Columbus North and Columbus East sent boys swimming records flying off the boards in Saturday’s North Sectional.
Bull Frogs senior Christopher Lee set one sectional record, and the Olympians set three school records, a night after tying another school mark.
Meanwhile, Lee and East sophomore Brady Beyer each qualified for next weekend’s state finals in two individual events, and North made it with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. More qualifiers are possible through call-backs, although those won’t be finalized until Tuesday since the Castle Sectional finals were pushed back to Monday night.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Lee said. “I feel like we achieved most, if not all of our goals today.”
Bloomington North won the team title with 425 points. The Bull Frogs edged East Central 367-349 for second, followed by Bloomington South (264) and Columbus East (236).
Lee finished second in the 50 freestyle in 20.91 seconds, which is under the state standard, then came back with a victory in the 100 backstroke in a sectional-record 50.70. He is returning to state for the second year in a row in both events.
“That was the goal coming into this — to get the state cut (in the 50 freestyle),” Lee said. “That (100 backstroke) race really, really hurt. But that was my second-fastest time ever, and I’m not all the way rested. I’m super happy with that.”
North sophomore Daniel Utterback and juniors David Fry and Carlos Fabian Aguilar, along with Lee, won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:15.62. Utterback finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:44.84) and 100 freestyle (47.03), and the Bull Frogs were second in the 200 medley (1:37.91) and 200 freestyle (1:28.49) relays.
“It was a really good day,” North coach Logan Schaefer said. “To put together three relays like that was a big goal for us, and I feel like we have several opportunities to advance swims on. We’re going to have to wait (for possible call-backs), but I really feel good about how we performed today.”
For the Olympians, Beyer set school records in winning the 500 freestyle (4:40.38) and 100 breaststroke (57.69).
“I was happy with it,” Beyer said. “I haven’t dropped for a long time in my 500, so I was kind of due for a good drop there. The 100 breast, I knew I had a race in me, so I just went out with that kid (Bloomington North’s Jeremiah Boshears) and tried to come home harder, and that’s what happened.”
Dathan Wolf, Beyer, Mason Curry and Chad Kelly set a school record in finishing fourth in the 200 medley relay in 1:39.03. Kelly tied the school record with a 22.32 in the 50 freestyle in Friday’s preliminaries, but was one-one hundreth of a second slower Saturday and finished fourth.
Curry finished second in the 100 butterfly (54.07). East was third in the 400 freestyle relay (3:20.22).
Beyer is the first Olympians swimmer to qualify for state since Kenny Crapse in 2008.
“That’s huge for us,” East coach Doug Trueblood said. “We’re trying to build the program and start to compete. That’s what our goal is. We have some bright young swimmers coming up.”
Meanwhile, two Columbus North senior divers qualified for Tuesday’s Jasper Diving Regional with top-four finishes. Senior Kyan Jiles will make his second consecutive regional appearance after taking third with a score of 354.60.
“I’m very excited to go to regional and am just glad I got the opportunity with this whole crazy year,” Jiles said. “If I make state, it’s the cherry on top the season. But I’m just worried about it doing my own personal best.”
DeShawn Austin claimed the fourth and final qualifying spot with a 354.45.
“It’s crazy,” Austin said. “It’s a lot of hard work. We just worked so hard with what we had because with COVID, there were days where things were scary with practice and what we could do. But all the hard work we put in together, I’m just glad we can go. For it being my first time, I really don’t know what to expect, but I’m just going to make sure that Monday, I practice as hard as I can and I go to Tuesday ready to dive the best that I can.”
The top eight divers at the regional qualify for the state finals.
