Last winter marked the first time in Jim Todd’s long tenure as Center Grove’s boys swimming coach that the Trojans didn’t qualify a single swimmer for the state meet.
That didn’t sit well with Todd or his team — particularly Tony Gipson, who had made it to the IU Natatorium as a freshman on a pair of Center Grove relays.
“I think that really gave us the fire to come back this year,” Gipson said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“It was a tough pill,” Todd added. “It not only motivated the kids, but it motivated the coaching staff, too.”
The difference has been noticeable. Gipson and the Trojans are not only well positioned to once again have a presence at the state meet, but they appear ready to make a push for their first top-20 finish in five years.
They also feel as though they’re capable of giving last year’s state runner-up, Franklin, a serious sectional challenge for the first time since the Grizzly Cubs won by a mere three points in 2013.
“We’re more competitive,” Gipson said. “I can see it. We have a lot of faster guys, and I think the most important thing we have that’ll give us a good chance to win sectionals is, we have a lot of depth. That’s really the key to winning.”
Gipson earned some state experience as a ninth-grader, swimming on the Trojans’ 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams. Neither quartet advanced past Friday night, finishing 24th and 21st, respectively, but Gipson is eager to go back and improve on those performances.
Center Grove’s medley relay and 400 freestyle relay are both among the 10 fastest in the state so far this season. In addition, Gipson looks like a potential individual state qualifier in the 100 butterfly after taking first place in the event at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference meet last weekend.
The Trojans finished a reasonably close second to reigning state champ Carmel at that meet, another confidence builder for the young team after they hung tough with Franklin for most of the Johnson County meet.
“Going into county, we were a little unsure of ourselves because we didn’t know where we were at,” Gipson said. “A lot of the talent that we have has realized that they have that talent, and they’re harnessing it and focusing it into the pool at practice and excelling at meets.”
Gipson, who was selected as one of Center Grove’s three team captains before the season, says he hopes to be near or under the 50-second barrier in the butterfly by the end of the season. Getting into that neighborhood would almost certainly allow him to score at state.
Todd says he’s far from sure about which events he’ll have Gipson competing in this postseason; he hasn’t ruled out putting him on all three relays. But the fly is probably as close to a sure thing as there is for the versatile junior.
“He’s a really good IMer, a really good 200 freestyler, a really good 500 kid,” Todd said of Gipson. “Nothing is really set in stone for him; I think for the team, he needs to swim butterfly to get points there.”
The exciting part for Center Grove is that it will likely field a postseason lineup without any seniors in it — meaning that Gipson and his teammates will still have another chance to build on whatever they accomplish next month.
But that doesn’t mean they’re content to wait. The Trojans are already casting an eye toward the upcoming sectional, where they’re hoping to reclaim local supremacy at a meet that Franklin has dominated the last five years.
“It’s going to be a dogfight, I hope,” Todd said. “They’re very strong, and we have to catch up to them. If anything else, I just hope we get a lot of kids to the state meet this year.”
