INDIANAPOLIS
Sitting in his office after last season, Franklin swim coach Zach DeWitt was asked about what the Grizzly Cubs would be able to do for an encore after both the boys and girls teams earned state runner-up finishes in 2019.
That group of girls graduated four state medalists who signed with Division I college teams — including Carla Gildersleeve, far and away the most decorated female swimmer in school history. But DeWitt said that he was relishing the challenge of replicating that success in 2020, and on Saturday, his girls met the challenge and delivered, coming home in third behind perennial champion Carmel and Fishers.
The Grizzly Cubs scored 165 points in the meet, just two fewer than they totaled a year ago.
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"When you’re in the moment, of course you’re ungrateful and you always want more," DeWitt said, "but … we laid out the challenge in front of the ladies a long time ago that we were going to come back here and one-up what we did. We came pretty close."
Franklin got a runner-up finish from junior Kabria Chapman in the 100-yard breaststroke and third-place performances from senior Sarah Hoffman in the 500 freestyle as well as both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
"I was really proud of this team," Chapman said. "We all did some really great things. I was especially proud of Sarah — she had an awesome meet."
The medley relay quartet of freshman Allie Lacy and juniors Chapman, Grace Fisher and Gracey Payne got Franklin started off on the right foot when it put up a time of 1 minute, 44.16 seconds in the opening race.
Hoffman then had a 10th-place showing in the 200 freestyle (1:52.04) and Lacy was 10th in the 200 individual medley (2:04.65).
Payne then won the consolation heat of the 50 freestyle in 23.52 seconds, good for ninth-place points, and teammates Lucy Ho and Bella Ratzlaff were 15th and 16th, respectively. Payne later came back and won the consolation final in the 100 freestyle as well.
At that point, the Grizzly Cubs were sitting in seventh place — but they closed with a flurry. Hoffman turned in a huge swim in the 500 free and then turned right around and joined Payne, Ratzlaff and Ho on the 200 free relay. Suddenly, Franklin was up in third overall and trying to hold off Northridge and Fort Wayne Carroll over the final three events.
Carroll briefly pulled in front of both during the 100 backstroke, but Franklin made its move in the breaststroke, where Chapman’s second-place finish and Ratzlaff’s victory in the consolation final gave the team 26 more points — ensuring that only a disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay could knock the Grizzly Cubs out of the No. 3 position.
Ho, Hoffman, Lacy and Paige Lawrence calmly led the team home, taking seventh in the final race of the day.
"We only dropped one place after losing four seniors who all scored points," Hoffman said, "so I’m pretty proud of this little team we have here."
Some might have been surprised that Franklin was able to remain near the top of the state’s pecking order after losing such a large share of its point production, but Payne wasn’t. She knew that the incoming talent — transfers Ratzlaff and Fisher along with freshman Lacy — would help offset those graduation departures.
Besides, high state finishes have become an expectation now for the Grizzly Cubs; this is the third year in a row that the girls have landed in the top four.
"I had no doubt that we were going to do well," Payne said. "I know (the 2019 class) had a big impact on us, but our team this year, honestly, it hasn’t changed."
The Grizzly Cubs will again lose some heavy hitters, with Ho, Hoffman and Ratzlaff among those graduating this spring. But those coming back aren’t going to lower that bar one bit.
"Franklin girls are tough," DeWitt said, "and they’re not going anywhere."
