th at sectional
Top returnees: Jake Johnson, Ross Linville and Clyde Vaught, seniors; Jaden Duong, Luke Ellington and Isaiah Ray, sophomores
Newcomers to watch: Andrew Mears, Conner Peckinpaugh, William Richie and Joe Sheets, freshmen
Outlook: Hockersmith is excited about the young talent on his team, particularly a group of ninth-graders that comes in with a wealth of club experience. The Woodmen should be much stronger just from a depth standpoint alone, and the swimmers at the top of the lineup should be able to fill out a competitive relay team or two. There’s still a lot of work to be done to catch up to the rest of the teams in the area, but expect Greenwood to make some progress on that front this season.
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: Brad Smith
Last year: Won Western Indiana Conference championship, fourth in county, third at sectional, 33rd in state
Top returnees: Danny Carlson and Cody Hart, seniors; Clay Key and Chase Smith, juniors
Newcomers to watch: Joey Smith, freshman
Outlook: The Braves have numbers with 17 boys on the roster, but the team took a hit at the top with the graduation of Tucker Brock and Nolan Reed. Chase Smith leads a decent group of veterans that should again have a shot at the WIC title, but the goals have been tempered somewhat; getting a top-five sectional finish and qualifying some swimmers for state would likely constitute a success.
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: Alec DeWitt
Last year: Second in Mid-State Conference, third in county, fourth at sectional
Top returnees: Collin Barton, Brenden Gough, Jacob Kovacs and James Woolner, seniors; Nick Klenner and Wyatt Sell, juniors; Sam Udrasols, sophomore
Outlook: DeWitt is setting goals high in his first season, hoping the Warriors can advance a couple of individuals and relays to state and secure a top-20 finish there. He’s got some nice pieces to build around in Gough, a state qualifier last year, and Barton, who has also made it to the IU Natatorium as a diver. If some of the other swimmers who’ve played supporting roles in the past can become leading men, Whiteland could approach the high bar its new coach has set.
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