Indiana and Texas Swimmers Set National Records
By Cassie Krisher
Carmel (Indiana) High School's girls swimming and diving team has dominated the pool at the Indiana High School Athletic Association's (IHSAA) state championships for 22 consecutive years. Carmel scored 387 points to take home another championship trophy at the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals February 9 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
Carmel's streak is the longest active streak for state championships in any sport in the country. The Paulsboro (New Jersey) boys wrestling team had won 25 consecutive championships but lost in the semifinals this year, ending its chance to continue the streak that had been going since 1983.
Carmel's 22-year streak also ties the national record for most consecutive state championships in a girls sport, also held by Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou girls swimming team. The two teams share the No. 6 spot on the list of most consecutive state championships regardless of gender or sport.
"It takes more than just the athletes in the pool," said Carmel head coach Chris Plumb. "It takes people who aren't swimming [at the state championship] and parents, as well as the 20-plus years of support prior to that. It was great to see all that hard work come to fruition."
Carmel won two individual events and a relay at the state meet. The 200-yard freestyle relay team took the win in 1:35.28, and Trish Regan finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.78. Samantha Partridge touched the wall in 5:01.45 in the 500-yard freestyle, the only event in which a Carmel swimmer had not yet held the state title.
"We had three girls swim in the top eight of the 500 [freestyle]," Plumb said. "Sam knew she needed to go out and execute on Saturday [at the finals] and I couldn't be happier for her to get that win for us."
At the same state meet, Michelle McKeehan, a senior at Greenwood (Indiana) Center Grove High School, swam to a high school national record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:56.87.
However, her national-record rival Mary Beck, a junior at Austin (Texas) Westlake High School, broke McKeehan's record at the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Regional VII Class 5A meet just an hour later with a time of 1:56.45. Since Beck did not improve her time at the Texas state meet a week later, her regional time will set the standard in the National High School Sports Record Book.
Last year, McKeehan and Beck swapped records in the event on three consecutive weekends. Beck set the standard at the UIL regional meet with a time of 1:58.23. The following weekend, McKeehan swam a time of 1:58.06 at the IHSAA state championship. One week later, Beck regained her title at the UIL state meet with a time of 1:57.41.
Although McKeehan lost out on the national record, she does hold three Indiana records. Her times in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke (1:00.12) give her the Indiana state meet records. Also, she won gold medals in both events for the fourth consecutive year, placing her and Olympian Lindsay Benko of Elkhart (Indiana) Central as the only two girls in Indiana to win the same two events each year of high school.
Both McKeehan and Beck will compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 29-July 6 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Top Ten Consecutive State Championships
29 - Boys Swimming, Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou, 1958-86
27 - Boys Track and Field, Pickford (Michigan), 1952-78
26 - Boys Ice Hockey, Woonsocket (Rhode Island) Mt. St. Charles Academy, 1978-2003
25 - Boys Wrestling, Paulsboro (New Jersey), 1983-2007
24 - Boys Swimming, Tacoma (Washington) Wilson, 1960-83
22 - Girls Swimming, Carmel (Indiana), 1987-2008 [active streak]
22 - Girls Swimming, Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou, 1974-95
21 - Girls Swimming, Fort Lauderdale (Florida) Pine Crest, 1956-76
20 - Girls Swimming, Salt Lake City (Utah) Brighton, 1982-2001
19 - Boys Tennis, Englewood (Colorado) Cherry Creek, 1972-90
Redford sets second-highest free-throw record
By Cassie Krisher
When Brad Redford, a senior at Frankenmuth (Michigan) High School, missed at the line February 9 against North Branch (Michigan), the crowd rose to their feet and gave the 6-foot player a standing ovation.
The reason for this unusual applause was that the miss marked the end of Redford's streak of 102 consecutive free throws. The streak gives him the Michigan state record and puts him second in the National High School Sports Record Book.
Ironically, Redford's last miss also came in a game against North Branch on December 15, 2007.
In the third game in five days, he made 14 of 16 at the free-throw line, dropping his free-throw percentage to 98 for the season. He scored a game-high 38 points, and the Eagles won, 90-64, bringing their record to 17-0 this season.
Daryl Moreau of New Orleans (Louisiana) De La Salle holds the national record with 126 consecutive free throws. Moreau's streak ran from January 17, 1978 to January 9, 1979, spanning 21 games in two seasons.
Centralia boys basketball reaches 2,000 wins
By Cassie Krisher
When the Centralia (Illinois) boys basketball team won on February 15, victory was three times sweeter than any typical basketball game.
On that night, the Centralia boys basketball program became just the second in the history of high school basketball programs in the country to achieve 2,000 wins. In addition, that win guaranteed a share of the conference title and marked the defeat of longtime rival Mt. Vernon (Illinois) Township High School.
"Both teams have a successful tradition in basketball, so it was not big just because of the 2,000th win," Centralia boys basketball coach Lee Bennett said.
The community rallied behind Centralia to support the team in its quest for the landmark 2,000th victory. The two teams battled it out in front of a sold-out crowd at Mt. Vernon High School.
"We had about as many fans as Mt. Vernon," said Butch Border, commonly known as the "Golden Orphan" for his longtime support of the Centralia Orphans.
Border, a member of the Centralia Board of Education, said there was a lot of celebration led by the "Orphanage," the Centralia students who attended the game.
"We had great student body support," Bennett said. "There's a lot of basketball tradition here and support from the community."
Centralia went into regionals with an 18-8 record, bringing the total to 2,003 wins since 1906.
