Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - The Wawasee boys' swim team continued to do what it had done all season Thursday night at sectional prelims - dominate.
The Warriors put 23 of 24 individuals into the final rounds. Seventeen of those are in the top eight positions, and seven took first place.
Warsaw also set itself up nicely, moving 22 swimmers up, 10 of which are in the top eight.
"There were a couple of places where we hoped to swim better, but overall I thought we swam really well," Wawasee head coach Roger Karns said.
Wawasee began by swimming a 1:40.15 in the 200 medley relay, with the team of Marcelo Azenha, Ryan Harper, Adam Brown and Ryan Moore. The Warsaw team of Corban Quance, Rob Farrar, Mike McCammon and Brain Smith finished in fourth with a 1:49.74.
Azenha came back the very next event, the 200 freestyle, to set a new sectional, school and natatorium record of 1:44.85. He also placed first in the 100 freestyle with a 47.98 seconds.
Harper finished in first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.94. He also broke the sectional and school record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.98.
In the 50 freestyle, Moore swam 22 seconds for first place.
Warsaw's Alex Wood finished first in the 500 freestyle with a 4:56.12.
The team of Azenha, Harper, Brown, and Moore won the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:19.96.
Tippecanoe Valley placed Scott Whetstone in the finals of the 100 and 200 freestyle, and Jason Paris advanced to the finals of the 500 freestyle.
"I feel like we're set pretty strong," Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde said, "especially in the 200 free and 500 free, and three of them in the 100 breaststroke. That's a real strong even for us, and backstroke's the same way. It's just going to be all who wants to get up and go and get the quick starts and quick turns."
With the Wawasee team, the key swimmers will always be Azenha, Harper, and Moore, but Karns was praising several other swimmers for their efforts.
"Mike Oswald had a nice butterfly, Dan Cone's 500, Brock Manning in the 200 free relay. We had some swimmers do really well. Then they (Moore, Harper, Azenha) did really well, but that was the plan."
200 Relay Medley - 1. Wawasee (Azenha, Brown, Harper, Moore) 1:40.15, 2. Plymouth, 3. Culver Military, 4. Warsaw, 5. Bremen, 6. Manchester
200 Free - 1. Azenha (Wawasee) 1:44.85, 2. Huff (Plymouth), 3. Wood (Warsaw), 4. Whetstone (Valley), 5. Schramm (Bremen), 6. Wagner (Bremen)
200 IM - 1. Harper (Wawasee) 2:02.94, 2. Smith (Manchester), 3. Rohde (Bremen), 4. Thornburg (Wawasee), 5. Metcalf (Wawasee), 6. Whan (Plymouth)
50 Free - 1. Moore (Wawasee) 22.00, 2. Brash (Rochester), 3. Parks (Bremen), 4. Richter (Plymouth), 5. Brown (Wawasee), 6. Witwer (Bremen)
100 Fly - 1. Huff (Plymouth) 54.12, 2. Summerland (Manchester), 3. Metcalf (Wawasee), 4. Beall (Bremen), 5. Leininger (Warsaw), 6. Wood (Warsaw)
100 Free - Azenha (Wawasee) 47.98, 2. Whetstone (Valley), 3. Moore (Wawasee), 4. Schramm (Bremen), 5. Stacy (Manchester), 6. Wood (Culver Military)
500 Free - Wood (Warsaw) 4:56.12, 2. Wagner (Bremen), 3. Paris (Valley), 4. Wandland (Warsaw), 5. Cone (Wawasee), 6. Bridgegroom (Culver Military)
200 Relay Free - 1. Bremen 1:32.10, 2. Valley, 3. Warsaw, 4. Manchester, 5. Plymouth, 6. Culver Military
100 Back - 1. Harper (Wawasee) 53.38, 2. Brash (Rochester), 3. Summerland (Manchester), 4. Smith (Manchester), 5. Parks (Bremen), 6. McCammon (Warsaw)
100 Breast - 1. Richter (Plymouth) 1:00.74, 2. Brown (Wawasee), 3. Rangel (Culver Military), 4. Manning (Wawasee), 5. VanLue (Wawasee), 6. Smith (Warsaw)
400 Relay Free - 1. Wawasee (Azenha, Brown, Harper, Moore) 3:19.96, 2. Bremen, 3. Warsaw, 4. Manchester, 5. Valley, 6. Plymouth
