State girls swimming preview

Nowhere is Carmel’s perennial swimming superiority more evident than in the relay events on a state meet Saturday.

The scene often plays out something like this: Another team puts its best foot forward in the Friday prelims and swims the fastest time — and yet the Greyhounds don’t panic, because they’ve held out a couple of their fastest swimmers anyway. Come Saturday’s finals, they return with a fully stacked quartet, ready to swat away any threat to their reign.

Franklin has been a Saturday victim a handful of times recently in both the boys and the girls state meets, breezing into the top relay spot in the prelims and then falling short in the finals because Carmel could pull an All-American like Kelly Pash or a Drew Kibler out of its pocket and erase any deficit.

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But this week, for the first time, the Grizzly Cub girls might be equipped to fight fire with fire — especially in the freestyle relays. Blessed with an unusually deep stable of sprinters, coach Zach DeWitt believes he finally has the ability to make similar lineup swaps.

Being able to keep a bullet or two in the chamber during the prelims tonight might just make a difference on Saturday.

“It makes all the difference in the world,” DeWitt said of his newfound depth. “For years and years, I was envious of Carmel’s ability to do just that. That way, not one girl has to carry such a heavy load, and this is something we’ve dreamt about for a long, long time.

“We’ll be able to do that … Friday night — get a good feel of the meet, give some people that maybe need it a little more rest, and I think that’s going to make all the difference for them in the long run. A lot of times, the meet plays out so closely that every little advantage you can get is a big one.”

That depth has enabled the Grizzly Cubs to earn top-12 seeds in all three relays despite resting their top freestyler, junior Gracey Payne, at last weekend’s sectional.

Sophomores Alea Hensley, Paige Lawrence and Ava Ray all swam freestyle relay legs at sectionals, and some of them may do so again tonight. But it’s quite possible that none of them will be in the lineup on Saturday, when DeWitt will play whatever he feels are his best hands.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, which is probably Franklin’s best chance at a first-place finish (and, perhaps coincidentally, the only one of the three relay events in which Carmel has lost during the last 11 years), the Saturday lineup will likely be Payne followed by a trio of seniors — Lucy Ho, Bella Ratzlaff and Sarah Hoffman.

Payne, Ho and Ratzlaff all qualified among the top 16 state seeds in the 50 freestyle; Hoffman is a top-12 seed in both the 200 and 500 free.

But with so many capable options waiting in the wings, nobody can afford to get too comfortable — which is fine with Ho.

“The best thing about that is that we know what we have to do to get there,” she said, “so that makes us work even better, racing each other. I love racing Gracey, being next to her. It just pushes you that much further, because you’re just like, ‘She’s on that next level; I have to get up to that level,’ and in the end it makes us all go faster.”

“Some other girls sometimes act worried that we’re smaller, but I think we have a big advantage,” Ratzlaff added. “We’re so versatile with even the number we have, even though it’s not as big as, like, Carmel, but I think we make the best of what we have, and nobody’s willing to back down from hard work. We’re always pushing each other; there’s lots of accountability. I’m always excited to come to practice.”

Is there a risk involved in not swimming your fastest four in the prelims? Of course. But this is probably the first state meet where Franklin has strong enough fifth or sixth options that it can feel reasonably confident in its ability to pull a Carmel on Carmel.

“We have a lot of people who are good at sprinting,” Hoffman said. “We have a lot of options for relays, so it doesn’t have to be the way it is right now. … I think we’re in a good position.”

Tonight and Saturday will provide a definitive answer to the question of whether the Grizzly Cubs can truly play at the same level as the 33-time defending state champs, who will have several swimmers sitting in the bleachers this weekend that could probably help almost any other team.

Whether it works or not, Ratzlaff could hardly contain her exuberance when talking about Franklin’s expanded sprint corps.

“It’s like coal in the train,” she exclaimed. “We’re just ready to go, fire ‘em up. That’s what (DeWitt) always says, and it’s just something that gets me so excited — ‘Fire ‘em up, let’s go! Let’s get the trains going!’”

