SYRACUSE - Wawasee High School's boys swim team took first place in five of 12 events Saturday and scored enough team points to win the sectional championship.
The host Warriors won the team championship with a score of 324.5 points, while Culver Academy was the runner-up in the 11-team field with 293 points.
Warsaw finished third with 253.5 points, followed by Plymouth (107), Columbia City (79), Manchester (73), Rochester (61), Knox (61), Tippecanoe Valley (43), Northfield (26) and Fairfield (20).The winning individual or relay team in the 11 swimming events from Saturday's sectional, as well those that make the state standard time, advanced to this weekend's state finals at IUPUI.
The top four divers from Saturday's sectional advanced to Tuesday's regional at Mishawaka.
Among local school that competed in Saturday's sectional, only the Warriors and Tigers advanced competitors to the state finals, while Tippecanoe Valley's Brady Baugher and Warsaw's Ben Rankin advanced to the diving regional.
For Wawasee, the team of Tyler Wear, Cory Smith, Jake Garner and Chris Szynal took first in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:39.71.
Individually, Smith too first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.08, finishing ahead of runner-up and teammate Haven Hoffman by two seconds. Smith also won the 100 freestyle in a time of 47.92 seconds. Culver Academy's Maurico Krantzberg finished second in the event with a time of 48.10 seconds and met the state cut time.
The Warriors posted another one-two finish in the 100 butterfly, with Szynal winning in a time of 53.20 seconds and Garner finishing second in a time of 54.24 seconds.
Wawasee's team of Szynal, Hoffman, Garner and Smith won the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:17.48.
For Warsaw, the foursome of Daniel Lowrance, Seth Smoker, Alex VanDuyne and Max Revere won the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:31.53, while Brian Thallemer won the 100 backstroke in 55.45 seconds, two seconds ahead of Wear, who finished second for Wawasee.
For Tippecanoe Valley, Baugher turned in the team's highest finish, scoring 364.05 points to claim second place in diving. Culver Academy's William Ben Teaney won the event with 372.80 points.
For Manchester, Gavin McNeeley finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.36, three seconds behind winner Brandon Medlin of Culver Academy.
WAWASEE SECTIONAL
Team scores - Wawasee (Waw) 324.5, Culver Academy (CA) 293, Warsaw (War) 253.5, Plymouth (Ply) 107, Columbia City (CC) 79, Manchester (Man) 73, Rochester (Roch) 61, Knox (K) 61, Tippecanoe Valley (TV) 43, Northfield (NF) 26, Fairfield (FF) 20
200 medley relay - 1. Wawasee (Tyler Wear, Cory Smith, Jake Garner, Chris Szynal) 1:39.71, 2. Culver Academies 1:40.85, 3. Warsaw 1:41.46, 4. Plymouth 1:49.60, 5. (tie) Columbia City, Manchester 1:50.12
200 freestyle - 1. Cory Smith (Wawa) 1:48.08, 2. Haven Hoffman (Wawa) 1:50.55, 3. Patrick Metzger (CA) 1:50.89, 4. Alex VanDuyne (War) 1:51.04, 5. Chris Bourgraf (CA) 1:55.77, 6. Keaton Petro (War) 1:57.14
