2016 Swammy Awards: High School Team of the Year

To see all of our 2016 Swammy Awards presented by TYR, click here

2016 HIGH SCHOOL TEAM OF THE YEAR: CARMEL GIRLS (IN)

Success from the Carmel HS girls swimming & diving program is unsurprising. In fact, it’s expected– and it has been for decades. This year, the Carmel girls earned their 30th-straight Indiana state title, extending the longest HS state title-winning streak in the country to a whopping 30 in a row. That’s right. The longest high school state title win streak, ever, of any sport in the country.

Maybe you’re not impressed yet. They’ve been doing this for thirty years, after all. But at this year’s state meet, they won by an incredible 244.5 points, scoring 438 points in total. On top of that, they won all relays and every individual event save for diving, the 50 free, and the 100 breaststroke. Carmel was led by Claire Adams and Emma Nordin, who were both double winners back in February, while Veronica Burchill won the 100 fly and helped out on all three relays. With names like Nordin, Sammie Burchill, Kelly Pash and Trude Rothrock returning, Carmel has the foundation to extend their dominance into the future.

RUNNERS-UP: SACRED HEART GIRLS (KY)

Asia Seidt (Sacred Heart) photo: Tim Binning

The Sacred Heart girls from Kentucky had a star-studded senior class in early 2016, headed by Asia Seidt, Brooke Bauer, and Kennedy Lohman. Add in future Stanford Cardinal Brooke Forde, plus the Sacred Heart supporting cast, and this was easily one of the strongest teams in the country. They scored 167 points more than 2nd place Notre Dame Academy, and won all three relays, breaking state records in the 200 relays. Forde and Seidt each won two events, with Forde breaking the 200 free state record and Seidt breaking state marks in the 100 back and 200 IM. Additionally, the 200 medley relay made up of Tonner DeBeer, Lohman, Seidt, and Bauer toppled the national independent high school record, which was held by Carondelet in California.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

In no particular order

• Southlake Carroll boys (TX) – Winning by over 100 points at the Texas 6A Championships, the boys of Southlake Carroll dominated in one of the toughest states for high school swimming. Alexander Zettle, a sophomore last year, won the 200 free and 500 free, while Jack LeVant (also a sophomore) won the 100 fly and 50 free for Southlake Carroll. Zettle and LeVant teamed up with Austin Whalen and Colter Carman, with Whalen being the only senior, to swim a 2:59.69 to become the first Texas HS team to break 3 minutes in the 400 free relay. LeVant popped a 44.04 on the 2nd leg of the relay.
  

  Taylor Ruck (Chaparral) photo: Mike Lewis

• Chaparral girls (AZ) – Many may know Taylor Ruck‘s name from her impressive performances on the international scene the past couple of years as one of the rising young Canadian stars. She lives in Arizona, however, and was lights-out at the Arizona D2 State Championships last month. Chaparral scored 404 points, well over 100 points ahead of 2nd place Arcadia, with Ruck winning the 100 free and 200 free. Chaparral won all three relays, while Emma Broome also shined with a double victory in the 100 fly and 100 back. Their boys team, led by Ryan Hoffer, also won a state championship this year.
• St. Xavier boys (OH) – Led by ASU commit Grant House, the St. Xavier boys charged to their 8th-consecutive Ohio state title. They won division 1 with 398 points, finishing over 200 points ahead of 2nd place. House was a double winner, taking the 200 free and 500 free, with Luke Sobolewski adding a win in the 100 fly and a 2nd place finish in the 100 back. They broke a 16-year-old state record in the 200 medley relay, and finished up the meet with a state title in the 400 free relay and a 44.25 anchor leg from House. That 400 relay broke a state record from 1999, adding a 2nd state record to their haul.