“I’m tired of overthinking, now I’m over thinking …”
— Illmac, “Slow Down”
Okay, fine. Anthony Ries will never be over thinking. “Analytical” is one of the first adjectives that he used to describe himself, and it was the first that Franklin swim coach Zach DeWitt used to describe him as well.
So yes, he’ll always be a thinker. That ain’t changing.
But the junior has evolved a bit during his time with the Grizzly Cubs, perhaps finding a middle ground somewhere between his quiet, meticulous nature and the balls-to-the-wall machismo that many of his teammates have been known to exude.
Those on the Franklin pool deck have noticed a gradual change.
When Ries arrived as a freshman, he spoke so infrequently that former assistant coach Sean Barry jokingly referred to him as a mute. But he’s been able to settle into a comfort zone over the past three seasons, to the point where teammate Mac Ratzlaff says that “now we can’t get Anthony to shut the hell up.”
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the usually reserved Ries has come out of his shell a bit, at least around the team.
“These people have been extremely friendly to me,” he said, “so it’s easy to open up to them, become friends with them.”
“He’s definitely comfortable in his own skin,” added DeWitt, who called Ries an intermediary between the seniors and the younger Grizzly Cubs, affectionately dubbed the Goon Squad. “He’s okay telling you that he plays Minecraft, and he games with all of these other Goon Squad members, and so he’s a lot more open with who he is and comfortable in his own skin. … I think that some of these boys with a bit more bravado have brought that out in him.”
The gradual opening up has helped Ries in the water as well. A state qualifier for the first time last season — he was 22nd in the 200-yard freestyle — Ries heads into tonight’s state preliminaries seeded 19th in that event and 23rd in the 100 butterfly, and he’s also expected to help the Grizzly Cubs’ top-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Those who’ve seen Ries develop on a daily basis are eager to see what the junior can deliver on the big stage this weekend — both individually and as part of those two relay quartets.
“I didn’t even think he had a fantastic swim on either of his individual events, so I think we’ve got a little bit more time to drop,” DeWitt said.
“He’s dangerous right now,” Ratzlaff added, “and I’m excited for him to be on the relays.”
Of course, just because Ries has become a little bit more verbose doesn’t mean he’s completely abandoned his ways. He still thoroughly enjoys picking apart videos of his previous races to see how he can improve going forward; he’s just been able to adjust a bit to avoid paralysis by analysis.
“If there’s one detail that I wanted to know what I could have done better — I watch my underwaters from past swims to see how big my undulation is compared to another swim, and just try to see what I can learn from it,” Ries said. “But I try not to delve too deep into it, because then that kind of gets you in a cycle of, ‘I didn’t do this one extra inch deeper; if I’d have blah blah blah,’ you know?”
That balance has been struck, at least in part, through his pairing up with Ratzlaff, who will also be competing in the 200 free and the 100 fly this weekend. As they’ve trained side by side the past couple of years, Ries and Ratzlaff seem to have affected one another for the better.
Ratzlaff says that sometimes he might not have analyzed things enough — he’s more gung-ho in his approach — while Ries has been prone to over-process information. Over time, the two have rubbed off on one another.
“It’s a very mutual relationship,” Ries said. “We kind of challenge each other in that way. We see each other’s swimming in a different view, and that helps broaden the view of each other.”
As much as Ries has broadened his view, he remains committed to his deep-thinking roots. He’s looking forward to studying computer science in college — and he’s hopeful that his diligent studies of his swim technique will help open up more doors for him both athletically and academically.
Ries doesn’t have to analyze the situation too deeply to see the connection between one and the other.
“University’s expensive,” he said. “I’ve got to pay somehow, so a scholarship would be nice.”
With any luck, the next 48 hours will help take him care of that.
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IHSAA State Finals
At IU Natatorium
Today
Swimming preliminaries, noon and 5:30 p.m. (all local entries compete at noon)
Saturday
Diving preliminaries and finals, 9 a.m.
Swimming finals, 3:30 p.m.
Attendance: No spectators will be admitted.
Webcast: Available at IHSAATV.org ($9.95 for today’s preliminaries only, $14.95 for both days)
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An event-by-event look at how the local entrants stack up against the rest of the state:
200 medley relay
Top overall seed: Franklin (1:31.82)
Other local qualifiers: None
Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs will face tough competition from Zionsville and Carmel, whose sectional times were within half a second of the top spot, but a top-three finish is a strong possibility and Franklin’s first-ever relay championship is certainly in play. Going up against strong Chesterton and Homestead teams in today’s preliminary heat should help set a quick pace in the opening event.
200 freestyle
Top overall seed: Griffin Hadley, Carmel (1:37.93)
Local qualifiers: Mac Ratzlaff, Franklin (T-2nd, 1:39.17); Anthony Ries, Franklin (19th, 1:44.05)
Outlook: Jacob Destrampe won this event for Franklin three years ago, and Ratzlaff has a strong chance to do the same this weekend. He logged a 1:37.06 back in December, and if he can put up the same or better on Saturday, he should be right in the mix along with Hadley and Hamilton Southeastern’s Keegan Streett, among others. Look for Ratzlaff to set an aggressive pace and try to hold on down the stretch. Ries, 22nd last year, has a chance to score points as well. The two teammates are in the same heat today.
200 individual medley
Top overall seed: Cameron Luarde, Homestead (1:47.22)
Local qualifiers: Cade Oliver, Franklin (sixth, 1:49.77); Barrett Daily, Franklin (15th, 1:55.18); Garrett Crist, Center Grove (17th, 1:55.61)
Outlook: This promises to be an exciting race, with seven of the top nine finishers last year returning — plus Zionsville’s Will Modglin, who may actually be a slight favorite over Carmel’s Gus Rothrock and Oliver, who were second and third last winter. Daily and Crist sit right around the top-16 cutoff line; each has a decent shot to secure a Saturday spot and some valuable team points. Oliver will be flanked by Daily and Luarde in today’s prelim.
