With the exception of a state-cut time, it takes a sectional title to advance to the IHSAA Swimming State Finals.
And Crawfordsville’s Alyx Bannon and North Montgomery’s Sidney Campbell know both the feeling of truimph and failure all too well.
Now a second-place finish at the sectional is nowhere close to failing, but it means the season is finished. That’s what happened last year for Campbell, finishing third in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 freestyle as a junior, just a year after winning both events as a sophomore.
“Obviously sectionals last year did not go as I had hoped they would have gone, but you can’t always swim a perfect race and you’re not always going to win every single event that you swim,” Campbell said. “Every athlete, you’re going to face adversity. I was really eager to get back into the pool, because I knew what I had done wrong, and how I needed to do to fix that.”
Only this year if she comes up short, it’ll be the end of the senior’s high school career, not just her season.
Campbell’s biggest competitor is Bannon, who won the 100 freestyle last year with a time of 54.08 seconds as a sophomore, for her first individual sectional title. Earlier this season, the two split at the Sagamore Conference meet. Campbell won the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.69 seconds, while Bannon took the title in the 100 freestyle in 54.05 seconds. The duo is set to highlight this weekend’s IHSAA Sectional at Crawfordsville as local swimmers compete for team and individual titles.
“I love competing against Sidney,” Bannon said. “She pushes me more than any other swimmer has, and just winning that 100 last year, it is possible. Because in my mind it was always a dream and then when it actually did happen, it made my standards higher from there.”
It’s become a friendly rivalry — with each girl wanting to see the other succeed.
“It’s hard because Alyx and I are friends,” Campbell said. “She’s super sweet and everything, so sometimes it’s hard to get into that competitive mindset when I see her, because I want her to succeed, but I also want to do my best and I want to move onto state.”
While Campbell is eager to end her career on a high note, Bannon has her eyes set on the next level of high school swimming. Not just getting to the state finals, but competing for a spot in the final swims.
“Last season the goal was to win sectional, and now the goal is to better at state than last year,” Bannon said. “It would mean a lot (to win again). I do have another year, so if it doesn’t happen, I do have another year to comeback, but going to state is the goal this year.”
Read a full sectional preview following Thursday night’s prelims.
