Edwards provides Grizzly Cubs an edge

<p>Scan the pool decks at Franklin on a typical winter afternoon, and you won’t have much trouble spotting Griffin Edwards.</p><p>The ever-conspicuous Grizzly Cub senior can usually be found sporting wild curly blond locks and a cocksure grin — and if his lungs aren’t otherwise occupied in the water, he’s usually got something to say.</p><p>His Instagram handle is @swaggygriffin — and he spends most of his time living up to that name.</p><p>Classmate Jacob Destrampe is the most decorated swimmer on the Franklin boys team, but Edwards has become its emotional avatar — chest puffed out, dripping in an almost-cartoonish machismo and unafraid to mix it up with anybody.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>&quot;Griffin’s a bit vertically challenged,&quot; Franklin coach Zach DeWitt said, &quot;and so much like a small-breed dog, he’s got a lot of bark. What most people don’t know is that Griffin’s the biggest sweetheart on our team; he would give you the shirt off his back. But he’s certainly given our team a little bit more bravado … and just brought a little different edge over the last four years.&quot;</p><p>That edge has helped a Grizzly Cubs squad overtake almost all of the state’s superpowers over the past couple of seasons. Despite a relatively small roster, Edwards and his teammates believe they can beat anyone — and last winter, they almost did, strutting their way to a second-place finish at the state meet.</p><p>Following Edwards’ lead, they’re aiming even higher this year. Carmel is again the favorite to win the state championship, but the Grizzly Cubs aren’t going into this weekend content to play for second.</p><p>&quot;We look at the (state runner-up) banner every day, and we really want to be at the top,&quot; Edwards said. &quot;We want a bigger banner, and we want a bigger trophy.&quot;</p><p>For Franklin to get that bigger trophy, Edwards will have to play a huge role both in and out of the water, and he’s capable of doing so. As a junior, he swam on the Grizzly Cubs’ fifth-place medley relay team while also placing 15th individually in the 100-yard butterfly.</p><p>This weekend, he’ll compete in the fly and the 200 individual medley as well as Franklin’s medley and 200 freestyle relays.</p><p>&quot;Fake it ’til you make it&quot; is an expression that has come into vogue in recent years, based on the notion that projecting confidence and a successful image can translate into actual success. Somehow, Edwards and the Grizzly Cubs have made it work that way, moving from 20th to 10th to second on the state stage over the past three years.</p><p>&quot;He was certainly better than everyone at faking it,&quot; DeWitt said of Edwards, &quot;and I think we owe a lot of our success to that.&quot;</p><p>Franklin certainly doesn’t have to fake it anymore.</p><p>Despite reaching new heights for the school with last season’s breakthrough, however, Edwards clearly isn’t satisfied. There’s still one team in the state that the Grizzly Cubs haven’t beaten, and @swaggygriffin is looking forward to his final shot at upsetting the powerful Greyhounds.</p><p>&quot;We definitely want to take down the big dogs,&quot; he said. &quot;We say it every day; we want to beat them. They’re the team to beat, and I really think we can if everything goes as planned.</p><p>&quot;We’re just never satisfied.&quot;</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Scouting the state meet" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>A look at each event and how Johnson County’s representatives stack up against the competition (all swim times are from last weekend’s sectionals; diving scores are from Tuesday’s regionals):</p><p><strong>200 medley relay</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Franklin (seeded eighth, 1:35.18); Center Grove (12th, 1:36.33); Indian Creek (25th, 1:38.36)</p><p>Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs, who held junior Max Kramer out of this relay at the sectional, should be able to manage a top-eight showing here — and Center Grove, which nearly ran Franklin down in this event at the county meet, could potentially do the same. Carmel, which set the state record a year ago, is the favorite until proven otherwise, with Munster, Fort Wayne Carroll and Chesterton also among the top contenders.</p><p><strong>200 freestyle</strong></p><p>Local qualifier: Brenden Gough, Whiteland (14th, 1:42.83)</p><p>Outlook: Gough narrowly missed advancing to Saturday in this event a year ago, but he seems a good bet to get there this time. Expect the senior to knock a little bit off of his sectional time, especially since he’ll be fresher (Gough anchored Whiteland’s medley relay at the sectional). Carmel’s Jacob Mitchell is a heavy favorite to win, but there’s enough parity down the line that Gough could squeeze into the top eight.</p><p><strong>200 individual medley</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Griffin Edwards, Franklin (13th, 1:52.28); Cade Oliver, Franklin (16th, 1:53.53)</p><p>Outlook: Only three swimmers in the field placed ahead of Oliver in last year’s state meet; the sophomore almost certainly has another gear after finishing a close second last week to Edwards, who also appears well positioned to score in this event. Wyatt Davis of Carmel and Tristan DeWitt of Fort Wayne Carroll come in as the favorites after finishing 1-2 a year ago.