50 freestyle
Top overall seed: Brady Samuels, Delta (20.19)
Local qualifiers: Ethan Martin, Center Grove (T-third, 20.53); Joey Smith, Indian Creek (14th, 21.21); Ben Clarkston, Center Grove (19th, 21.37)
Outlook: In the crapshootiest race of them all, Samuels comes in with a relatively large .27-second advantage on the field, but there is no clear favorite. Defending champ Braden Rollins of Boonville is back, and Martin was the runner-up a year ago; both are among a handful of swimmers who could hit the wall first. Smith and Clarkston are both capable of advancing to Saturday, but it might take a sub-21 second swim to safely get there. Martin and Clarkston are in the same heat today.
Diving
Top overall seed: Evan Thomas, Floyd Central (560.55 regional score)
Local qualifier: Drake Keller, Franklin (17th, 429.95)
Outlook: Center Grove senior Caleb Crady, who placed 11th last year and seemed poised to contend for a podium spot, pulled out midway through the sectional due to injury concerns, so Johnson County’s hopes ride with Keller, who placed sixth at the state’s deepest regional on Tuesday. The sophomore comes in right on the cusp of the top 16; the Grizzly Cubs, in contention for a third runner-up finish in four years, would gladly accept any points he can muster on Saturday.
100 butterfly
Top overall seed: Samuels, Delta (47.63)
Local qualifiers: Ratzlaff, Franklin (third, 49.34); Ries, Franklin (23rd, 51.25)
Outlook: Samuels and Ratzlaff both moved into this event from the 100 free after finishing second and fourth, respectively, in that event last winter. Those two have the state’s fastest times this season and should end up battling with Carmel’s Rothrock (fourth in 2020) for the crown on Saturday. Franklin coach Zach DeWitt believes that Ries can drop enough time to crack the top 16 today as well.
100 freestyle
Top overall seed: Martin, Center Grove (44.46)
Other local qualifiers: Ethan Pheifer, Franklin (T-11th, 46.43); Smith, Indian Creek (T-11th, 46.43)
Outlook: Along with Ratzlaff in the 200 free and Oliver in the 100 backstroke, this probably represents one of the county’s best chances at an individual champ; Martin finished almost a second clear of the field last week. He’ll need to hold off a talented field that not only includes Carmel’s Hadley and HSE’s Streett but also has reining champ Rollins lurking as the eighth seed. Martin will be next to Rollins this afternoon. Both Pheifer and Smith have a chance to sneak into the top eight.
500 freestyle
Top overall seed: Kyle Ponsler, Fishers (4:27.02)
Local qualifiers: Ethan Hite, Center Grove (21st, 4:48.34); Braeden Campbell, Whiteland (23rd, 4:49.09); Conner Peckinpaugh, Greenwood (24th, 4:49.17)
Outlook: Hite came from behind to win a thrilling sectional race that saw the top three separated by less than a second, with Campbell and Peckinpaugh close enough behind to earn the last two at-large spots. Getting to Saturday will require a significant time drop for any of the three; Campbell and Peckinpaugh are both more than five seconds back of the 16th seed.
200 freestyle relay
Top overall seed: Hamilton Southeastern (1:24.08)
Local qualifiers: Franklin (fourth, 1:25.07); Center Grove (sixth, 1:25.50); Indian Creek (17th, 1:27.91)
Outlook: Franklin and Center Grove both made the podium in this event last year and are well positioned to do so again. Winning might take some work — HSE and Carmel will be tough to beat — but moving up as high as third is certainly possible for both. Indian Creek, meanwhile, had a sectional time that was just one hundredth of a second behind No. 16 Zionsville, so advancement is in play for that quartet, too. The Braves swim side by side with the Trojans today.
100 backstroke
Top overall seed: Modglin, Zionsville (48.60)
Local qualifiers: Oliver, Franklin (second, 48.92); Pheifer, Franklin (ninth, 50.93); Clarkston, Center Grove (19th, 52.86)
Outlook: This shapes up as one of the more interesting showdowns of the day. Modglin got the better of Oliver head to head at the OLY Winter Invite, which has not sat well with the Franklin senior. Either one could end up on top Saturday. Pheifer will be trying to snatch a top-eight slot today; being next to Modglin in his prelim heat could help. Clarkston, meanwhile, hopes to move up into the final 16. He’ll swim with Oliver today.
100 breaststroke
Top overall seed: Ryan Malicki, Carmel (55.04)
Local qualifiers: Albert Nusawardhana, Franklin (13th, 58.03); Barrett Daily, Franklin (16th, 58.26)
Outlook: Getting up in the top eight would require a significant time drop (more than a second) for either Nusawardhana or Daily, but both have a good chance of landing in the consolation final. With Franklin expected to be in contention for second place overall, any points these two could pick up at this late stage in the meet could prove extremely valuable.
400 freestyle relay
Top overall seed: Franklin (3:05.87)
Other local qualifiers: Center Grove (11th, 3:10.10); Indian Creek (18th, 3:17.38)
Outlook: As with the medley relay, Franklin technically had the best sectional time but is hardly a clear favorite — Fishers, Zionsville, Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel are all capable of winning. Positioning among those top five might matter quite a bit, depending on the team standings going into that last race. Center Grove, just .14 seconds back of No. 8 seed Homestead, could certainly make the championship final as well; Indian Creek, swimming in the last heat today along with the Grizzly Cubs and HSE, will shoot for a consolation spot.
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