Valparaiso Boys End Chesterton’s 26-Year Sectionals Streak in Indiana HS Swimming

2024 Indiana High School State Swimming & Diving Championships – Boys

• February 23-24, 2024
• IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, Indiana
• Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
• State Championship site
• Sectionals results

The Carmel boys’ high school swimming & diving team head into next weekend’s state championship as favorites to win a 10th consecutive State Championship meet.

But at this weekend’s 20 Sectional Championships around the state, the boys from Valparaiso High School provided a reminder that all streaks must come to an end.

In a Sectional 2 race that came down to the final relay, the Valparaiso boys won the closing 400 free relay to seal an 8-point victory over Chesterton High School. That snapped a 26-year Sectional title streak for Chesterton that began in the 1996-1997 season.

The Valparaiso boys won a whopping 8 out of 12 events, and they needed all of them to overcome the depth of Chesterton by a narrow margin.

For Valparaiso, the charge was led by junior George Patterson, who won the 100 free in a new lifetime best of 46.09, and junior Jonah Lee, who won the 100 breast in 56.13 and the 200 IM in 1:54.73 – both personal best times.

With Valparaiso set to return almost their entire team next season, including all 12 relay legs, this could be the beginning of a streak of their own – though a very young Chesterton team will make for another compelling matchup next season.

Elsewhere, in Seciton 12, Harrison (West Lafayette) won its first Sectionals title since 2001, snapping a 16-year streak by Zionsville. Harrison was led by Ohio State commit Matthew Klinge, who won the 50 free in 19.95 and the 100 fly in 48.21.

In Sectional 17, Bloomington South edged their rivals Bloomington North by 13 points, led by wins in the 200 IM (1:50.35) and 100 back (48.84) from junior David Kovacs.

And then of course there is Carmel, who won their 37th Sectional title – the second-most in state history. They won in dominating fashion, finishing 187 points ahead of the runners-up from Noblesville.

This year’s Carmel team, led by Gregg Enoch (who won the 200 IM in 1:47.51 and the 500 free in 4:26.31) and Andrew Shackell (who won the 50 free in 20.87 and the 100 fly in 48.94) doesn’t have the same recognizable names as past seasons, but they still head to Indianapolis next weekend as the favorites to win the state title again.

Two Sectional meets were won by a half-point margin.

In Sectional 11, Plainfield won by .5 points over Avon, with a tie for 5th place in the 200 free by Breckon Jones being the half-point difference maker.

In Sectional 13, North Central High in Indianapolis won by .5 points over Franklin Central.

2024 Indiana Sectionals Team Champions

By Sectional number

1. Munster – 472 points (6-point margin over Lake Central)
2. Valparaiso – 470 points (8-point margin over Chesterton)
3. Penn – 531 points (110 point margin over South Bend Riley)
4. Warsaw Community – 441 points (95 point margin over Culver Academies)
5. Northridge – 378 points (15 point margin over Concord)
6. Fort Wayne  Carroll – 545 points (305 point margin over Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger)
7. Bluffton – 425 points (134 point margin over Delta)
8. Fishers – 532 points (93 point margin over Hamilton Southeastern)
9. Carmel – 588 points (187 point margin over Noblesville)
10. Crawfordsville – 465 points (146 point margin over South Vermillion)
11. Plainfield – 446.5 points (.5 point margin over Avon)
12. West Lafayette – Harrison – 499 points (23 point margin over Zionsville)
13. Brownsburg – 493 points (182 point margin over Brebeuf Jesuit Prep)
14. North Central – 454 points (.5 margin over Franklin Central)
15. New Palestine – 396.5 points (74.5 point margin over Greenfield-Central)
16. Franklin Community – 503 points (28 point margin over Center Grove)
17. Bloomington South – 438 points (13 point margin over Bloomington North)
18. Floyd Central – 429 points (11 point margin over Seymour)
19. Jasper – 424.5 points (61.5 point margin over Bedford North Lawrence)
20. Evansville North – 431 points (121 point margin over Castle)