<p>Success in the freestyle sprints, especially the 50-yard freestyle, often depends on getting off the block quickly and starting the race well.</p><p>It’s a good thing the high school swim season provides more than 20 seconds to make up any lost ground.</p><p>Center Grove senior Ethan Martin, the state runner-up in the 50 free last season and a contender to win state titles in that event and in the 100 free this winter, has had his preseason training derailed a little bit. He’s currently in quarantine after coming in close contact with a COVID-positive classmate in school, and he’s been out of the water for a little more than a week. Martin can return to practice on Wednesday.</p><p>Not being able to work out with the rest of the team is a handicap for any high school athlete, but the time off probably affects swimmers more than anybody else in the winter. Training schedules are carefully calibrated to break people down and build them back up in time to peak during the postseason, and any interruption is detrimental.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>"Being off for that week or two, it almost offsets your mindset and your body at the same time," Martin said, "because you’re body’s used to having this daily swimming and getting beat down and just having that muscle memory, and your mind is also like, ‘Hey, it’s time to work,’ so that we can pay off at the end of the season — and you just miss all that."</p><p>The hope is that Martin can still get the payoff. He’s one of three boys swimmers in Johnson County, along with Franklin seniors Cade Oliver and Mac Ratzlaff, that returns after posting top-three state finishes a year ago.</p><p>Having other elite swimmers so close by is a motivating factor — especially in the case of Martin and Ratzlaff, who went head to head in the 100 freestyle at sectional and state last year. Both also made verbal commitments to the University of South Carolina during the offseason, so they’re in the rare position of being rivals now and teammates later.</p><p>Martin believes the dynamic will benefit both of them.</p><p>"(Ratzlaff) and I are going to drive each other, and I think that’s a positive thing," he said, "because I think that even if him and I get competitive this year and we push each other, in both of our minds we know that it’s for the better and that we’re going to be teammates in the end.</p><p>"So if anything, I think he’s going to be one of the biggest pushing factors in my season, and I hope I’m the same for him and I hope we both make really good strides this year."</p><p>The strides that Martin made as a junior were nothing short of remarkable. A state qualifier in the 50 during his sophomore season, he dropped from 21.66 seconds in the 2019 state preliminaries to 20.25 last year.</p><p>Primarily a soccer player growing up, Martin didn’t go all in on swimming until midway through his freshman year at Center Grove. For that reason, Trojans coach Jim Todd believes that his star sprinter has barely scratched the surface of his potential.</p><p>"He’s still so young; he won’t be 18 until next August," Todd said. "So he really should be just a junior this year by those terms. And the years that he’s actually been swimming … he didn’t really start until the second semester of his freshman year taking it where that was going to be his sport.</p><p>"I think his best years are definitely ahead of him in college."</p><p>Even though he had to go through the recruiting process sight unseen due to the restrictions that COVID-19 has put on campus visits, Martin is excited for that future. South Carolina assistant Kevin Swander is a Center Grove graduate, which helped create an instant connection.</p><p>As excited as Martin is to compete for state championships this year, he’s also got one eye trained on his future.</p><p>"I’ve just really been looking forward to being in college and having that experience," he said. "I don’t even know how to say it, but I’m excited — and this whole quarantine thing is kind of ruining that mindset."</p><p>It can only hold Martin back for so long, though.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Scouting the county" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Center Grove Trojans</strong></p><p>Coach: Jim Todd</p><p>Last season: Won Johnson County championship, second at conference and sectional meets; tied for ninth at state</p><p>Top returnees: Caleb Crady, Ethan Hite, Logan Kelsheimer and Ethan Martin, seniors; Benjamin Clarkston and Garrett Crist, juniors</p><p>Outlook: Graduation and transfer losses took a heavy toll on the Trojans, who posted their first top-10 state finish in nearly a decade last year. They’ve still got plenty back with 50-yard freestyle runner-up Martin as well as a potential state podium diver in Crady and two more returning qualifiers in Clarkston and Crist. Whether Center Grove can enjoy another strong season may depend largely on the development of a big sophomore class that didn’t need to contribute much last year but must this winter.