Full speed ahead.

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IHSAA State Finals

At IU Natatorium, Indianapolis

Today

Swimming preliminaries, 6 p.m.

Saturday

Diving preliminaries and semifinals, 9 a.m.

Swimming and diving finals, 1 p.m.

Admission: $8 per session, $15 both days

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An event-by-event look at how the local entrants stack up against the rest of the state:

200 medley relay

Top seed: Carmel (1:42.40)

Local qualifiers: Franklin (eighth, 1:46.14); Greenwood (23rd, 1:49.40); Center Grove (24th, 1:49.71)

Outlook: Carmel has won the medley relay 11 years running and is a strong favorite to do so again; how the rest of the order shakes out remains to be seen. Franklin held top freestyler Gracey Payne out during the sectional and could probably still make the top eight resting her tonight. It’s a calculated gamble, but if the Grizzly Cubs get into the final with a rested Payne, repeating last year’s second-place finish is a strong possibility. Greenwood and Center Grove will both be hoping to sneak into the top 16 and advance.

200 freestyle

Top seed: Gretchen Lueking, Carmel (1:47.26)

Local qualifier: Sarah Hoffman, Franklin (ninth, 1:51.59)

Outlook: Mary Catherine Pruitt of South Bend St. Joseph, the No. 2 seed, is the top returning finisher — she and Lueking were third and fourth a year ago. Those two and Bloomington South’s Kristina Paegle are likely the top contenders, but seven of last year’s top 10 are back (including Hoffman, who was 10th last year), so it’s a pretty loaded field. Franklin coach Zach DeWitt likes Hoffman’s chances of making the top eight.

200 individual medley

Top seed: Devon Kitchel, Zionsville (2:01.67)

Local qualifiers: Allie Lacy, Franklin (ninth, 2:05.02); Alayna Kenworthy, Greenwood (17th, 2:06.65)

Outlook: Lacy and Kenworthy’s seeds are interesting — if each can improve by just one spot, it would mean leveling up into the championship and consolation finals, respectively. Lacy would require the bigger jump to do so, but both are well within range. This race isn’t nearly as loaded as it was last year, clearing the path for a new champion. Among the top returnees, Carmel’s Madelyn Christman (fourth last year) is probably the one to beat.

50 freestyle

Top seed: Emma Wright, Hobart (23.20)

Local qualifiers: Gracey Payne, Franklin (11th, 23.79); Lucy Ho, Franklin (15th, 24.00); Bella Ratzlaff, Franklin (16th, 24.03)

Outlook: Don’t let the seeding fool you; the heavy favorite here is Elsa Fretz of Northridge, who won by nearly half a second last year as a sophomore. Colleen Duffy of Carmel (last year’s runner-up) and Payne (tied for third) head up a deep list of veteran sprinters likely battling for second place. If Ho and Ratzlaff can both at least hold seed tonight and reach the consolation final, Franklin has a chance to score big in this event.

Diving

Top seed: Kaitlin Simons, Northridge (491.25)

Local qualifier: Kenzie Mills, Center Grove (14th, 428.25)

Outlook: Plainfield’s Daryn Wright, runner-up as a freshman last year, is the top returning finisher, but seven of the top 10 from 2019 return, and the top seven seeds for Saturday all scored within 12 points of each other during the regional round. For Mills, who finished 18th to narrowly miss the finals as a sophomore last February, the first goal will be to hold seed and get to the afternoon. Should she get there, a top-10 finish is not out of the question. 

100 butterfly

Top seed: Elizabeth Broshears, Evansville Reitz (53.55)

Local qualifier: Grace Nuhfer, Greenwood (19th, 57.35)

Outlook: Last year, the 200 IM was the meet’s most star-studded event; this weekend, it’s the 100 fly. Not only are several of last year’s finalists back, led by Broshears and Taegen Moon of Fort Wayne Carroll, but some other perennial top-eight swimmers have moved in from other events, including Fretz and Trinity Lutheran’s Rachel Sabotin. Nuhfer just missed advancing to Saturday last year, placing 18th; she should have a very good shot at the top 16, but her goal of cracking the top eight, while still realistic, will almost certainly require a lifetime-best swim tonight against this field.

