INDIANAPOLIS — Columbus North came into Friday’s preliminary round of the boys swimming and diving state finals with hopes of moving some swimmers forward into scoring position today.
North’s season reached its conclusion a day early, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of head coach Logan Schaefer.
“It’s a great learning experience for our young team to be at this meet,” Schaefer said. “We had some guys with some really successful swims on relays and individuals tonight, and that got the ball rolling a little bit for us.”
The 200 medley relay team of sophomore Jared Carroll, senior Adam Zhuang, sophomore Sam Russell and junior Thomas Goble finished 20th with a time of 1:38.83.
Carroll and Zhuang were joined by freshman Evan Patterson and senior Angel Torres Martinez on the 200 freestyle relay squad, which finished 19th in 1:28.55.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Patterson, Carroll, Torres Martinez and Russell posted a time of 3:15.19 to place 20th.
Individually, Russell was 24th in the 200 individual medley, hitting the wall in 1:57.71. Torres Martinez competed in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing 33rd with a time of 22.01 seconds.
The night was remarkably fast on the whole, with four state records falling on Friday. Carmel junior Drew Kibler set new marks in the 100 and 200 freestyle, and he enters today’s final with a realistic shot at the national mark in the latter. Zionsville’s Jack Franzman established a new standard in the 50 freestyle, and Carmel broke the old mark in the 200 free relay.
Schaefer said he was pleased with how North’s boys and girls teams adapted to a new coach and a new culture this season — and with most of his top swimmers returning, he’s excited about the future.
“I think we’re just going to keep continuing to take small steps forward and believing in the process,” he said, “and we’ll get to where these guys want to be.”
