An event-by-event breakdown of what to expect at this weekend’s girls state swimming and diving finals:
200 medley relay
Top seed (based on sectional times): Carmel (1:41.36)
Local qualifiers: Franklin (seventh, 1:45.58); Greenwood (13th, 1:47.01)
What to look for: The Grizzly Cubs’ quartet of Allie Lacy, Kathleen Lacy, Lili Ratzlaff and Jenna Miller won a tough sectional race and has a chance to make the championship final; doing so would get Franklin well on its way to another top-10 overall finish. Greenwood, 15th last winter, looks to improve upon that finish behind the team of Chloe Vitatoe, Madison Peckinpaugh, Naomi Weaver and Reagan Graves.
200 freestyle
Top seed: Josephine Ramey, Fishers (1:47.00)
Local qualifiers: Lili Ratzlaff, Franklin (fifth, 1:49.04); Lara Phipps, Center Grove (12th, 1:53.04); Kiersten Smith, Center Grove (16th, 1:53.70); Paige Lawrence, Franklin (17th, 1:53.73)
What to look for: Ratzlaff threw down a personal-best time at the sectional and looked like she had more left in the tank; Franklin coach Zach DeWitt has said all season he believes the freshman can go 1:47 here. This race is loaded at the top, with Bloomington South’s Kristina Paegle (1:47.08) lurking as the second seed and Carmel’s Lynsey Bowen and Gretchen Lueking (the defending champ) also within a second of Ramey. Phipps, Smith and Lawrence all have a reasonable chance to figure in the scoring here; Phipps was 13th and Lawrence 14th last year.
200 individual medley
Top seed: Devon Kitchel, Zionsville (1:59.96)
Local qualifier: Allie Lacy, Franklin (7th, 2:03.95)
What to look for: Kitchel is the defending champion and comes in more than a second ahead of anyone else, but this is a loaded field that includes six of last season’s top seven finishers — including Lacy, who was fifth. While it’s probably Kitchel’s race to lose, the jockeying behind her for top-eight positioning should be fierce.
50 freestyle
Top seed: Lilian Christianson, Penn (22.85)
Local qualifiers: Lexi Stuart, Center Grove (22nd, 24.31); Jenna Miller, Franklin (23rd, 24.36)
What to look for: The chase to dethrone Christianson, who won this event last year as a freshman, should be fun. Runner-up Meghan Christman of Carmel is back in the mix, and Greyhound freshman Alex Shackell — already being billed as the star of this meet — is lurking as the sixth seed. Expect the title chase to come down to those three. Meanwhile, Stuart and Miller will just be trying to advance to Saturday; both are within a quarter of a second of the 16th seed.
Diving
Top seed (based on regional scores): Mia Prusiecki, Center Grove (572.95)
Other local qualifiers: Ella Taylor, Indian Creek (fifth, 486.05); Camy Quiggins, Franklin (eighth, 431.60)
What to look for: While diving is the toughest event to compare across regionals because every judge is different, the spread between Prusiecki’s score at Jasper and the next highest (514.30 by Northridge’s Jiselle Miller) is big enough to shrug off any hint of subjectivity. The Trojan sophomore is a heavy favorite and could threaten the state meet record of 563.65. Meanwhile, Taylor and Quiggins — who placed 13th and 14th, respectively, at state last year — are coming off of personal-best performances and could both very well join Prusiecki on the podium.
100 butterfly
Top seed: Shackell, Carmel (53.39)
Local qualifiers: Phipps, Center Grove (fourth, 55.56); Naomi Weaver, Greenwood (20th, 57.86); Reagan Graves (21st, 57.91)
What to look for: Shackell taking dead aim at the state record of 51.79, set by former Greyhound Veronica Burchill in 2016. The freshman’s best time in the event is 51.21, which may be why several of the state’s heavyweights (including Kitchel and Lueking, who placed 1-2 last winter) cleared out of this event. While victory would take a near miracle for Phipps, a top-five finish looks like a strong possibility. Weaver and Graves are both less than half a second out of the top 16 and could make it back to Saturday with strong swims.
100 freestyle
Top seed: Paegle, Bloomington South (49.19)
Local qualifiers: Ratzlaff, Franklin (eighth, 51.38); Miller, Franklin (19th, 52.74); Smith, Center Grove (20th, 53.28)
What to look for: With defending champion Paegle, plus Christianson and Lueking, topping this field, Ratzlaff will be facing some stiff competition — but she’s looking good for a top-eight spot and possibly Franklin’s school record to boot. Miller and Smith are both within striking distance of the top 16 and could very well make it back for the consolation final.
500 freestyle
Top seed: Bowen, Carmel (4:47.52)
Local qualifiers: Lawrence, Franklin (10th, 5:06.27); Graves, Greenwood (20th, 5:11.77)
What to look for: None of the top four finishers from last year are back in this event, but it might be Bowen’s to lose anyway. Seeded eight and a half seconds ahead of the field, the Carmel freshman could make a run at the state mark of 4:45.15, which has stood since 2015. Lawrence, 12th last year, hopes to crack the top eight in her final high school meet; either way, she’s in good shape to earn a second swim on Saturday. Graves could also make the top 16.
200 freestyle relay
Top seed: Fishers, 1:34.61
Local qualifier: Center Grove (sixth, 1:36.38)
What to look for: The Trojans loaded up this relay and it showed in the sectional, where Stuart, Smith, Tenley Wilkins and Phipps rolled to victory by more than five seconds. Moving up could be tough — Fishers, Fort Wayne Carroll, Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel are likely the favorites here — but Center Grove’s chances of staying in the top eight for Saturday are pretty strong.
100 backstroke
Top seed: Mya DeWitt, Fort Wayne Carroll (54.24)
Local qualifier: Lacy, Franklin (fifth, 55.87)
What to look for: DeWitt was second last year behind Berit Berglund of Carmel (54.40), who sits as the No. 2 seed; Lacy and Homestead sophomore Ripley Merritt are the only other returning finalists. Expect Lacy to eclipse her own school record while trying to improve upon last season’s seventh-place finish.
100 breaststroke
Top seed: Kitchel, Zionsville (1:02.01)
Local qualifiers: None
What to look for: While Carmel’s MacKenna Lieske (sixth, 1:03.97) is the reigning champion, she’s facing a monster challenge this time from Kitchel, who comes in with a seed time 1.4 seconds faster than anyone else. Even in one of the more loaded races at this meet, the senior is a solid favorite.
400 freestyle relay
Top seed: Fishers (3:25.68)
Local qualifiers: Franklin (fourth, 3:28.91); Center Grove (ninth, 3:32.69); Greenwood (21st, 3:39.72)
What to look for: Much like Center Grove loaded up its 200 free relay, the Grizzly Cubs did the same here, with Allie Lacy, Miller, Lawrence and Ratzlaff dominating the sectional and putting themselves in position for a possible top-three showing. The Trojans, using almost the same lineup as they did in the 200 (subbing Kylie Treat in for Wilkins), have a pretty realistic chance of joining Franklin in the A final. Greenwood has a chance to make the top 16, but it’ll need to drop some time on each leg to get there.
