Center Grove’s Henry Lyness is congratulated by coach Brad Smith after winning the 100-yard backstroke state championship on Saturday at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
Henry Lyness went into the final turn of the state 100-yard backstroke championship with Bloomington South’s David Kovacs right at his side.
Ten underwater dolphin kicks later, the Center Grove sophomore was all alone and well on his way to a title.
Lyness pulled away from Kovacs over the last 25 yards and hit the wall with a time of 48.06 seconds at IU Natatorium on Saturday, becoming Johnson County’s first state swim champion since former Trojan Ethan Martin won the 100 freestyle in 2021.
“I was super happy; I was super stoked,” Lyness said. “It was amazing to see that I had won.”
His backstroke effort, along with a sixth-place medal in the 100 butterfly and an eighth-place finish alongside Max Hite, Anthony Cuadros and Mason Bridges in the 400 freestyle relay, helped Center Grove finish ninth in the overall team standings with 96 points. Franklin ended up 15th with 41.
Ahead by just .06 seconds after the first 50 yards, Lyness appeared as though he might be losing his grip on the race as Kovacs caught up heading into the final turn. But Lyness’ underwater work off that last wall had him about half a body length ahead by the time the swimmers came to the surface.
“Those turns and the underwaters just totally dominated that race for him,” Center Grove coach Brad Smith said.
A rematch could be in the offing a year from now, as both Kovacs and third-place finisher Anderson Kopp of Carmel are juniors.
By the end of Saturday’s session, Lyness and Smith were already looking forward to it.
“He’s amazing,” Lyness said of Kovacs, “and it’ll be fun next year and throughout the summer.”
“Now the pressure’s on to repeat,” Smith added.
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