Shackell siblings push Carmel to first junior nationals swim crown
For Carmel swimmers, Team USA overrides Team Carmel. In other words, whatever prepares individuals for international meets takes precedence over all else.
That includes a meet as consequential as last week’s USA Junior Championships at Irvine, Calif. Carmel Swim Club had never won combined boys and girls scoring.
That’s right. Never.
Carmel has featured teams anointed as national high school champions and seen swimmers win U.S. and NCAA titles, world medals, Olympic berths. Carmel’s lone team championship at a summer junior nationals was for girls in 2014.
“When we started the meet, I was never making that a focus,” coach Chris Plumb said. “If it happens, it happens.”
It happened. Out of 3,100 registered USA Swimming clubs, Carmel Swim Club is No. 1.
Unlike Bill Polian’s 2009 Colts, Carmel backed off and won it all anyway. That was in large part to three swimmers – siblings Alex and Aaron Shackell, and Berit Berglund – who will represent Team USA in the Junior Pan Pacs later this month.
Alex Shackell, entering her sophomore year, came away with six medals and three golds. She had nine medals and seven golds in December’s East junior nationals, won by Carmel for the first time.
Summer nationals are more meaningful. Carmel finished the five-day meet with 440 points. Dynamo Swim Club (Georgia) was second with 403 and Elmbrook Swim Club (Wisconsin) third with 371.
Elmbrook edged Carmel 310-287 in girls scoring.
Plumb calculated races in Irvine – in an outdoor 50-meter pool and three time zones away – would help the Shackells and Berglund prepare for Honolulu. Yet it wasn’t just about them.
“The team has really stepped up in the prelims to get opportunities at night,” Plumb said. “And now just keep getting faster.”
Alex Shackell set a junior nationals record of 58.33 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly, breaking the record of 58.69 set by Dakota Luther in 2017. Shackell lowered her Indiana 15-16 record and became No. 2 age-15 American ever, behind Claire Curzan, winner of five medals at June’s World Championships.
Shackell ranks No. 8 in 2022 among Americans of all ages.
Just as they did in butterfly at high school state, both Shackells won the 200-meter fly. Alex (2:09.44) broke her Indiana 15-16 record and became third-fastest 15-year-old in USA Swimming history. Aaron (1:57.42) became seventh in history among 17s.
“I thought they would be fast. I didn’t know how fast they could be,” Plumb said. “All of them, really, it’s just doing the work. The relays have been huge.”
Berglund was second in the 100 backstroke in 1:00.85. Molly Sweeney, entering her freshman year, was seventh in the 200 breaststroke in 2:32.67, an Indiana 13-14 record. Vivian Wilson cut her 200 freestyle time six seconds in a month – that does not happen – and finished 11th in 2:02.83.
Elmbrook beat Carmel in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, setting national records in both. Carmel won the 800 freestyle relay in 8:14.23 on legs by Shackell (2:03.87), Lexie Ward (2:04.84), Wilson (2:02.61) and the 14-year-old Sweeney (2:02.91).
Two more Hoosiers national champs
Elsewhere among girls, JoJo Ramey of Fishers won the 200 backstroke in 2:09.80, less than a second off the time that made her an Olympic Trials finalist last year.
Penn High School's Lily Christianson, who set a state record in winning the 50-yard freestyle as a sophomore, won junior nationals in the 50-meter free in 25.43 – just .01 ahead of Indiana University signee Kristina Paegle of Bloomington South.
Paegle was second in the 100 freestyle in 55.15, followed by Alex Shackell in 55.38.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel swimming: Shackells push team to 1st junior nationals crown
