A state champion at the age group level, Henry Lyness figures to be a prominent part of Center Grove’s lineup going forward.
Daily Journal file photo
Let the games begin.
When Center Grove’s boys swimming and diving team won last year’s sectional championship at Franklin, it marked the end of a decade-long drought and snapped the Grizzly Cubs’ nine-year stranglehold on the crown.
It also injected some more energy into what has quietly become arguably the most compelling rivalry in the county, regardless of sport.
The Trojans were the lone local superpower for a long time, with the boys winning 27 straight sectional titles from 1986 to 2012 and the girls taking 26 in a row from 1990 to 2015. Franklin’s rise over the past decade ended that dominance, and did so harshly — most of the sectionals during the back half of the 2010s weren’t particularly competitive, and the Grizzly Cubs hung three state runner-up banners in that time (boys in 2018, boys and girls in 2019).
But Center Grove’s down cycle has ended just as Franklin has come down from its highest point, and the ensuing drama has been something to behold. In 2020, the two schools were tied going into the final event of the boys sectional, with the Grizzly Cubs pulling out a 475-469 victory. Last February, the Center Grove girls held on for a 458-450 home win and the boys celebrated a 493-467 triumph in Franklin’s pool.
This weekend’s boys sectional figures to be similarly tight — and both sides are thrilled about it.
“I’ve been through years where it was close, and I’ve been through years where it wasn’t close, and I can tell you when it’s close, it’s a lot more fun,” Franklin coach Zach DeWitt said. “I think that there’s additional meat on the bone in each respective swim that you’re able to get, just due to those rivalry swims.”
“The best thing about it is that we can use those things as motivation, and it’s somebody close. We don’t have to travel to go for a great meet; we face Franklin all throughout the season,” Center Grove coach Brad Smith added. “To be the best, you have to swim the best, and for both of us, I think that’s exactly what we do — give each other that motivation. And it is setting itself up for years to come, two great programs just going at it.”
Especially on the boys side, where each team can now build its future around an elite freshman. Center Grove’s Henry Lyness and Franklin’s Aleksandr Ries were both state age group champions last summer, and they’re both making an instant impact at the high school level. (Both schools also have a great deal of young talent in the pipeline behind those two; both Center Grove Aquatic Club and Franklin Regional Swim Team are expected to score well at the Indiana Age Group State meet next month.)
The rivalry has been percolating behind closed doors at both schools and spilled over at times onto social media — but there has been some hesitation to take that chirping into the traditional media sphere. Ries did express a desire to end the Trojans’ sectional run at one, but the overall public tone has been somewhat muted, Instagram posts aside.
“We’re just going to try to treat it like any other meet,” Lyness said of this weekend’s showdown with Franklin. “We’re really focusing on state, and that’s our big goal. We’ve just got to try to get through sectionals and get to state, really.”
It’s true that the state meet has been a primary focus for both schools — the Trojans have placed in the top 10 the last three seasons, and the Grizzly Cubs did so five straight times before failing to score last year. Center Grove is fourth in the most recent state rankings, and Franklin also figures to get back into the mix in some capacity at IU Natatorium next week.
But no matter who finishes where at the Nat, this weekend’s meet could very well come down to the wire.
And don’t let the surface diplomacy fool you — this rivalry is going to be a spicy one at this sectional and the next few to follow. There is, though, a level of mutual respect that accompanies all of the behind-the-scenes bluster.
“I think that that’s really healthy for the sport, for the state of swimming in the county,” DeWitt said of the back-and-forth. “It really is good for everyone, and if we can play it the right way, then I think it can benefit both programs at the state level as well.”
“At the end of the day,” Smith added, “we can laugh and have fun and shake hands, and that’s sport.”
IF YOU GO
Franklin Sectional
When: Today, 5:30 p.m. (swim prelims); Saturday, 9 a.m. (diving prelims) and 1 p.m. (swimming and diving finals)
Admission: $7 per session, $12 all sessions. Children 5 and under free
