Carmel Boys Win 10th-Consecutive IN IHSAA State Title, Only Boys Team to Ten-Peat

2024 INDIANA IHSAA BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

• Prelims: Friday, February 23, 2024
• Finals: Saturday, February 24, 2024
• IUPUI Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
• SCY (25 yards)
• 2023 Recap
• Meet Page
• Live Stream (pay-per-view)
• Live Results

Friday Prelims Recap

The 2024 Indiana IHSAA Boys State champions are the Carmel boys, winning their 10th-straight program team title. This is the first time any boys’ IHSAA swimming and diving team won 10 consecutive state team titles. Carmel’s win was charged by sweeping all three relays, plus Louisville commit Gregg Enoch‘s double 200/500 free titles. Carmel won with 409 points, by a 244-point margin, the all-time largest mark in boys’ IHSAA history. This is the team’s second-most points scored at a state meet, just eight points off their 2018 team title score of 417 points.

Top 10 Boys Team – Final Rankings

1. Carmel – 409
2. Penn – 165
3. Fishers – 158
4. Zionsville – 150
5. Bloomington South – 123
6. Riley – 118
7. Harrison – 102
8. Valparaiso – 98
9. Center Grove – 96
10. Hamilton Southeastern – 82

Taking the 2024 team runner-up title was Penn, powered by placing either third or fourth in all three relays to earn 165 points. The Penn boys have massively improved in the recent years, following an upset downgrade from 2021 fifth-place to a disappointing 2022 23rd-place. The team was back on the rise with an 8th-place finish last year, bettering 15 places from 2022. This 2024 finish, six places higher than 2023, is the Penn boys’ second runner-up team finish in program history, adding this to their 2005 second-place finish.

Improving one spot from last year to narrowly take third was Fishers (158). In an underwhelming performance, 2022/23 team runner-ups Zionsville fell to fourth in the team rankings, eight points behind Fishers. Bloomington South (123) edged out Riley (118) by five points to take fifth place, improving eight spots from last year’s 13th-place finish.

Finals Highlights

Carmel kicked off the session in winning fashion, taking the 200 medley relay win at 1:29.39, powered by Michael Gorey‘s 20.03 free anchor leg. Riley took second at 1:31.57, with breaststroker Christopher Bartmess clocking 24.31. As Penn took third (1:32.08), Harrison’s Matthew Klinge was getting his busy session started by helping his relay to fifth (1:33.08), firing off 21.73 on the backstroke lead-off.

Klinge flipped over to the 50 free, nabbing the state title in a personal best of 19.45, scaring Drew Kibler‘s 2018 state record of 19.38 by 0.07s. That time checks in at No.27 all-time in US 17-18 age group history, and is among the top five times this season in that same category. Brebeuf Jesuit’s Jake Tarara out-touched Carmel’s Andrew Shackell for the 17-point/second place finish, 20.25 to 20.43. Bloomington South’s Lukas Paegle was a tenth off Shackell for fourth (20.52).

In between the 50 free and 100 fly, where the same 50 free top four will contend, Hamilton Heights went 1-2 in the 1-meter diving final. This is their second-consecutive state final diving sweep, earned by Ethan Swart (585.75 pts) and Nathan Cox (563.35 pts).

Back into the 100 fly, Klinge once again clinched his second state title of the day at 47.67. Taking second was Paegle (48.03), another swimmer pushing down Carmel’s Shackell (48.26) into the 16-point/3rd-place position. Riley’s Bartmess, known as a breaststroker, took fourth at (48.71).

Zionsville’s Walker Mattice was also on the hunt for double IHSAA gold. He defended his 200 free prelims top seed to win at 1:36.86. Carmel’s Lewis Zhang moved one spot up from prelims for second (1:38.84) while Castle’s Seth Cannon took third (1:39.11). In the 100 free, as Mattice (44.26) grabbed another title, Brebeuf Jesuit’s Tarara (44.65) also grabbed another runner-up finish.

Just as Mattice, Klinge, and Enoch have two titles each, and Tarara stole 2-for-2 silvers, Cannon joins Shackell as a double individual third-place finisher.

Carmel star Gregg Enoch got his finals session off to a solid start, winning the 200 IM (1:45.06) by three seconds. Teammate Michael Gorey (1:49.08) joined Enoch for a Carmel 1-2 finish. Another Carmel swimmer, Brian Qian, closed in on Bloomington South’s David Kovacs during the freestyle leg in attempts for a Carmel 1-2-3 finish. At the touch, Kovacs held off Qian for third, 1:49.67 to 1:49.76, halting the sophomore’s move. Regardless, Carmel had a 1-2-4 finish.

Enoch then secured his second state title by winning the 500 free in 4:19.55, with Fishers’ Jonathan Hines stopping another Carmel 1-2 finish by clocking in second (4:24.23). Carmel teammates Zhang (4:26.79) and Anderson Kopp (4:26.95) instead combined with Enoch for a Carmel 1-3-4 finish.

Switching up to the 200 free relay Shackell led things off for Carmel in 20.72, with the remaining legs including Enoch all eerily splitting 20.4s. Carmel easily won their second relay title at 1:22.02. Finshing after were Harrison (1:23.41), led off by Klinge’s 19.73, and Zionsville (1:24.98), featuring Mattice’s 20.30 anchor. Penn once again put themselves in team battle contention with fourth (1:25.29).

The upset of the meet happened in the 100 back, where Center Grove sophomore Henry Lyness stormed past prelims top seed Bloomington South junior David Kovacs on the back half to comfortably steal the crown at 48.06. Kovacs settled for second at 48.71 while Carmel’s Kopp was spotted in third at 49.04.

With second-place relay and fourth-place 100 fly finishes under Riley’s Christopher Bartmess, the 100 breast title was his to lose, especially after watching a top seed upset in the event prior. Nonetheless, Bartmess manifested gold in the 100 breast (53.78) ahead of Carmel breaststroker Brandon Malicki (55.12).

The Carmel boys sealed the deal in the 400 free relay, winning by nearly four seconds at 3:02.79, highlighted by Enoch’s gnarly 43.93 anchor. As double individual finalists Paegle and Kovacs helped Bloomington South to second (3:06.78), Penn earned their third relay top-four finish, aiding their team runner-up finish.

With this 2024 boys’ title, Carmel head coach Chris Plumb now has 13 total boys’ IHSAA titles under his guidance. In addition to the 18 girls’ IHSAA titles under his leadership, Plumb now accumulates 31 boys’ and girls’ IHSAA Swimming & Diving team titles. This further extends his all-time high for most state title records among all Indiana IHSAA coaches in history, in any sport.

Hounds back on top! #10#FTT pic.twitter.com/3w36NdDBlg

— Carmel Swimming (@carmel_swimming) February 24, 2024