Karns Molds His Swimmers Into State Competitors

SYRACUSE -ÊIf someone had asked the Wawasee boys swim team if it would win the sectional this year, the swimmers would probably have laughed in their face. However, had that person posed the same question to head coach Roger Karns, his answer would have been much different.

"They were like unmolded clay," said Karns. "The potential was there. The guys had good talent, but they were raw. They have really worked hard.

"I talked about winning the sectional earlier in the year, but I think they thought it was just one of those things coaches say to inspire their team. But as the season moved along, they started to buy into it."

And when Warriors bought into Karns' belief that they could win, the Wawasee squad did win the Wawasee Sectional and saw two relay teams and two individuals qualify for the state meet in five different events.

"Our seeds are pretty good," said Karns. "But the preliminaries are very fast. For example, if your time put you at the seventh seed going into the preliminaries, you have to swim much faster to hold that seventh spot in the race. You have to swim a lot faster in terms of overall placing. A lot of state records fall in the preliminaries. It's an intense battle."

Guy Simmons leads the Warrior squad with two state berths. His time of 21.56 seconds in the 50 freestyle placed him at the No. 7 seed in the event, while his 53.20 finish in the 100 backstroke was good enough for a No. 5 seed.

At the sectional, Robbie Trame swam the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.19 to qualify for the state competition. He is tied for the 26th seed in the event.

Wawasee's 200 medley relay team of Bo Hall, Brad Wear, Mike Taylor and Trame is seeded No. 24 after a 1:41.68 swim at the sectional, while the 200 freestyle relay team of Nik Conley, Rob Chalfant, Ryan Wolfe and Taylor advanced as the No. 11 seed with a time of 1:29.91.

"I think we have a great group of kids," said Karns. "They have done a nice job of getting better as the season progressed. They are a group of hard-working overachievers. The team has really come together here at the end of the season."

NorthWood's Andrew Whitehead advanced in two events as well. He is seeded No. 19 in the 100 butterfly and No. 24 in the 100 backstroke.

Warsaw's 200 freestyle relay team of Brett Moore, Kiel Beehler, Cory Gackenheimer and Ryan Munsch is seeded No. 26 in the preliminaries of the state competition.

The preliminaries of the state swim meet begin at 6 p.m. today at the Indiana University Natatorium at IUPUI in Indianapolis. The state meet continues tomorrow at 9 a.m.

STATE SWIM MEET

Listed are the events in which local swimmers will compete. Top seed times and local swimmers' seed times are below.

200 Medley Relay -Ê1. Carmel (1:34.57); 24. Wawasee (1:41.68)

50 Freestyle -Ê1. Michael Stoller, Bremen (21.20); 7. Guy Simmons, Wawasee (21.56)

100 Butterfly - 1. Matt McDonald, Hamilton Southeastern (49.37); 19. Andrew Whitehead, NorthWood (54.29)

200 Freestyle Relay -Ê1. Carmel (1:26.55); 11. Wawasee (1:29.91); 26. Warsaw (1:31.99)

100 Backstroke -Ê1. Matt McDonald, Hamilton Southeastern (51.52); 5. Guy Simmons, Wawasee (53.20); 24. Andrew Whitehead, NorthWood (54.95)

100 Breaststroke -Ê1. Matt Jeffries, Perry Meridian (58.65); 26. Robbie Trame, Wawasee (1:02.19)