</p><p><strong>50 freestyle</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Jacob Destrampe, Franklin (18th, 21.29); Ethan Martin, Center Grove (20th, 21.43)</p><p>Outlook: The most unpredictable event of the meet should be even more so this year, with the first 28 seeds all within a second of one another. Destrampe wasn’t fully tapered or in a tech suit last week, so he can likely shave a bit more time; the question is how many others can too. Highland’s Ethan Churilla is the lone returning podium finisher from last year, so he’s probably the closest thing to a favorite. </p><p><strong>Diving</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Gauge Creech, Franklin (eighth, 438.25); Collin Barton, Whiteland (25th, 357.20)</p><p>Outlook: Creech has set his sights high, seeking a top-five finish after placing ninth and eighth the last two years. Look for him to put up a bigger score Saturday after getting through a tightly-scored regional. Seymour’s Devin Ramsey, the top returning finisher from a year ago, rates as a slight favorite, but Creech is one of a handful of divers capable of beating him. Will the senior be able to reach the elusive 500-point mark in his final high school competition?</p><p><strong>100 butterfly</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Shane O’Sullivan, Franklin (10th, 50.30); Edwards, Franklin (13th, 50.47); Tony Gipson, Center Grove (19th, 51.30); Gough, Whiteland (21st, 51.34)</p><p>Outlook: This may be one of the toughest races to call all weekend. Four podium finishers are back, led by Noah Yarian of Fort Wayne Carroll and top seed Grant Afman of Munster, and eight competitors logged sectional times under 50 seconds — something only six swimmers did in last year’s prelims. It’s a fast, loaded field, and while all four local entrants have a shot at advancing to Saturday, it’ll take a really good swim Friday night for any of them to crack the top eight.</p><p><strong>100 freestyle</strong></p><p>Local qualifier: Destrampe, Franklin (ninth, 46.49)</p><p>Outlook: After winning the state title in the 200 free last year, Destrampe sets his sights on winning the 100, which he finished second in a year ago. Churilla and Lake Central’s Riley Ingram, both returning podium finishers the top two seeds coming in, should both present a challenge, but look for Destrampe to drop plenty of time this week and make a run at another championship.</p><p><strong>200 freestyle relay</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Franklin (second, 1:24.64); Center Grove (15th, 1:27.30); Indian Creek (25th, 1:28.62)</p><p>Outlook: Both Center Grove and Indian Creek have a chance to advance to Saturday, with the Trojans perhaps even capable of sneaking into the top eight — but the Grizzly Cubs are the team to watch here. They finished a quarter of a second behind Carmel in this race last year, and it’s likely that those two will again be duking it out. Franklin is hoping to contend in all three relays this weekend; this one probably represents their best shot at winning one.</p><p><strong>100 backstroke</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Oliver, Franklin (11th, 51.18); Ethan Pheifer, Franklin (27th, 53.37)</p><p>Outlook: Oliver is switching gears after making the podium in the 500 freestyle as a freshman, but he’s got a chance to do the same here. Much like the butterfly, though, this event is loaded — all of last year’s top three finishers and five of the top seven are back, led by Davis and Yarian — so the talented sophomore will have his work cut out for him. Pheifer, a late addition to the field, is making his state debut.</p><p><strong>100 breaststroke</strong></p><p>Local qualifier: Barrett Daily, Franklin (29th, 1:00.00)</p><p>Outlook: Daily will make his formal state debut earlier in the meet when he swims on the Grizzly Cubs’ medley relay, but the sophomore will be on his own in this one. He managed to win a very tight sectional race, but Daily will have to drop a good chunk of time to sneak into the top 16. </p><p><strong>400 freestyle relay</strong></p><p>Local qualifiers: Franklin (eighth, 3:09.09); Center Grove (16th, 3:13.27); Indian Creek (23rd, 3:14.94)</p><p>Outlook: Franklin put up a top-eight time at the sectional without using Destrampe, so expect them to perform significantly better when he’s added to the mix this weekend. The overall team standings figure to add some intrigue to the championship final, with all of the top contenders (Carmel, Franklin, Chesterton and Fort Wayne Carroll) likely to be there. The Trojans and Braves also have a strong chance of cracking the top 16.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>IHSAA State Finals</strong></p><p><p><strong>At IU Natatorium, Indianapolis</strong></p><p><strong>Friday</strong></p><p>Swimming preliminaries, 6 p.m.</p><p><strong>Saturday</strong></p><p>Diving preliminaries, 9 a.m.</p><p>Swimming and diving finals, 1 p.m.</p><p>Admission: $8 per day or $15 for both days</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]