For a third-straight year Crawfordsville’s Thristan Callejas will compete at the state finals.
After being the lone Athenian in 2019, last season he was joined by Jack Pendleton in a pair of individual events and three relays. This year as a junior, Callejas is one of eight Athenian swimmers that will compete at Friday’s IHSAA State Finals at the IUPUI Natatorium. Crawfordsville will be represented in nine of the 11 swimming events.
“It is very satisfying,” Callejas said. “It comes down to the culture at our school. We hold ourselves and everyone around us accountable, so when I’m working hard, so is Marshall, so is Whit, and so is Evan. The cultural shift that we’ve created, so I’m really proud of the boys and myself.”
Callejas will compete in the 200 freestyle with a seed time of 1:49.9.
For Evan Chaney winning a sectional title and advancing to the state finals was all about getting over the hump. The junior had recorded three third-place finishes and a runner-up finish at the sectional in individual events as a freshman and sophomore, before winning the 200 individual medley last Saturday and advancing to the state finals. Chaney competed as a sophomore on a relay.
“It’s really different this year making it as an individual,” he said. “The past two years I’ve been getting second in like all my individuals, so it’s definitely an honor to make it this year. And I’m not taking it for granted, because I don’t know what next year’s going to be like, so I’m just enjoying it now and it should be fun.”
Chaney will carry a seed time of 2:06.13 into Friday’s state final prelims in the 200 IM. And for Chaney and Callejas, who were both quarantined and missed the Sagamore Conference meet, they are blessed at the opportunity to finish the season strong.
“I definitely feel fortunate,” Callejas said. “I can speak on my and Evan Chaney’s behalf that when we missed conference, that was a big blow, but especially this year everything is so unprecedented, so just extremely happy to have a meet.”
While Callejas and Chaney played vital roles in the Athenians winning their sixth sectional title in the last seven years, brothers Marshall and Whitman Horton were the consistent duo that carried Crawfordsville all season long, with a lttle luck along the way.
“Basically this season came down to making the most of every minute we had in the pool,” Whitman Horton said. “You never knew if you were going to be out the next day or the day after that. I’ve been around the sport for a while, and this has been a goal for me for a really long time. It’s just kind of surreal. This is an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get and I feel really lucky to have that opportunity. I’m just kind of taking it all in.”
The freshman will compete in the 500 freestyle with a seed time of 5:05.09, and the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.01 seconds.
And for Marshall, the junior ceased the opportunity to go from a role swimmer as a sophomore to a star this season.
“I don’t really have a word to describe it,” he said. “Sometimes it gets to you, a lot of the newspaper coverage. And sometimes it gets to my head, but I think one of the reasons I’ve been able to perform well is to not take anything for granted. Suppress The ‘oh Marshall everyone knows who you are now,’ tone that down and just swim like you can. But it’s been super fun to be honest. I had never really seen myself in the newspaper before. To being a star on the team is super fun and I hope to continue to swim really well.”
Marshall Horton will compete in the 100 freestyle with a seed time of 48.09 seconds and the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.82 seconds.
Crawfordsville’s Whitman and Marshall Horton, Callejas, and Pendleton are seeded 17th in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.39. In the 200 freestyle relay, the foursome of Marshall and Whitman Horton, Pendleton and Callejas have a seed time of 1:29.47. Chaney, Joseph Sanchez, Hunter Conrad, and Ben Brown will compete in the 400 freestyle relay with a seed time of 3:32.92.
Crawfordsville’s Eli Reeves will compete Saturday morning in the diving prelims with a seed score of 334.1.
Jones relishes at state finals opportunity
Southmont junior Trent Jones saw his hard work pay off on Saturday with his first career sectional title in the 100 butterfly, edging Crawfordsville’s Thristan Callejas.
The decision to put in extra work came back at the beginning of the season.
“I knew I was going to have to work harder than I did last year,” Jones said. “Last year in practice I know I didn’t work as hard as I should have, so I knew I had to improve in that field. Obviously I knew I had to work on my nerves as well. They’ve always been bad. Really just having to have the mentality that I’ve worked hard for this, and at swim meets I have to give it my all and I shouldn’t worry about what the outcome will be.”
Jones has put in time this season working on breathing every other stroke instead of every stroke like he did as a freshman and sophomore. He paced the sectional final race and held off Callejas in the final 25 meters.
“When it first happened I couldn’t believe it,” Jones said. “It’s really a great opportunity, because I didn’t think I’d make it this far. So to be able to do it my junior year is really cool. I’m looking forward to giving it my all without any pressure. At state there’s really no pressure on me to win or anything, so all I’m doing is racing the clock, and racing the competition I have at state.”
Jones has a seed time of 53.62 seconds.
