INDIANAPOLIS
High school swim teams have faced unprecedented hurdles over the last 11 months — two months without access to water, incredibly stringent protocols, you name it — but in a year of constant upheaval, some things remained refreshingly constant.
Carmel, of course, won its 35th consecutive state championship, amassing 479 points at the IU Natatorium to shatter the meet record that it set in 2015. And while Franklin hasn’t been in the upper echelon for as long as the Greyhounds, its presence at the cool kids’ table has now become a regular occurrence.
Led by two individual podium finishes apiece from Allie Lacy and Gracey Payne, the Grizzly Cubs placed fifth in the team standings with 141 points, their fourth consecutive top-five finish.
“I’m not sure what we set out this year to do, on account of this year was unlike any other,” Franklin coach Zach DeWitt said, “but in terms of navigating the many obstacles, I can’t say that I’m more proud of what a group has accomplished than this one. We came a long way.”
The 200-yard medley relay team of Lacy, Kabria Chapman, Grace Fisher and Payne again set the tone for the Grizzly Cubs, getting the meet started by posting a time of 1:43.00, good for a third-place finish.
Lacy added a fifth-place showing in the 200 individual medley (2:03.13) and took seventh in the 100 backstroke (56.37). The sophomore also led off the 400 free relay team, finishing eighth there along with Paige Lawrence, Alea Hensley and Fisher in 3:32.23.
Payne capped her high school career by placing seventh in the 50 free (23.55) and eighth in the 100 free (51.51). She also led off the Grizzly Cubs’ 200 freestyle relay, finishing 10th in 1:36.90 along with Chapman, Lawrence and Hensley.
“I felt like I did pretty good,” Payne said. “My 100 wasn’t ideal; my goggles fell off, my contact fell out. But I redeemed myself in the 2 free relay, so I felt pretty good about today. I’m really happy with how I swam this whole meet … and I’m really happy with how everyone else swam too.”
Fellow senior Chapman had a wild final race, one that saw the top six finishers in the 100 breaststroke all within less than a second of one another. Slightly ahead at the halfway point, Chapman wound up fifth with a time of 1:02.72.
She, like Payne, was generally happy with how the day played out.
“It was a good race,” Chapman said of the breaststroke final. “I’m a little mad that I added a little time from prelims, but honestly, all in all, it was a good season.”
Lawrence picked up individual points for Franklin as well, taking 12th in the 500 freestyle (5:04.86) and 14th in the 200 free (1:55.83). Freshman diver Camy Quiggins also got in on the action by placing 15th with a score of 401.25.
Center Grove made a triumphant return to the top 20 after not scoring in last year’s meet, tying for 15th with 31 points.
Diver Mia Prusiecki got the Trojans 17 of those points early in the day, finishing second in the 1-meter final with a score of 510.90. The freshman led through a good chunk of the competition but was edged out for the title when Fishers senior Morgan Casey matched Prusiecki’s big 11th-round dive with a slightly bigger one to finish at 517.30.
“I always expect myself to get first and I always want to do my best, but I’m happy with what I got,” Prusiecki said.
Another Center Grove ninth-grader, Lara Phipps, also scored in her state debut. Phipps swam a 1:54.48 in the 200 freestyle to place 13th individually, and she also anchored a pair of 15th-place Trojan relays on Saturday.
The Trojans’ 200 freestyle relay team of Kiersten Smith, Grace Clarkston, Kylie Treat and Phipps finished with a time of 1:38.33, and the 400 free quartet of Smith, Devin Trammell, Jessica Holland hit the wall in 3:34.23.
“Yesterday I definitely did better; I was kind of a bit tired today,” Phipps said of her first state meet. “But it was a good experience, just as a freshman, to get out and race and have fun.”
Prusiecki and Phipps weren’t the only Center Grove underclassmen getting in on the act — sophomore Grace DeLuna added a 15th-place finish of her own in the 100 backstroke (57.41).
Whiteland and Greenwood tied for 25th with 11 points apiece. The Warriors rode the individual exploits of senior Addison Daily, who was 11th in the 200 freestyle (1:53.36) and 12th in the 100 free (52.55).
The Woodmen, meanwhile, got an 11th-place finish from Alayna Kenworthy in the 200 IM (2:05.55) and a 16th-place effort from Grace Nuhfer in the 100 butterfly (57.96). Those two joined with Naomi Weaver and Madison Peckinpaugh to take 15th in the medley relay (1:49.05).
Indian Creek freshman Ella Taylor was 13th in the 1-meter diving final (411.85), helping the Braves tie for 35th with four team points.
While the rest of the county improved, though, Franklin is still the local standard-bearer for now. The Grizzly Cub seniors take pride in having established an expectation of excellence, and they’re hopeful that it will continue in the years to come.
“Rent is due every year if you want to be part of that crew; it’s a pretty exclusive bunch,” DeWitt said. “But we’ve certainly worked hard to be among those people.”
“We all work hard, and just to be able to carry something like that on for our program is just really exciting,” Chapman added. “I can’t wait to see the girls perform next year.”
