The Warsaw Tigers are taking advantage of hosting their own sectional.
In the two years Warsaw has hosted a boys swimming sectional, they've won it, claiming their latest Saturday with a score of 302, well ahead of second-place Plymouth's 223 points."We swam great today, top to bottom," said Warsaw coach Terry Aukeman.
Along with winning the sectional, the Tigers also sent their 200 medley relay (Brian Thallemer, Andrew Cutshall, Thomas Wack, Max Revere) and 400 free relay (Mitchell Gauger, Cutshall, Thallemer and Revere) teams on to state with victories Saturday.
"It was good for us all to get down to state," Thallemer said. "I know we wanted to win the two relays, so I'm glad we were able to win them."
The 200 medley relay won with a time of 1:41.54, while the 400 free relay's time of 3:19.74 had Aukeman jumping and yelling with joy.
"We just knocked five seconds off our best time ever, so those guys stepped up and went after it," Aukeman said of the 400 free relay. "It was great. It was fun to watch."
Along with being a part of those relay teams, Thallemer will also make his third-straight state appearance in the 100 backstroke, winning Saturday's event in 53.51 seconds.
In his previous appearances at state, the Warsaw senior has failed to reach the Saturday finals, but hopes that changes this week.
"This is my best chance to make it to Saturday," Thallemer said. "The past three years, I've missed out by just a little bit. Hopefully this year, I can make it into the finals and bring back some glory for Warsaw swimming."
The state finals prelims begin Friday at 6 p.m. at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. The top 16 out of the prelims then return for Saturday's finals, which get under way at 1 p.m.
"He's going to be in three really nice events, and we're going to focus on those," Aukeman said about Thallemer's appearance at IUPUI. "I think we may be able to drop some more time in the medley relay, and I also think we can drop a little more time in that (400 free) relay. There's a possibility to get in the top 16 in the state."
The Tigers may have more competitors at state, as Ben Rankin, Michael Boyle and Ryan Hepler finished first, second and fourth, respectively, in diving.
The three will now compete at the Mishawaka Regional Tuesday at 6 p.m., where the top eight finishers move on to state.
"Getting one, two and four was great today," Aukeman said of the divers. "I think we can improve on that, and see how many of those guys we can get down to state."
WARSAW 302, PLYMOUTH 223, HUNTINGTON NORTH 212.5, CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY 201, COLUMBIA CITY 114, LOGANSPORT 78.5, MANCHESTER 67, ROCHESTER 58, PIONEER 48, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 46