</p><p><strong>Franklin Grizzly Cubs</strong></p><p>Coach: Zach DeWitt</p><p>Last season: Won sectional and Mid-State Conference titles, second in county; tied for ninth at state meet</p><p>Top returnees: Barrett Daily, Albert Nusawardhana, Cade Oliver, Ethan Pheifer and Mac Ratzlaff, seniors; Anthony Ries, junior; Drake Keller, sophomore</p><p>Key newcomers: Franco Chirinos, Ethan Demaree and Isaac Layton, freshmen</p><p>Outlook: A relay disqualification knocked the Grizzly Cubs down a few pegs after consecutive state runner-up finishes, but a senior-dominated squad is ready to make another run at the top. Oliver and Ratzlaff both have a chance to finish atop the state podium in multiple events, and Daily, Pheifer and Reis have all qualified for state as individuals. If those three and Nusawardhana can score some points and help fill out the relay teams, Franklin should be able to push its way back into the top five at IU Natatorium.</p><p><strong>Greenwood Woodmen</strong></p><p>Coach: Ray Onisko and Brooke Thompson</p><p>Last season: Seventh at conference and sectional meets</p><p>Top returnees: Noah Chaplin, Luke Ellington and Isaiah Ray, seniors; Andrew Mears, Conner Peckinpaugh and Joe Sheets, juniors; Ty Williamson, sophomore</p><p>Key newcomers: Ethen Barton, junior; Blake Reynolds, sophomore; Jackson Simms, freshman</p><p>Outlook: Onisko is looking for the Woodmen to take a big leap forward this year behind the tandem of Peckinpaugh and Sheets, both of whom hope to make it to state this winter. Greenwood has gotten deeper and stronger with each passing season and could make its way up toward the middle of the Mid-State Conference pack. Ellington and Chaplin also figure to have solid seasons.</p><p><strong>Indian Creek Braves</strong></p><p>Coach: Brad Smith</p><p>Last season: Won Western Indiana Conference title, fifth in sectional</p><p>Top returnees: Nolan Greene and Joey Smith, juniors; Evan Dennis, Evan Schaub and Sam Smith, sophomores</p><p>Outlook: The Braves lost two talented swimmers and a lot of leadership with the graduation of Chase Smith and Clay Key, but they do return four swimmers who were part of state qualifying relays last season. Brad Smith is confident that his team can get another quartet or two out of the sectional, and he’s hopeful that Joey Smith can score some state points and perhaps reach the podium. Indian Creek is never going to have a particularly deep team, but it appears poised to punch above its weight class yet again.</p><p><strong>Whiteland Warriors</strong></p><p>Coach: Alec DeWitt</p><p>Last season: Third in Mid-State Conference, fourth in sectional</p><p>Top returnees: Cyler Nelis and Sam Udrasols, seniors; Zach Brodnik, Brady Campbell and Julian Prescott, sophomores</p><p>Outlook: The Warriors aren’t particularly deep, but they’ve got some top-end talent returning. Nelis and Udrasols are both solid veteran leaders, and Campbell won the conference title in the 500 freestyle as a freshman. If the sophomore class can help shoulder a large share of the point-scoring load, Whiteland should be able to remain competitive despite its lower numbers.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title="A different look" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Swim fans will get a feel for what some of this year’s bigger meets might look like when Franklin hosts the annual Hall of Fame meet on Saturday.</p><p>The meet, which includes the Grizzly Cubs and fellow state powers Chesterton, Greenfield-Central and Zionsville, will not be open to spectators but will be live-streamed via <a href="http://www.inswimming.org">www.inswimming.org</a> beginning at 1 p.m.</p><p>Masks will be required at all times when not competing; each team will be subject to limitations on how many athletes and coaches it can bring.</p><p>In previous years, the Hall of Fame meet featured several non-traditional events, but this edition will be conducted largely the same as a normal high school meet. The lone exception will be diving, where competitors can choose six optional dives without a degree of difficulty limit.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
