Weiss to Chase Indiana Record, Carmel Fighting for 31-Straight Tonight

IHSAA 2016-2017 GIRLS’ SWIMMING & DIVING STATE

• February 10th-11th
• Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis
• 2-Day Prelims/Finals State Championship
• Meet information
• Prelim Results
• Finals Heat Sheets
• Live Results via Meet Mobile

When it comes to overall dominance in the high school realm, no American team in recent years has been able to touch the girls of Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. Last season, the team extended its state win streak to 30 in a row, the most consecutive wins of any high school athletic team in the country. You’re reading that right: the most wins of any team in any sport in the entire country. (They have also won our Swammy Award for High School Team of the Year every year we’ve awarded it: 2014, 2015, and 2016).

After losing team powerhouses Claire Adams and Veronica Burchill last year to graduation (Adams is now at Texas, and Veronica Burchill swims for Georgia), Carmel has it all on the line today in the state finals. The team is now led by NAG record holder Sammie Burchill, who will join her sister at Georgia next season; Indiana high school record-holder Emma Nordin, an Arizona State commit; sophomore Kelly Pash; and junior Trude Rothrock.

But challengers Bloomington South, Penn, and Yorktown lurk in the heat sheets of the finals tonight, as does our #8 recruit for 2017, Junior World Championships bronze medalist Hannah Kukurugya of Crown Point. Kukurugya was famously one of Stanford’s four-top-20-recruits-landed-in-a-span-of-24 hours on October 10th.

However, Yorktown sophomore Emily Weiss may pull out the biggest swim of the night in tonight’s 100 breast. After blasting 59.75 in prelims yesterday (which appears to be over half a second faster than her previous best 1:00.34 from Winter Juniors), she will chase down Olympic gold medalist Lilly King‘s Indiana High School State record of 59.63 from 2015. It’s worth noting that King’s Indiana record is the third-fastest high school state record in the country in this event. Only California (Kasey Carlson, Walnut Creek: 58.75, 2009) and Minnesota (Lindsey Horejsi, Albert Lea: 58.56, 2015) have faster girls’ 100 breast records.

Yesterday in prelims, Penn took the top slot in the 200 medley relay with 1:42.65, with Bloomington South (1:43.10), and Carmel (1:43.34) hot on their heels.

Nordin and Rothrock of Carmel led the way in the 200 freestyle prelims, coming in with 1:47.88 and 1:48.55, respectively, with Lauryn Parrish of Fishers (a Kansas commit) hot on their heels with 1:48.80.

The 200 IM will be a battle of senior rivals tonight between Kukurugya and Sammie Burchill, but Kukurugya will have the edge. She finished in 1:57.99 yesterday to Burchill’s 1:59.35.

Trials qualifier and Indiana commit Grace Haskett of Bloomington South outswam her peers by over half a second in the 50 free prelims, clocking 22.68 to Zionsville’s Tessa Wrightson’s 23.32.

Kukurugya should see an easy win in the 100 fly tonight; she went 53.26 in the prelims to Rothrock’s 54.62.

Carmel’s sophomore Pash will take a commanding lead in a final packed with upperclassmen in the 100 freestyle. She was the only swimmer under 50 yesterday, with 49.17 to second-seed Megan Johnson of Homestead’s 50.80.

Nordin will be chasing down her own state record in the 500 free tonight. Her prelims swim was 4:46.98, about two seconds off her state record 4:45.15.

Carmel (1:34.52) will fight to hold off Penn (1:35.09) and North Central (1:35.22) tonight in the 200 free relay.

The 100 back is shaping up to be a close three-way race tonight. Yesterday, Haskett nabbed the top seed with 53.81, but was very closely followed by Sammie Burchill (53.85) and Zionsville junior Wrightson (53.88).

To wrap up the meet tonight, Carmel should have an easy time defending the 400 free relay from Penn and Carroll, after posting 3:25.51 to Penn’s 3:27.55 and Penn’s 3:27.57 yesterday.