The Carmel Girls Swim Team: Laying the Groundwork for a 40th Straight Championship
The Carmel Girls Swim Team from Indiana is on a mission to secure their 40th consecutive Indiana High School State Championship title. On Friday, they faced their biggest challenge in years, and their depth shone through in the preliminaries.
One of the standout performances came in the 200 IM, where sophomore Ellie Clarke, sophomore Leah Debosch, and senior Lucy Enoch claimed the top three spots in the A-Final with times of 1:59.36, 2:00.39, and 2:03.36, respectively.
SwimSwam's Unofficial Prelims Scoring, Top 4 Contenders (Swimming Only)
- Carmel – 313 points
- Fishers – 235 points
- Carroll – 227 points
- Zionsville – 208 points
Carmel secured the top seed in five events after the first day of the meet. In the 200 medley relay, Debosch, Molly Sweeney, Ellie Clarke, and Sophia Floyd combined for a time of 1:40.68.
Sweeney, a Tennessee commit and a star on the team, dominated the first day with top seeds in both the 100 fly (52.72) and the 100 breast (59.53). Her 100 breast time was just 0.06 seconds shy of her best.
Sweeney's switch to the 100 fly this year is notable. While she would have been a heavy favorite in the 200 IM, the team's depth in that event is impressive. Carmel has no other scorers in the 100 fly.
In the 100 back, Ellie Clarke took the top seed with a time of 53.35, leading the field by over a second. Her fellow sophomore, Lilly King from Munster High, qualified second with a time of 54.38, a drop of 1.3 seconds.
The teams chasing Carmel, Carroll High School and Fishers High School, also had strong days and will compete for second place.
Fishers' future looks bright with a pair of freshmen, Audrey Wolf and Ashlyn Hayes, who made A Finals in the 50 free (23.48) and 100 fly (54.22), respectively. Audrey's older sister, Emily Wolf, a commit to NC State, qualified first in the 200 free (1:45.72) and is the top seed in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.23.
Fishers also wrapped up the session with the top seed in the 400 free relay, finishing ahead of Carmel with a time of 3:24.52.
For Carroll, the meet started tough, but their sprint free group pulled them back in. They took the top two seeds in the 50 free, with Maris Williams and Kate Fetters leading the way.
The finals will commence on Saturday morning, with diving preliminaries at 9 AM Eastern and swimming and diving finals starting at 1 PM Eastern.
Key Performers:
- Ellie Clarke
- Leah Debosch
- Lucy Enoch
- Molly Sweeney
- Sophia Floyd
- Lilly King
- Audrey Wolf
- Ashlyn Hayes
- Emily Wolf
- Maris Williams
- Kate Fetters
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