SYRACUSE - No event exemplified Wawasee's dominance over Huntington North in boys and girls swimming on Thursday night quite like the boys 200 individual medley. Despite winning the first three events of the night, diving, the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle, Wawasee never gave an inch in event No. 4. Andrew Thornburg, Kyle Metcalf and Jim Baumgartner placed one through three for Wawasee, easily outdistancing Huntington North's top swimmer in that event.

For Wawasee, it was like that all night as the Warriors girls racked up an impressive 128-57 win and the boys rolled to a 141-42 victory.

"It's pretty early to say (if these teams are as strong as previous ones)," Wawasee head coach Roger Karns said. "We haven't made any quantum leaps, but we're chipping away and that's really what you want to do."

For the girls team it was especially important. Coming off of a two-point loss to Concord on Tuesday, it was important for Karns to see his team bounce back adequately. Having already lost twice, or once more than the boys and girls teams lost combined last year, the Warriors could have hung their heads and chalked this season up as a learning experience. After all, two seniors, Kassie Biddle and Karen Shipley, are out for the season with injuries.

But there were the girls before the meet, doing orchestrated cheers as an entire team.

"I was really pretty pleased," Karns said. "They needed to come back and prove themselves. We've got to find girls to come in and take those spots (Biddle's and Shipley's). I think we're seeing that and that's what encourages me. But they have to not only fill that spot, they need to fill that spot the way it was vacated."

For the girls team, it was the same names as always leading the charge. Names such as Laura Karns, Jenny Marty and Laura Lundin. Names like Kristi Martin, Carrie Grothaus, and Jaime Conn. And the list goes on.

This Wawasee team is deep. The Warriors placed first in 10 out of 12 events. Six swimmers won individual events, while another three swimmers took part in winning relay teams.

Laura Karns was the only swimmer to win four events, placing first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:32.28 and the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:50.38. She also helped the 200 medley relay team and the 400 breaststroke team to first-place finishes.

Marty, Grothaus and Lundin each won three events for Wawasee.

On the boys' side, the dominance was even more evident. The Warriors placed first in every single event, as six swimmers won individual events and another two swam on victorious relay teams.

Andrew Thornburg placed first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly. He also swam on winning 200 medley relay and 200 free relay teams.

Bruno Amaral took first place in the 100 and 200 freestyle and helped the 200 and 400 free relay teams to victories.

Adam Brown was the last Wawasee swimmer to win four events. He placed first in the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke. He was also on winning 200 medley relay and 200 free relay teams.

"The boys team is still sort of feeling their way," Karns said. "We're trying to fill some spots. It gets a little better each time and that's what you've got to do. It's not coming as fast as I'd like, but coaches are impatient."

The Wawasee girls team is now 4-2, while the boys team is 2-0. The Warriors will host an invitational on Saturday, a meet that Coach Karns considers the most difficult multi-team meet until sectionals and maybe beyond that. Teams such as Homestead, South Bend St. Joe, DeKalb, Valley, Rochester and Angola will swim in the meet. It will begin at noon at Wawasee Middle School.

BOYS: WAWASEE 141, HUNTINGTON 42

200 medley relay - 1. Wawasee (Kyle Metcalf, Rusty VanLue, Andrew Thornburg, Adam Brown) 1:50.79

200 freestyle - 1. Bruno Amaral (W) 1:58.21, 2. Dan Cone (W), 3. Scott Hunter (HN)

200 individual medley - 1. Andrew Thornburg (W) 2:20.63, 2. Kyle Metcalf (W), 3. Jim Baumgartner (W)

50 freestyle - 1. Adam Brown (W) :23.21, 2. Derek Barton (HN), 3. Tim Veatch (HN)

diving - 1. Dustin Lyttle (W) 195.20, 2. Chad Thorson (W), 3. John Szynal (W)

100 butterfly - 1. Andrew Thornburg (W) 1:04.37, 2. Mike Oswald (W), 3. Scott Hunter (HN)

100 freestyle - 1. Bruno Amaral (W) :53.51, 2. Derek Burton (HN), 3. Rob Trame (W)

500 freestyle - 1. Dan Cone (W) 5:43.29, 2. Chris Harris (HN), 3. Brad Wear (W)

200 free relay - 1. Wawasee (Cone, Amaral, Brown, Thornburg)

100 backstroke - 1. Kyle Metcalf (W) 1:05.36, 2. Brian White (W), 3. Joe Baumgartner (W)

100 breaststroke - 1. Adam Brown (W) 1:04.71, 2. Rusty VanLue (W), 3. Rick Lemberg (W)

400 free relay - 1. Wawasee (Metcalf, Cone, Amaral, Baumgartner), 2. Wawasee, 3. Huntington North

GIRLS: WAWASEE 128, HUNTINGTON 57

200 medley relay - 1. Wawasee (Laura Karns, Jane Wamsley, Kristi Martin, Laura Lundin), 2. Wawasee, 3. Huntington

200 freestyle - 1. Jenny Marty (W) 2:06.20, 2. Stephanie Shivers (W), 3. Shanna Furnish (HN)

200 individual medley - 1. Laura Karns (W) 2:06.20, 2. Tami Miller (W), 3. Jenna Rantz (W)

50 freestyle - 1. Carrie Grothaus (W) :26.88, 2. Kristi Martin (W), 3. Jenny Butt (W)

diving - 1. Jaime Conn (W), 2. Lisa Howe (HN), 3. Jessica Cooper (W)

100 butterfly - 1. Nicole Molitor (HN) 1:09.21, 2. Vanessa Amburgy (W), 3. Cassi Wells (W)

100 freestyle - 1. Laura Lundin (W) :56.27, 2. Gennie Brissette (W), 3. Erica Fisher (HN)

500 freestyle - 1. Laura Karns (W) 5:50.38, 2. Jillian Carroll (HN), 3. Becca Hohe (HN)

200 free relay - 1. Wawasee (Grothaus, Butt, Martin, Marty) 1:49.38, 2. Wawasee, 3. Huntington

100 backstroke - 1. Tami Miller (W) 1:07.20, 2. Sandy Drake (W), 3. Nicole Burris (HN)

100 breaststroke - 1. Nicole Miller (HN) 1:14.36, 2. Jane Wamsley (W), 3. Stephanie Shivers (W)

400 breaststroke - 1. Wawasee (Karns, Lundin, Marty, Grothaus) 3:58.54, 2. Wawasee, 3. Huntington [[In-content Ad]]