Snider’s Amelia Rinehart enjoyed a special day at the Girls Swimming and Diving State Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis in February, winning a state title in the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 513.40, 35 points clear of the next diver.
Rinehart, who officially signed with Purdue diving last week, will not be competing in the high school ranks this season, but there are still plenty of Fort Wayne-area swimmers and divers poised to make a splash this winter.
Athletes
Julie Mishler, Wawasee: The senior, who signed with Louisville last week, was the state runner-up in the 100 yard backstroke in 52.97 and the 50 freestyle in 21.85 – which would’ve been a state meet record if Penn’s Lilian Christianson hadn’t won in 21.72. She won both events at the Northridge Sectional, the second straight year she won two individual sectional races.
Kate Fetters, Carroll: It’s almost impossible to pick just one Charger to highlight, but Fetters won both the 50 free and the 100 back as a freshman at last year’s South Side Sectional, making her one of four Carroll swimmers, along with Annabelle Franke, Jordyn Glassley and Maris Williams, who won a sectional race or reached the championship finals at the state meet. Fetters placed sixth in the 50 free in the state finals in 23.66 and was eighth in the 100 back in 56.58.
Elle Hollingsworth, Homestead: Now a sophomore, Hollingsworth was the South Side Sectional runner-up behind Rinehart last year, taking second with a score of 473.65. She finished third at the South Side Diving Regional to qualify for the state meet, and she was the top-performing freshman at the state finals, placing 10th with a score of 408.95.
Ella Sears, Angola: The Hornets senior finished second behind Mishler in both the the 50 free and 100 back at the Northridge Sectional last year. Sears reached the consolation finals in the 50 free at the state finals, where she placed 14th in 24.33, and she placed 18th in the prelims in the 100 back in 57.44.
Lydia Hogue, Concordia: Hogue was one of two girls to win two individual races (the 50 free and the 100 butterfly) at the SAC Championships last season as a sophomore, sharing top-point honors with Wayne’s Luca McGee, who has since graduated. Hogue finished fourth in the 50 free and sixth in the 100 fly at the South Side Sectional, and was the top swimmer not from Carroll or Homestead in both races.
Teams
Carroll: The Chargers won eight events at last year’s South Side Sectional to claim their seventh sectional title and third straight. They have nine returning athletes who were individual state qualifiers last year, plus 10 incoming freshman to bolster their ranks. Carroll finished fifth at the state championship last year and would’ve finished even higher if the 200 medley relay team had not been disqualified in the first event of the finals.
Wawasee: The Warriors finished 10th at the state finals with 78 points and were the smallest school to finish in the top 25. They also placed third at the Northridge Sectional. Just one of the swimmers on Wawasee’s state finals relay teams has graduated, and in addition to Mishler, Ball State signee Addie Beasley qualified for the state finals in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.
Homestead: The Spartans finished second at the South Side Sectional, finishing second in all three relays while then-sophomore Macartney Mahler won the 100 fly in 55.83. Three Spartans finished in the top five in 1-meter diving.
Concordia: After beating Bishop Dwenger by two points for the SAC title in 2023, the Cadets won with 481 points in 2024, 50 points ahead of second-place Snider. The Cadets won the 200 medley relay and won four individual races.
Norwell: The Knights, who won their home invite on Saturday, defended their NE8 title last season and once again placed second behind Delta at the Jay County Sectional. Delta won 11 of 12 events at the sectional meet.
Storylines
Lions take the plunge: Leo is fielding a swim team for the first time this season. According to coach Jared Minnick, 29 girls signed up when practice began last month. They placed ninth out of 10 teams at the Norwell Girls Invitational on Saturday.
Greyhound Dominance: There is no high school team in the country of any sport that is as dominant as the Carmel girls swim team, which won its 38th straight state title last winter. The margin of victory isn’t getting any narrower: The Greyhounds won with 433 points there, more than double the score of runner-up Penn with 212.
Olympians in the midst: Carmel’s Alexandra Shackell, who was the state champion in the 100 fly and 100 back as a junior last year, competed in the Paris Olympics this summer, taking sixth overall in the 200 fly and swimming prelim legs in the medal-winning 4x200 free and 4x100 medley relays.
Chargers on the rise: Not only was Carroll well-represented at the state finals last year, six of the individual state qualifiers were just freshmen or sophomores. With another strong freshman class coming into the program this year, the Chargers could be a force to reckon with for years to come.
Solo Sectional champ: Although Northeast Indiana schools compete in four separate sectionals, Carroll was the only Fort Wayne-area school to win a sectional title.
