1999 IHSAA Boys Swimming & Diving

State Finals Summary

COLUMBUS NORTH SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Columbus North won two individual events and two relays and successfully defended its state championship at the 62nd Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Swimming State Finals Feb. 27, 1999 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.

The Bull Dogs outdistanced Lake Central, which finished as the runner-up with 205 points. Carmel was third with 170, Munster was fourth with 144, and Plainfield finished fifth at 117.

It was the ninth state championship in IHSAA boys swimming and diving for Columbus North, breaking a three-way tie for the most with Hammond and South Bend/South Bend Central, who have eight each. The championship was the 26th IHSAA title in the school's history, tying the Bull Dogs for third all-time with Anderson and Bloomington/Bloomington South.

Columbus North, led by coach Jim Sheridan, got a boost early on from juniors Alec Sheehy and Conor Leehaug in consecutive individual events. Sheehy touched in at 1:52.87 in the 200 individual medley, just ahead of top seed Todd Smolinski of Lake Central at 1:54.09. In the very next event, Leehaug earned more valuable points for the Bull Dogs by winning the 50 freestyle in :20.97, just .02 seconds ahead of Bremen's Michael Stoller.

Columbus North also took the 200 freestyle relay (1:25.66) and 400 freestyle relay (3:07.17) to seal the victory.

Lake Central won the 200 medley relay (1:35.19) to start the meet and earned a victory from senior Todd Smolinski in the 100 backstroke (:49.95). Smolinski finished as the runner-up in 1998 after setting the state meet record in the preliminaries.

A majority of Munster's points came from three individual champions. Fresh off his meet record-setting performance in the preliminaries in the 200 freestyle, Munster senior Jeff Lee won both freestyle sprint events for the second straight year. He turned in a time of :44.94 in the 100 freestyle and 1:37.80 to win the 200 free. He had set the new 200 standard of 1:37.36 on Friday night. Sophomore Dustin Thompson won the third event for the Mustangs by taking top honors in the 500 freestyle in 4:34.95.

One interesting note in the diving competition, twin brothers Luke and Bryce Cox of East Noble finished one-two, respectively. Luke finished with 504.10 points to Bryce's 445.90.

 

Championship Results

Team Scores

1. Columbus North, 227; 2. Lake Central, 205; 3. Carmel, 170; 4. Munster, 144; 5. Plainfield 117; 6. Hamilton Southeastern, 98; 7. Fort Wayne Concordia 96; 8. Bremen, 91; 9. Seymour, 87; 10. Penn, 81; 11. Highland, 75; 12. Chesterton 60; 13. North Central (Indpls.) 59; 14. Mount Vernon 57; 15. Crawfordsville 56; 16. Homestead 53; 17. Roncalli 49; 18. Bloomington South 45; 19. Center Grove 42; 20. West Lafayette 38; 21. East Noble 37; 22. (Tie) Northridge 26, Richmond 26, South Bend Riley 26; 25. (Tie) Brebeuf 22, Floyd Central 22; 27. Harrison (West Lafayette) 20; 28. Concord 17; 29. (Tie) Bedford North Lawrence 16, Kokomo 16, Griffith 16; 32. Noblesville 15; 33. (Tie) Fort Wayne Northrop 14, Lowell 14, Frankfort 14; 36. (Tie) Jeffersonville 13, Evansville Memorial 13; 38. (Tie) Westfield 12, Franklin 12; 40. (Tie) Terre Haute North, 11, Lawrence Central 11, Zionsville 11, Greencastle 11, Vincennes Lincoln 11; 45. Norwell, 10; 46. Clinton Central, 8; 47. Anderson 7; 48. Warsaw 6; 49. (Tie) Goshen 5, South Bend St. Joseph's 5; 51. (Tie) Valparaiso 4, Fort Wayne Snider 4, LaPorte 4, Franklin Central 4; 55. Wawasee 3; 56. (Tie) Anderson Highland 2, Merrillville 2, Lafayette Jefferson 2; 59. Indian Creek 1, Pike 1, Perry Meridian 1.

200 Medley Relay -- Lake Central (Todd Smolinski, Ray Robison, Ryan Nigh, Dale Ramsy), 1:35.19.

200 Freestyle -- Jeff Lee, Munster, 1:37.80.

200 Individual Medley -- Alec Sheehy, Columbus North, 1:52.87.

50 Freestyle -- Conor Leehaug, Columbus North, :20.97.

One Meter Diving -- Luke Cox, East Noble, 504.10.

100 Butterfly -- Matt McDonald, Hamilton Southeastern, :49.26.

100 Freestyle -- Jeff Lee, Munster, :44.94.

500 Freestyle -- Dustin Thompson, Munster, 4:34.95.

200 Freestyle Relay -- Columbus North (Conor Leehaug, Jeremy Wright, Patrick Norman, Alec Sheehy), 1:25.66.

100 Backstroke -- Todd Smolinski, Lake Central, :49.95.

100 Breaststroke -- Patrick Calhoun, Seymour, :56.67.

400 Freestyle Relay -- Columbus North (Conor Leehaug, Patrick Norman, Alec Sheehy, Jeremy Wright), 3:07.17.

MUNSTER'S JEFF LEE WINS KELLER AWARD FOR MENTAL ATTITUDE

Munster's Jeff Lee was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the 1999 recipient of the Herman F. Keller Award for Mental Attitude.

Lee swept the 100 and 200 freestyle events for the second consecutive year and helped Munster to a fourth- place finish overall. He set the meet record in the preliminaries of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:37.36. Lee also led off Munster's championship 200 freestyle relay team as a sophomore in 1997.

He is a two-year member of the National Honor Society and is also active with his school's German Club and Varsity Club. He also founded his high school swim team's mentoring program for Munster's age group club. Lee has signed a swimming letter of intent with the University of Southern California and plans to study communications.

Lee is the third Munster boys swimmer to receive the award since its inception in 1970. Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Munster High School in Lee's name.