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INDIANAPOLIS -ÊSeveral area swimmers traveled to Indianapolis to compete in the preliminary round of the state finals Friday evening, and participants from both Warsaw and Wawasee advanced to today's state finals.
Wawasee's 200 medley relay team of Guy Simmons, Jordan Rantz, Tyler Karns and Nik Conley placed eighth with a time of 1:38.38 to advance to today's championship round of competition. Warsaw's quartet of Michael Thallemer, Nate Taylor, Justin Cavinder and Ryan Munsch are alternates in the same event after finishing the prelims with a time of 1:40.47.
The Warrior 200 freestyle relay team also advanced to the state championship round after placing sixth overall in the prelims. Simmons, Rantz, Conley and Brook Singrey swam the race in 1:28.13 to move on.
"They did an outstanding job, they had really nice fast swims," Warrior coach Roger Karns said of his advancing relay teams. "To make the final eight down here is doing something."
Individually, Simmons also advanced to the championship round in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.23, good enough for seventh overall in the preliminaries.
Warsaw's Michael Thallemer will compete in the consolation round of the 100 backstroke after finishing the race with a time of 54.33.
Simmons and teammate Conley will compete in the consolation round of the 50 freestyle after placing 11th and 14th, respectively. Simmons finished the race with a time of 21.49, while Conley swam a 21.78.
Conley will also swim in the consolation round of the 100-yard freestyle. He placed 13th in the prelims with a time of 48.19.
Warsaw's Nate Taylor and Wawasee's Rantz will hit the pool again today after advancing to the consolation round in the 100 breaststroke. Rantz finished with a time of 1:00.46 to place 15th, while Taylor was 16th with a time of 1:00.62.
Wawasee's Aaron Phillippe (200 freestyle), Rantz (200 individual medley) and Warsaw's Taylor (500 freestyle) competed in the preliminary round but did not advance in today's competitions in those events.
The state competition begins at 1 p.m. today at IUPUI's Natatorium in downtown Indianapolis.
