To see all of the 2014 Swammy Award winners, presented by TYR, click here.
2014 Honoree: Chesterton High School – Chesterton, Indiana
There were a lot of outstanding boys’ high school swim programs during the school year that ran from September 2013 through May 2014, but the one that stood out the most was Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Indiana.
The Trojans won their fourth Indiana state high school championship title in seven years and broke quite a number of records along the way. Coach Kevin Kinel’s roster was senior-heavy, and his swimmers made the most of their experience to finish the season with two national public school relay records and one individual record, in addition to five state records and numerous team records.
This “perfect storm” of a team consisted of seniors Blake Pieroni, Jack Wallar, Patrick Curley, Andy Hurst, Tony Kincaid, Jack Kurfman, and twins Aaron and Ethan Whitaker; junior Josh VanNevel; and freshmen Gary Kostbade and Wesley Slaughter, amongst others. Chesterton dominated the state meet, racking up 240 points, more than 40 points ahead of runner-up Avon High School. It was a combined team effort, but the standout performances included some of the fastest individual and relay performances ever swum in the state of Indiana.
Chesterton High School State champions at 2014 IHSAA meet:
- 200 medley relay: A Whitaker, Waller, Pieroni, Kostbade – 1:29.64 State record, National Public School record
- 200 IM: Pieroni – 1:46.83
- 100 fly: A Whitaker – 46.31 State record, National Public School record
- 100 free: Pieroni – 43.81 (43.52 in prelims for the State record)
- 100 back: A Whitaker – 47.06 State record
- 400 free relay: Pieroni, E Whitaker, Curley, A Whitaker – (2:59.36 in prelims for the State record and the National Public School record)
Three months later Chesterton lost the 400 free relay national record to Granada High School but the medley relay and Whitaker’s fly record made it unscathed through the end of the season.
Honorable Mentions
In no particular order
- Granada High School, Livermore, California – Swimming is a spring sport in California, and the boys from Granada High followed Chesterton with a new national public school record in the 400 free relay of 2:59.00 while winning their North Coast Section meet. The record-setting quartet consisted of Trent Trump (12), Nick Silverthorn (12), Maxime Rooney (10), and Bryce McLaggan (12). The four also turned in the sixth-fastest medley relay in the country (1:30.67). Individually, Rooney was number two nationally in the 200 free (1:35.69) and three in the 500 (4:20.16), setting NCS records in each event. Silverthorn was seventh in the 200 free (1:36.80) and in the 100 breast (54.31). Trump and McLaggan also had top-100 swims.
- University High School, Irvine, California – The depth of the University High School program was impressive as the Trojans made 17 top-100 appearances during the season. Corey Okubo (12) led the way with top-10 swims in the 200 IM (1:45.42, 3rd) and 100 fly (47.53, 6th), and University’s medley relay of Daniel Tran (11), Michael Schiffer (12), Okubo, and William Hofstadter (11) was fourth in 1:30.10. In addition to Okubo, Tran, Ken Takahashi (11), Judd Howard (11), Hofstadter, Schiffer, George Horvath (9), and Christopher Havton (11) all registered swims in the top 100 nationally.
- The Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tennessee – With a national independent school record in the 200 medley relay and several top-ten finishes, The Baylor School earned its spot among the leaders for the year. Luke Kaliszak (12), Dustin Tynes (12), Sam McHugh (12), and Christian Selby (11) combined for a 1:27.74 in the medley relay to set the new independent school standard. McHugh was the number 1 500 freestyler in the country with 4:16.76; he also finished eighth in the 200 IM with 1:46.29. Kaliszak was sixth in the 100 back (47.36), and Kaliszak, Chandler Hinson (12), Tynes, and Selby finished seventh in the 200 free relay (1:23.23). Laliszak, Selby, and Tynes all had individual swims in the top 100.
- Bolles School, Jacksonville, Florida – Even more impressive than the many top-ten performances by Joseph Schooling (12), Bolles had enough depth and breadth to field three top-ten relays and top-100 swims from seven other Bulldogs. Various combinations of Schooling, Josh Booth (12), William McKinney (12), Luke Georgiadis (12), and Tyler Rice (10) placed second in the 200 medley relay (1:28.93), second in the 200 free relay (1:22.32), and sixth in the 400 free relay (3:01.86). Schooling set the national high school record in the 100 fly with 45.52, was second in the 200 IM (1:45.21), third in the 100 free (43.72) and fifth in the 50 (19.89). Other top-100 finishers were Booth, Georgiadis, Javier Barrena Lorono (11), James Daugherty (9 ), Andy Song (10), McKinney (12), and Caio Batista (11).