"I only want the boys to try to be as good as they can each night and for each kid to reach his best potential," Bennett said. "We've been blessed to have unbelievable coaches and athletes come through here."
The Kingsport (Tennessee) Dobyns-Bennett boys basketball program was the first to achieve 2,000 victories on January 21, 2007. Dobyns-Bennett won its sectional this year and entered the state tournament with 2,039 wins since 1918.
Feigen breaks two national swimming records
By Cassie Krisher
Few high school athletes break a national record during their high school career, but even fewer set two national records in one day.
Jimmy Feigen, a senior from San Antonio (Texas) Winston Churchill High School who was featured in the March issue of High School Today, broke both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle national high school records February 23 at the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Swimming and Diving State Championships at the University of Texas.
He blazed through the pool in 19.49 seconds in the 50 and flirted with the 43-second barrier in the 100, reaching the wall in :43.05. He went out in the 100 freestyle in :20.43 and came back in :22.62.
"It was the most incredible performance I have ever seen by a high school swimmer," said Churchill head coach Al Marks, who has coached there for 31 years.
Feigen had already earned top honors in the National High School Sports Record Book by swimming the 50-yard freestyle in a time of :19.65 at the UIL District 26 Class 5A meet on January 25 and the 100-yard freestyle in a time of :43.41 at the UIL Regional VII Class 5A meet on February 9. He broke both of his own records at the Texas state meet.
He also anchored both the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay teams for Churchill in the state finals. His split times in both events were faster than his individual event times, but because he did not lead the relays, those times will not count for the record book. He broke 19 seconds in the 200 medley relay with a 50-yard freestyle split of :18.99, and his 100-yard split in the 400 freestyle relay was :42.71.
The previous record in the 100 freestyle was held by Joe Hudepohl of Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier with a time of :43.43, and Michael Cavic of Tustin (California) previously held the 50 freestyle record with a time of :19.69.
The Churchill team honored coach Marks' last year with the Chargers by bringing home the state championship trophy.
"A fellow coach e-mailed me and said if this was a Hollywood script, it couldn't have been a better ending," Marks said.
Madison wins 14th straight gymnastics title
By Jennifer Searcy
Cheers were heard February 16 throughout South Dakota as two outstanding girls gymnastics feats were accomplished.
The Madison (South Dakota) High School Bulldogs won their 14th consecutive state title, setting a national record in the National High School Sports Record Book. In addition, Mitchell (South Dakota) High School won its second consecutive Class AA title and Mitchell senior Brooke Cersosimo won her third consecutive individual all-around title putting her in the record book.
The Bulldogs won the Class A title with a score of 141.896, breaking their 2006 state record of 141.893. They dominated the event with four of the top scores in the vault, three of the top five scores in the uneven bars, the top three scores in the balance beam and two of the top three scores in the floor exercise.
Coach Maridee Dossett said the team felt very fortunate to contribute to the streak and the national record.
"We knew that we had a pretty good chance of winning the meet, but when it actually happened we were overcome with emotion," Dossett said. "It's pretty amazing to be part of it."
According to Dossett, seniors Kassie Finck and Katie Breuer have been strong, consistent gymnasts for the season, helping keep the team calm and focused. However, Dossett felt it was the effort by each of the 11 team members that produced the record score to win the meet.
For Dossett, the most important goal each season is that the team members finish feeling good about themselves as individuals and as athletes.
"Each athlete is able to offer something different to the team. For some, it is a high skill level; others (it is) leadership," Dossett said. "It is my hope that the girls finish the season feeling like they were a part of a successful team as well as a strong group of athletes and friends."
Mitchell's Cersosimo won three of her four events with a total score of 39.2. Her vault score of 9.85 was narrowly beaten by Amelia Rew, a teammate and daughter of coach Audra Rew. Cersosimo won 11 titles throughout her varsity career at Mitchell, including seven in the past two years.
Coach Rew said there was a little pressure on Cersosimo to repeat last year's state meet performance, but when she gets into a rhythm, she is unstoppable.
"Brooke has had a passion and dedication to gymnastics since the moment she started," Rew said. "I was excited that she was able to finish her senior year with such grand style. Last year, she set the highest all-around record and scored a perfect 10 on the beam at the state meet."
Rew said Cersosimo will continue in USA Gymnastics for the local club "MEGA Gymnastics," competing at level 10 and try to make it to nationals in May. Next year, Cersosimo plans to attend Southern Utah University and compete on the gymnastics team.
Babbitt sets the bar high, becomes Nevada's basketball scoring leader
By Jennifer Searcy
It was just an ordinary basketball game for Galena (Nevada) High School senior Luke Babbitt, but with 4:40 to go in the fourth quarter, he broke the state record for most career points.
On January 18, Babbitt scored 23 points to help his team defeat Fallon (Nevada) Churchill County High School. Those points paved the way for Babbitt to pass Armon Johnson (Reno Hug High School) and Prince Fowler (Las Vegas Western High School) on the all-time state scoring list. Babbitt finished his career with 2,941 points.
The Grizzlies went on to win seven of the nine remaining games before entering the postseason, where they lost in the second round of the Northern 4A regional bracket to Minden (Nevada) Douglas High School.
Babbitt will play college basketball next year at the University of Nevada.
Cassie Krisher is a spring semester intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. She is a senior at Butler (Indiana) University, majoring in journalism and media arts.
Jennifer Searcy is a spring intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. She is a junior at Franklin (Indiana) College majoring in journalism news editorial and public relations.
