ECI boys swim teams capture 8 individual titles, place high at sectionals
PORTLAND, IN — This year’s IHSAA boys swim sectionals, which began Thursday evening and concluded with final heats on Saturday afternoon, saw seven local swimmers claim eight individual or relay titles.
The seven victorious athletes — Delta’s Zach Baty and Brayden Bowman, Muncie Burris’s Josiah Branam, Kody Coyne, Oliver Moring, and Caleb Roberts, and Yorktown’s Gannon Crosser — will compete in next weekend’s state championship meet at the IU Natatorium in downtown Indianapolis.
The Jay County Natatorium was the epicenter of area boys swimming action this weekend as five local teams competed in the Jay County sectional. Although each of the East Central Indiana schools fell short of the title, Delta, Burris, and Muncie Central posted strong performances, with each team finishing in the top-5 of 11 squads.
Delta finished in second place (313 points) for the second straight year after winning seven consecutive sectional titles prior to last season.
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Although the Eagles’ dominance has subsided with their recent performances, head coach Laura Seibold-Caudill’s faith in the program has not wavered. Her team’s roster consisted of just nine swimmers and two divers, which posed issues when competing against teams with more depth.
“We just need more time to reload,” Seibold-Caudill said. “In a couple years, we’ll be right back on top.”
Seibold-Caudill’s Eagles were led by the tandem of senior Brayden Bowman and sophomore Zach Baty, whose four combined individual wins kept Delta in the mix for the sectional crown.
In his final sectional meet, Bowman collected convincing wins in the 200 freestyle (1:51.15 minutes) and 100 backstroke (53.60 seconds). This will be his second trip to the state championship, but his first in individual events.
“I’m really excited about it,” Bowman said. “I’m hoping that I get better times than I did here today.”
Baty punched his ticket to his second straight state appearance with titles in the 200 IM (2:00.93) and 500 freestyle (4:55.71). The Eagles sophomore said that he is striving to advance to the final heats at state in both of his events.
“He’s kind of like Brady (Samuels) was,” Seibold-Caudill said of Baty. “He wants a future in this, he wants to swim in college, and he’s going to be up there on top.”
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Two spots behind Delta was Burris, whose fourth-place finish (223) and two event wins mark a major improvement for the program. Last season, the Owls finished in at seventh-place and did not send any swimmers to state.
Burris’s two victories came in the 200 medley relay and 100 breaststroke.
The squad’s 200 medley relay team was made up of junior Josiah Branam, senior Kody Coyne, freshman Oliver Moring and senior Caleb Roberts. Their victory (1:45.23) was a significant breakthrough as Burris’s 200 medley relay team last season swam into ninth place.
Coyne claimed the blue ribbon in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.91) after a third-place finish in the event at last year’s sectional meet. This will be Coyne’s first trip to state, and his victory marks the second time in the last three years that an Owl swimmer has won the 100 breaststroke.
The sectional meet also featured several area divers. Delta continued its tradition on the diving board, placing two divers on the podium. Senior Tre Phillips, who claimed the 2022 sectional title, finished in second-place with 398.15 points, and senior Jackson Condie claimed third place with 373.50 points.
Both Phillips and Condie will compete in the Fishers diving regional on Tuesday.
Jay County sectional team scores:
Norwell – 395 points
Delta – 313 points
Bluffton – 263 points
Muncie Burris – 223 points
Muncie Central – 202 points
Adams Central – 187 points
Huntington North – 178 points
Jay County – 151 points
Bellmont – 133 points
Blackford – 104 points
South Adams – 48 points
Other sectional results
Yorktown competed in the Hamilton Southeastern sectional, accumulating 301.5 points to land in third place out of 11 teams.
The Tigers’ only individual champion was senior Gannon Crosser. He sprinted his way to his second straight 50 freestyle crown (21.59) and touched the wall first in the 100 backstroke (50.77), avenging a third-place finish last season. Crosser’s performance qualifies him for his third consecutive state meet.
Although he did not claim any individual wins, sophomore Henry Ko was also a major contributor to Yorktown’s third-place finish. Ko swam into second place in the 100 butterfly (51.09) and raced to a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:41.99).
The Tigers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Crosser, sophomore Peyton Wormer, sophomore Kedaar Nallamothy, and Ko was the squad’s highest-placing relay as it finished in second place (1:29.36).
New Castle’s swimmers and divers participated in the New Palestine sectional, where they claimed seventh-place among the 11-team field. No Trojan individuals or relays won their respective events, but two of the team’s swimmers saw the podium.
Senior Samuel Hastings concluded his high school swimming career with a fourth-place swim in the 500 freestyle (5:09.57) and a seventh place performance in the 200 freestyle (1:54.08). Junior Cameron Poe raced into the third-place position in the 100 butterfly (55.86) and earned a ninth-place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:16.93)
Follow Adam Altobella on Twitter @AltobellaAdam
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: IHSAA boys swimming sectionals: ECI win 8 individual titles
