Phone: 317-846-6601
Fax: 317-575-4244 Website:
www.ihsaa.org
_____________________________________________________________________________
February 9, 2008
RECORDS APLENTY AT GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Five state
meet records were set, a national record went down and another tied during an
entertaining afternoon in the 34th annual IHSAA Girls Swimming and
Diving State Finals on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Carmel won
a relay and two individual events to score 387 points and outdistance runner-up
Hamilton Southeastern with 317.5. HSE finished second for the third time in
four years. Homestead (216), Center Grove (165) and North Central of
Indianapolis (129) rounded out the top five.
It was the
22nd consecutive state championship in girls swimming and diving for
the Greyhounds tying a girls national high school record now shared with Punahou High School of Honolulu, HI which won 22 girls
swimming titles from 1974-95. Carmel’s run is the second longest active streak
in the country regardless of sport or gender. Second year coach Chris Plumb is
the fifth Carmel mentor since the streak began in the fall of 1986.
Carmel’s cause was helped by Trish Regan, the 200 freestyle winner,
Samantha Partridge who won the 500 freestyle, and the 200 freestyle relay team.
The 500 free was the only remaining individual swimming event a Greyhound had
never won.
Center
Grove’s Michelle McKeehan won her fourth consecutive state title in two
different events during the afternoon. She set a national record in the 200
individual medley and set a state meet record in the
100 breaststroke joining Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Benko
of Elkhart Central as the only girls in state history to sweep two events all
four years. Benko won the 100 and 200 freestyles from
1991-94.
In the IM,
McKeehan touched the wall in 1:56.87 and set a national high school record in
the event for the second straight year. She received a standing ovation from
the Natatorium crowd at the end of the race and later on the awards stand. Last
year, her national mark of 1:58.06 stood six days before Mary Beck of Westlake
High School in Austin, Tex. swam a 1:57.74 and 1:57.41 on consecutive days at
the Texas state meet.
Later in
the afternoon, McKeehan, a University of Georgia recruit, broke her own state
record in the 100 breaststroke turning in a 1:00.12. She swam a 1:00.23 in last
year’s championship heat.
Her eighth
blue ribbon medal also tied her with three other Indiana swimmers (Benko, Logansport’s Heidi Hendricks; Lafayette Jefferson’s
Allison Bock) with a state record eight individual crowns.
Harrison’s
Jenny Connolly also won a pair of individual crowns on the afternoon. Connolly
won her third consecutive state championship in the 100 backstroke (54.00) and
repeated as 100 butterfly winner (53.91) setting a state meet record in the
process. The University of Tennessee pledge had set state meet records in both
events during Friday’s prelims going 53.53 in the back and 54.14 in the fly.
She finishes her prep career with five individual crowns.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Carly Mercer had
quite a day as well for the Royals. She won the 100 freestyle in 50.95 and was
part of two state record-setting relay teams.
The 200
medley relay team repeated as Maegan O’Connor,
Christina Jacobs and Lindsay Rogers joined Mercer to set the meet record in 1:43.39,
lowering their own mark of 1:44.44 set Friday. It was the fourth consecutive
state finals swim that the foursome had set the standard. Last year, they tied
the previous mark on Friday and returned to break it during their state title
performance the next day.
Paige
Copeland and Aubrey Hertzler teamed with Rogers and
Mercer in the 400 free relay, the day’s last event, touching in 3:26.61 and
breaking a 14-year old state record set by Carmel (3:26.92). Copeland, Hertzler and Mercer had won the same event last year.
Yorktown’s Kelsi Hall finished her prep career with a third
consecutive state championship in the 50 freestyle. Hall outdueled
the field in 23.13.
In the one
meter diving competition, Gabriella Agostino of South
Bend St. Joseph’s earned the championship with an 11-dive score of 428.50.
The 34th Annual IHSAA Girls Swimming
& Diving State Finals
Indiana University
Natatorium, IUPUI, Indianapolis
February 8-9, 2008
Top 10 Teams
1. |
Carmel |
387 |
2. |
Hamilton
Southeastern |
317.5 |
3. |
Homestead |
216 |
4. |
Center
Grove |
165 |
5. |
North
Central (Indianapolis) |
129 |
6. |
Columbus
North |
123 |
7. |
Chesterton |
92.5 |
8. |
Fort
Wayne Snider |
74 |
9. |
Lafayette
Jefferson |
56 |
10. |
Harrison
(West Lafayette) |
54 |
State Champions
200 Medley Relay – Hamilton Southeastern (Maegan O’Connor 11,
Christina Jacobs 12, Lindsay Rogers 12, Carly Mercer
10), 1:43.39, State Meet Record.
200 Freestyle – Trish Regan, 10, Carmel, 1:49.78.
200 Individual Medley – Michelle McKeehan, 12, Center
Grove, 1:56.87, National Record.
50 Freestyle – Kelsi Hall, 12, Yorktown, 23.13.
One Meter Diving – Gabriella Agostino, 12, South Bend St.
Joseph’s, 428.50.
100 Butterfly – Jenny Connolly, 12, Harrison (West
Lafayette), 53.91, State Meet Record.
100 Freestyle – Carly Mercer, 10, Hamilton
Southeastern, 50.95.
500 Freestyle – Samantha Partridge, 12, Carmel, 5:01.45.
200 Freestyle Relay – Carmel (Megan Detro 11, Devon
Mason 9, Trish Regan 10, Emily Dibenigno 12),
1:35.28.
100 Backstroke – Jenny Connolly, 12, Harrison (West
Lafayette), 54.00.
100 Breaststroke – Michelle McKeehan, 12, Center
Grove, 1:00.12, State Meet Record.
400 Freestyle Relay – Hamilton Southeastern (Paige Copeland 10, Lindsay Rogers
12, Aubrey Hertzler 10, Carly
Mercer 10) 3:26.61, State Meet Record.
State
Championship Record Streaks
Longest
streaks of consecutive state championships, all sports, all states
29 – Honolulu Punahou,
26 –
27 –
25 – Paulsboro, NJ, wrestling, 1983-2007.*
24 – Tacoma Wilson, Wash., boys swimming, 1960-84.
22 –
Carmel, Ind., girls swimming, 1986-2008.*
22 – Honolulu Punahou, Hawaii, girls swimming, 1974-95.
21 – Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest, Fla., girls swimming, 1956-76.
*Active
streak.
(Source: National Federation of State High School Associations)
HSE’S EMILY SCHROEDER NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD RECIPIENT
Following
the meet, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee selected Emily Schroeder of
Hamilton Southeastern High School as this year’s winner of the Mental Attitude
Award in girls swimming and diving.
The award
is presented annually to a senior, nominated by her principal and coach, who demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship,
leadership and athletic ability.
She served
as team captain of this season’s state runner-up team and has qualified for the
state finals in 100 backstroke, 200 freestyle and 500
freestyle during her four seasons.
Schroeder ranks 17th in her class of 460 students and plans
to study biology at Denison University.
She is the
daughter of Rich and Angie Schroeder of Fishers.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner, presented Hamilton Southeastern High School with a $1,000 scholarship in the name of Schroeder.
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official photographer for all state championship
events and one of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
For
t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any
of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t be
there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (