Sam Findley | For the Daily Journal
The scorched-earth campaign paid big dividends for Whiteland’s swim teams in the short term, but the long-term future of the program was in serious trouble.
After the abrupt resignation of coach Marci Whitford and the subsequent dissolution of the HyperSonic club team in 2018, the Warriors were forced to remake themselves on the fly. New high school coach Alec DeWitt essentially funneled all of his year-round swimmers toward Franklin Regional Swim Team, and while the move bore plenty of fruit for those already in high school — the likes of Brenden Gough, Addison Daily and Brady Campbell all became individual state qualifiers, and the Whiteland girls tied for 25th at the state meet in 2021 — it proved to be unsustainable.
Eventually, many of Whiteland’s top age-group swimmers decided after training with Franklin swimmers all year that they might as well just swim for Franklin. Campbell — now a senior with the Grizzly Cubs — transferred, and without a viable club alternative in place, several other top swimmers did the same.
Chris Service, an assistant coach under DeWitt who was overseeing swim lessons in Whiteland after doing the same at FRST for a time, saw the mass exodus in progress and decided it was time to stop the bleeding. He formed the Warriors Swim Club in March of 2021, an effort to rebuild the foundation of Whiteland swimming more or less from the ground up.
The rollout was a slow one; only about a dozen swimmers came on board during the first summer, and even those few struggled to remain upbeat.
“Coming from a bigger club like FRST to a club with probably like five people at the beginning, it was really hard to to find motivation,” said current Whiteland senior Amelia Edens, one of the few early WSC adopters. “There was no meets we were going to, so it was just three-hour practices in the morning in the summer, and with nobody there it was really hard. But now, we have a lot more people and it’s a lot more fun to have meets to look forward to — it’s just been a really good environment.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Whiteland’s high school teams took a hit last year once all of the aforementioned swimmers had graduated; the Warrior boys couldn’t even fill out all three of their relay teams at the sectional meet. On the plus side, WSC’s club numbers have been bumped up significantly, with more than 70 swimmers now on board. That figure even includes a handful of Whiteland natives who defected back from FRST.
Bottomed out, but starting to climb back up. That’s the situation that John Sincroft inherited when he took over as the high school coach earlier this year.
Sincroft has been a mainstay in the area swim community since graduating from the University of Indianapolis in 2004. He spent two years as an assistant coach for the Greyhounds before moving into the high school world; after four years at Franklin Central, Sincroft spent the last 12 as the head coach at Warren Central.
His track record at those stops made him Whiteland’s top target, and the attraction eventually proved mutual. While he wasn’t fully aware of the situation he was walking into, Sincroft was drawn to the upside — a high school with big numbers and plans to build a new swim facility in the near future.
“I don’t think I realized some of the stuff that was going on before I came,” he said. “I looked at it as an opportunity in an area that’s growing rapidly, an area that does have some community pride about Whiteland schools and the Whiteland community. I look at an opportunity with the new pool coming in and what could possibly be built here. I think academics and athletics are really strong in this community, and there’s huge potential for growth.”
That potential is part of what made Edens — one of three current Warrior seniors with state meet experience along with Haley Achs and Gwennyth Prellis — want to be a part of the rebuild a year and a half ago.
”Just knowing that I can be a leader for people and be at the beginning of this new transition, it’s really exciting to me,” she said. “I just like the idea of having a new start.”
She’s not the only one in the school who’s excited. Numbers are up on both high school teams this winter, and with Whiteland set to add a 50-meter pool during the first stage of the high school renovation and Service rapidly rebuilding the foundation at the club level, Sincroft is justifiably optimistic about the Warriors’ long-term future.
“I’m just looking at making each day strong, being better, and just growing,” Sincroft said. “I don’t really have a timetable on when we’re going to be the best we can be; I just know it’s going to take work every day and we’re going to be ready to do it with a great coaching staff. The kids are excited, and if we just keep that excitement it’s going to grow faster than I thought.”
SCOUTING THE COUNTY
Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Brad Smith
Last season: Won county and sectional championships; 13th at state meet
Key returnees: Sydney Adams, Kennedy Beckner, Maddie Howell, Rachel Ingle, Mallory McDonald, Molly McIntyre and Brett Trammell, seniors; Laney Brooks, Grace Clarkston, Kayla Fischer, Lara Phipps, Mia Prusiecki and Lexi Stuart, juniors; Clara Brandon, Izzie Ferguson, Megan McIntyre and Tenley Wilkins, sophomores
Top newcomers: Addyson Matern, freshman
Outlook: The Trojans used their superior depth (and a wealth of diving talent, led by state champion Prusiecki) to disrupt Franklin’s sectional streak, and they’re poised to use a similar formula again. Phipps, a state medalist in the butterfly last winter, heads up a formidable group of sprinters that should provide a great deal of strength in the relays. Center Grove will continue to employ the death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach against its opposition, and it should be pretty successful doing so. A repeat sectional title and a top-10 state finish are both extremely reachable goals.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Zach DeWitt
Last season: Second in county, conference and sectional meets; eighth at state meet
Key returnees: Allie Lacy and Jenna Miller, seniors; Emily Martin, Camy Quiggins, Jaynie Salyers and Chloe Thaine, juniors; Kathleen Lacy, Lili Ratzlaff and Jobey Salyers, sophomores
Top newcomers: Jovie Mowrey and Caleigh Schotting, freshmen
Outlook: After seeing their six-year sectional reign ended by just eight points, the Grizzly Cubs will be hungry to get back on top; whether they do will depend almost entirely on how much depth they can create over the next three months. Meanwhile, nobody in the southern half of the state is stronger at the top of the lineup. Franklin has two state medalists back in Lacy and Ratzlaff, as well as some others (Miller, Quiggins and Kathleen Lacy) with state meet experience. Mowrey is an age-group star who’s expected to make some big contributions right away. This team might enter the season a slight county and sectional underdog, but it should still be able to secure a top-eight state finish for the sixth year in a row.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Brooke Gilles
Last season: Third at county, conference and sectional; tied for 22nd at state meet
Key returnees: Maddie Johnson and Naomi Weaver, seniors; Hailey Peckinpaugh, junior; Eleanor Guipe, Ryann Marker and Avah Wallischeck, sophomores
Top newcomer: Maria Mears, freshman
Outlook: The Woodmen have been establishing themselves as a solid program over the past five years; the foundation should be tested this year after the team suffered heavy graduation and transfer losses. Gilles calls her current squad “small but mighty” and believes they’ll be able to remain competitive. Weaver and Peckinpaugh were both key players last winter and should lead the way again; can Greenwood develop enough strength around them to stay in the top half of the county and the Mid-State?
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: David Martin
Last season: Sixth at county, seventh at WIC meet; 10th at sectional
Key returnees: Ella Taylor, junior; Lydia Ringer and Rya Stevenson, sophomores
Top newcomers: Josie Johnson and Maite Morales, seniors; Makayla Baglole, junior
Outlook: After facing a numbers crunch on the girls side in his first year, Martin is starting to see his roster get replenished somewhat; the Braves should be able to fill out some relay teams, and the hope is that they can at least be competitive within the Western Indiana Conference. From a postseason standpoint, Taylor is a two-time state diving qualifier and should have a good chance to represent Indian Creek on that stage again and potentially score some points. Club numbers are up at the lower age levels, so Martin is confident about the long-term outlook; it’ll just be a gradual climb.
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: John Sincroft
Last season: Fourth at county and Mid-State Conference meets; fifth at sectional
Key returnees: Haley Achs, Jenna Blue, Olivia Boehnlein, Amelia Edens, Sydney Hall, Karina Lopez and Gwennyth Prellis, seniors; Hannah Hrankowsky, sophomore
Top newcomer: Mallory Fields, freshman
Outlook: The Warriors have remained competitive through a significant foundational rebuild at the club level, and the hope is that they can improve somewhat this winter. Edens is the team’s top individual swimmer, but Achs and Prellis have also competed on state relays and there should be plenty of others who can help — including Fields, who is capable of making immediate contributions. Challenging Center Grove and Franklin for area supremacy isn’t yet realistic, but Sincroft believes a third-place sectional finish is within reach, and he might not be wrong.