100 freestyle

Top seed: Lueking, Carmel (49.97)

Local qualifier: Payne, Franklin (14th, 52.03)

Outlook: Hobart’s Wright is the defending champion, having edged out Fretz last year; Lueking was third. All told, nine of the top 11 finishers from 2018 are back (including Payne, who was ninth), so expect a mad scramble tonight to lock in one of those top eight slots. There’s a decent-sized drop in seed times after Lueking, Wright and Bloomington South’s Paegle, with almost everyone in the top 15 capable of making a leap forward.

500 freestyle

Top seed: Pruitt, South Bend St. Joseph (4:50.61)

Local qualifier: Hoffman, Franklin (12th, 5:03.86)

Outlook: Good luck, everyone who isn’t Pruitt — nobody who finished within nine seconds of the defending champ in last year’s state final is back in the race. The good news for Hoffman is that only five other swimmers who placed ahead of her in this event are back, so there’s plenty of room to improve on last year’s 14th-place finish. If she can crack five minutes tonight — which she did in the sectional as a sophomore — then she should be able to clinch a top-eight spot and build from there on Saturday.

200 freestyle relay

Top seed: Fort Wayne Carroll (1:34.20)

Local qualifier: Franklin (1:37.31)

Outlook: The only two relay finals that Carmel has lost in the last decade have both been in this event — and if the Greyhounds are going to lose one this year, this will likely be it. Not coincidentally, it’s probably the strongest of Franklin’s three relay quartets. DeWitt may again roll the dice and save Payne for Saturday, and if that gamble pays off, the veteran group of Payne, Ho, Ratzlaff and Hoffman should be well rested and in the mix along with Carmel, Carroll and Northridge.

100 backstroke

Top seed: Berit Berglund, Carmel (54.04)

Local qualifier: Lacy, Franklin (13th, 56.70)

Outlook: This might be the hardest event to predict; four of last year’s top eight aren’t back, including the top three. Berglund’s sectional time would have won the event a year ago, so she has to be among the favorites, but there should be plenty of jockeying for position tonight, with some new blood likely to enter the conversation. Lacy, coming off of a very strong sectional meet and primed for more, could well be a part of it.

100 breaststroke

Top seed: Sammy Huff, Noblesville (1:03.27)

Local qualifiers: Ratzlaff, Franklin (second, 1:03.57); Kabria Chapman, Franklin (1:03.77)

Outlook: Ratzlaff stunned almost everyone with her breakout performance at sectional, and if she has at least one more similar swim tonight, the senior can lock in a top-eight finish. Chapman, fifth last year as a sophomore, had the state’s fastest regular-season time and should have another gear left to shift into this weekend. The two Grizzly Cubs are swimming side by side in their prelim heat tonight, which should serve to benefit both. Huff and a couple of others might have something to say about it, but this will be Franklin’s best shot at its first individual girls swimming champion.

400 freestyle relay

Top seed: Fort Wayne Carroll (3:26.34)

Local qualifiers: Franklin (12th, 3:33.73); Center Grove (19th, 3:37.06); Greenwood (24th, 3:39.71); Whiteland (26th, 3:40.57)

Outlook: What a testament to the constantly improving depth and quality of Johnson County swimming — four schools represented in one state relay event. Regardless of how many advance to Saturday (and Whiteland, making its first-ever girls state relay appearance, has the toughest road coming out of the slower first heat), this is a landmark achievement. This was Franklin’s lowest-placing relay last year, when the Grizzly Cubs barely made the top 16 Friday but came back to win the consolation final. With the freestyle depth the team has now, it would likely be considered a disappointment not to make the top eight. Repeating last year’s team runner-up finish overall might well depend on it.

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