It's a long way to catching the girls, but Carmel boys swimming sets records of their own
INDIANAPOLIS – When you are a Carmel High School swimmer, it is hard to make . . . well, it is hard to make a splash. Virtually everything you could do has been done.
Not everything, though.
In 121 years of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, no boys team had won 10 state titles in a row. Carmel did.
No boys swim team had won by as many as 244 points. Carmel did.
Exactly one team had scored more than 409 points. That was 417 points by 2018 Carmel, which featured two Olympians, Drew Kibler and Jake Mitchell, and a world junior champion, Wyatt Davis. Pretty good team.
“Just being able to add on to that and continue this double digits of 10 years — right? — is something great,” Gregg Enoch said. “I know these underclassmen will do the same.”
Carmel finished with 409 points Saturday in the 87th IHSAA state meet at the Natatorium at IUPUI. Penn was second with 165, edging Fishers’ 158 and Zionsville’s 150.
No swimmer set a state or national record. That is a testament to how hard it is in Indiana to do something unprecedented in prep swimming.
This dynasty is not as long as the Carmel girls’ national record of 38 in row. These boys are more like Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs. They win quietly, efficiently, relentlessly.
“I don’t think about swimming grinding people down. Not playing defense out there,” coach Chris Plumb said.
“I think it just speaks to the depth and hard work of the entire team. The top guys bring the other guys up to make sure they set the standard to swim at this level.”
Carmel had the maximum three finalists in the shortest race, 50-yard freestyle (3-5-8); the longest, 500 freestyle (1-3-4); the one requiring the most versatility, 200 individual medley (1-2-4).
“We had it all,” Plumb said.
Enoch had to wait to win it all.
The Louisville signee won the 200 IM in 1:45.06 (after 1:44.66 prelim Friday), 500 free in 4:19.55 (after 4:16.28 prelim), and anchored the 200 and 400 free relays to victories with splits of 20.44 and 43.93.
A year ago, Enoch was second at state behind a couple of national record-setters, Zionsville’s Will Modglin and Carmel’s Aaron Shackell. Enoch was second to Aaron Shackell in the 200-meter butterfly at last summer’s junior nationals. Pretty good company.
Andrew Shackell, a junior, lives with such company. He is son of British Olympian Nick, brother of Aaron and twin of Alex, an Olympic hopeful who became the first from Carmel’s girls program to win a world medal.
Andrew was third in both 50 free and 100 fly, adding legs on winning 200 medley and 200 free relays. So he is a state champ, too.
“I told Andrew today, he’s on his own swim path. Not your dad’s, not your brother’s, not your sister’s,” Plumb said.
Enoch’s two wins were the only ones by Carmel in individual events.
Seniors Matthew Klinge of Harrison and Walker Mattice of Zionsville were also double winners.
Klinge won a third 50 free in 19.45. or .07 off Kibler’s state record. He repeated in the 100 fly in 47.57.
Mattice’s individual state titles in the 100 and 200 freestyles — in 44.26 and 1:36.86 — were his first. The Purdue signee was the Mental Attitude Award winner.
“Honestly, we had low expectations coming into the year,” Mattice said. “We all stepped up. We trained hard and worked and proved we’re still a top team.”
During Carmel’s 10-year streak, Zionsville has finished second at state five times.
State notes: Trojans soph wins backstsroke
∎ Center Grove sophomore Henry Lyness beat Bloomington South junior David Kovacs to win the 100 backstroke, 48.06 to 48.71. Davis and Modglin had combined to win that event over the past seven years. “It makes me feel pretty good to be in the same sentence with both of them,” Lyness said.
∎ South Bend Riley’s Chris Bartmess won the 100 breaststroke in 53.78 over Carmel senior Brandon Malicki. Malicki’s brother, Ryan, won the event in 2021 and 2022.
∎ A Carmel freshman, William Allen, was ninth in the 100 free in 46.68 and swam a 46.05 leg in the 400 free relay. By comparison, as freshmen, Kibler and Zionsville’s Jack Franzman clocked 45.72 and 45.86, respectively, in 2015.
∎ Plumb increased his total to 31 state titles — 18 girls, 13 boys — to extend his record for an Indiana coach in all sports.
∎ Hamilton Heights went 1-2 In 1-meter diving for the second year in a row. Ethan Swart scored 585.75 points to Nathan Cox’s 563.35.
Contact IndyStar correspondent at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
IHSAA boys swimming state finals results
Team scores: 1. Carmel, 409; 2. Penn, 165; 3. Fishers, 158; 4. Zionsville, 150; 5. Bloomington South, 123; 6. South Bend Riley, 118; 7. Harrison (West Lafayette) 102; 8. Valparaiso, 98; 9. Center Grove, 96; 10. Hamilton Southeastern, 82.
Individual winners
200 medley relay: Carmel, 1:29.39 (Anderson Kopp, Brandon Malicki, Andrew Shackell, Michael Gorey)
200 free: Walker Mattice, Zionsville (1:36.86)
200 IM: Gregg Enoch, Carmel (1:45.06)
50 free: Matthew Klinge, Harrison (19.45)
200 free relay: Carmel, 1:22.02 (Andrew Shackell, Brandon Malicki, Michael Gorey, Gregg Enoch
1-meter diving: Ethan Swart, Hamilton Heights (585.75)
100 fly: Matthew Klinge, Harrison (47.67)
100 free: Walker Mattice, Zionsville (44.26)
500 free: Gregg Enoch, Carmel (4:19.55)
100 back: Henry Lyness, Center Grove (48.06)
100 breast: Christopher Bartmess, South Bend Riley (53.78)
400 free relay: Carmel, 3:02.79 (Lewis Zhang, William Allen, Ethan Zhang, Gregg Enoch)
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA boys swimming: Carmel wins record 10th state title, biggest margin
