It’s not always the number of wins in a sport like swimming that signifies a teams’ depth and domination.
Crawfordsville won just five events, but two were relays and used their depth to tally a team total of 465 points to win its fifth IHSAA boys’ swim sectional title in a row and ninth in the last 10 years.
“It’s a good way to end a good season,” Crawfordsville coach Kevin Hedrick said. “The best part is we are not done. We will go next week and have a lot more fun. We are truly blessed. We had the biggest team this year of boys that I’ve ever coached.”
South Vermillion was a distant second with 319 points and Western Boone third with 313. Fountain Central sixth with 141, North Montgomery seventh at 135, and Southmont eighth at 134.
Crawfordsville’s depth showed off most in the 100 breaststroke — taking the top three spots. Senior Ryan Miller took the title with a time of 1:03.99, Shawn Ewoldt was second in 1:04.94, and Henry Hoar was third in 1:08.24.
“I was a freestyle sprinter and the coaches and I talked about how breaststroke has kind of evolved into of our better events consistently over the years,” Hedrick said. “Breaststroke is one of the ones that’s tougher to have some good kids.”
Whitman Horton broke a 17 year old sectional record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.49 seconds. Horton also won the 200 individual medley in 1:58.72. Horton joined Miller, Campbell Mason and Adrian Medina in winning 200 medley relay in 1:42.12, while Horton, Medina, Mason, joined Daniel Surface in winning the 400 freestyle relay in 3:26.92.
Medina placed second in the 200 freestyle in 1:52.33 and Campbell third in 1:52.47. Jayden Callejas was fourth in the 200 IM in 2:17.6 and Ewoldt fifth in 2:19.06.
Surface was fourth in the 50 freetyle in 24.49 seconds and Jackson Miles eighth in 25.46. Callejas placed fourth in the 100 butterfly in 59.56 seconds and Hoar fifth in 1:00.62. Medina was second in the 100 freestyle in 51.23 seconds, Surface fourth in 55.57 seconds, and Konner Ellsbury fifth in 56.28 seconds.
Mason placed second in the 500 freestyle in 5:04.18, Jaron Roche fourth in 5:36.21, and Konner Hartlep eighth in 5:50.69. Roche was also eighth in the 100 backstroke in 1:07.61.
Southmont’s Clay Allen led the Mounties with a second-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.12 seconds. Allen teamed up with Mason Cass, Hunter Gray, and Michael Schlinder for a fourth-place finish in 3:51.3.
“Across the board this was our best meet,” Southmont coach Dan McCormick said. “From Thursday to today, we had numerous lifetime bests, and couldn’t be happier.”
North Montgomery’s Avery Wright placed sixth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:55.11, while Landon Birge was sixth in the 100 freestyle in 56.44 seconds. Wright was also third in the 500 freestyle in 5:16.23. Jack Rogers was sixth in the 100 backstroke in 1:06.15.
“These boys came out, showed up, and did their very best,” North Montgomery coach Erin Yeager said. “I am so proud of this team. We don’t have a ton of them, but I tell you what they put the heart into it and the work into it.”
North Montgomery senior Sam Sheetz placed third in diving with a mark of 144.05 to advance to Tuesday’s regional.
Fountain Central freshman William Armstrong won the sectional title in diving with a mark of 457.10 which broke the previous sectional record held by Cville’s Caleb Whicker back in 2016.
Freshman Eli Sowder placed sixth in the 100 butterfly in 1:01.31. Sowder was fifth in the 500 freestyle in 5:36.28.
Horton, Miller, and the Crawfordsville relays will compete in the state prelims on Friday night at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Horton was sixth in the state in the 100 backstroke last season with a time of 50.79 seconds.
