INDIANAPOLIS
Swimming in Lane 1 generally isn’t the best ticket to winning races, especially in the state finals.
But that was where Adam Destrampe was stuck for both of his individual races in Saturday’s Boys Swimming State Finals at IUPUI’s Indiana University Natatorium, thanks to his eighth-fastest qualifying times in Saturday’s prelims.
Still, the Franklin senior came through with a couple of big performances in the final meet of his high school career. He finished third in the 200-yard freestyle and came back with a fifth-place finish in the 500 freestyle.
“We were in some undesirable locations in regards to lanes,” Franklin coach Zach DeWitt said. “Adam swam in Lane 1 all day. Obviously, the outside lanes are not what we would like, so for him to be able to do what he did from Lane 1 was a pretty large accomplishment.”
Destrampe, an Indiana University recruit, finished the 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 39.63 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 4:30.77.
“I was pretty pleased with my times,” Destrampe said. “I didn’t hit my goal times that I would have liked to, but honestly, I did my best that I could in the pool, so I can’t be mad about that.”
A four-year state qualifier, Destrampe finished third in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 500 freestyle as a junior.
“I love state,” Destrampe said. “State is a completely different type of atmosphere than I’ve ever experienced, and it was a great opportunity for me to get in some good, quality times.”
Meanwhile, Center Grove senior Chase Bettner had a little extra motivation to swim fast. He had to get to Huntington Saturday evening to sing with the school’s show choir.
Bettner finished seventh in the 50 freestyle in 21.48 and eighth in the 100 freestyle in 47.05.
“I’m actually pleased with the way I ended up finishing,” Bettner said. “I stayed where I was (Friday), so I didn’t really see any big surprises.
“I’m happy that’s the way I ended my senior year,” he said. “Seventh and eighth in the state is nothing to be ashamed of, so I’m really happy with the way things shook out.”
Bettner finished eighth in 100 freestyle last season.
“He’s had a wonderful career at Center Grove, and I couldn’t be prouder to have been his coach,” Center Grove coach Jim Todd said. “He’s going to Miami of Ohio, and I know that they’re getting a great one. He’ll really help them out over the next four years.”
Franklin senior Clayton Culp finished 10th in the 50 freestyle (21.46) and 13th in the 100 freestyle (47.10). Culp, Destrampe, senior Josh Barrett and sophomore A.J. Rice took 10th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:27.62); and Desptrampe, Rice, Barrett and Culp were 10th in the 400 freestyle relay (3:11.31)
“More than anything, resilience is what we were looking for,” DeWitt said. “We had a horrendous nightmarish night (Friday) night, and I can’t tell you how proud I am about my boys. They’ve come back under pretty much all odds and fought back and managed to drop time in nearly every single event today, and that’s something I can take away and be proud about.”
“We didn’t have the prelims that we wold have liked to have had, so the boys were a little down, and the bus was quiet (Friday) night. But at some point, it’s a gut check, and you see what kind of team you have, and we came back and were very, very tough today.”