Fishers’ Alex Koo won the butterfly event at the IHSAA state meet. Koo earned four medals at state, also placing second in the 50 free and making the podium on two relays. (Julie Brown)
By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – After a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle at the IHSAA state meet, Alex Koo wanted more for his other individual race.
Fishers’ Mason Lawson (above) placed second in diving, with his teammate Kirby Danglade (below) finishing third. (Julie Brown)
Koo got what he wanted. The Tigers junior won the butterfly state championship Saturday, Feb. 28. Koo held off Center Grove’s Evan Lyness to finish first, with a time of 48.15 seconds.
“I was really tired at the end of the first 50, but I didn’t want my season to end in another second,” said Koo. “I really pushed myself on that second 50.”
Koo trailed Lyness by a third of a second after the first 50, but swam the second leg three-quarters of a second faster to get the win.
“It felt really good,” said Koo. “I wanted to go faster than what I did. Before the season started, I wanted to go 47 towards the end of it. I still won, so I’m really happy with that.”
Koo’s state championship win was the centerpiece of a solid day for Fishers. The Tigers finished fifth as a team with 166 points.
Fishers’ divers were a significant part of the Tigers’ team score. Mason Lawson finished second with 539.75 points, while Kirby Danglade placed third with 518.80 points. The two were involved in a battle with eventual champion (and Mental Attitude Award winner) Ian Parrott; the Warsaw senior scored 556.60 points.
In addition to his two sprint finishes, Koo joined Qwinton Upshaw, Dylan Geesaman and Elijah Fishman to place fifth in the medley relay. Koo and Upshaw later teamed with Caden Askren and Carter Schultz for a fourth-place 200 free relay result.
Askren also made the podium on his own, taking fifth in the 500 free.
“The guys did awesome,” said Fishers coach Joe Keller. “Last year, three of these guys swam at this meet. We had a huge class graduate and so you’re learning every step.”
Keller used Brody Chop as an example. The senior had never made the sectional roster until this season, then swam in the 500 free with a “B” Final qualifying time of 4 minutes, 42.99 seconds. Chop improved on that time in the finals, placing 12th in 4:41.75.
“Great swim last night, goes faster today,” said Keller. “That’s pretty awesome when you can see those kinds of things happen.”
Two medals for Westfield’s Welch
Westfield scored 69 points to place 10th at state.
Junior Zach Welch had a fine meet, making the podium in both distance events. Welch finished seventh in the 200 free, then finished his day with a fourth-place result in the 500 free, swimming the longer race in 4:30.49.
Noblesville’s medley relay also got on the podium, placing eighth. The team of Jackson Teske, Joshua Naas, Liam Hayward and Brayden Wright clocked in a 1:34.97. The Millers also had three “B” Final swims and placed 12th with 55 points.
Hamilton Southeastern had six “B” Final swims, finishing 17th with 37 points. Zachary Marchisin and Bryce Salvadori went 1-2 in the 500 free consolation race, officially placing ninth and 10th for scoring purposes.
Guerin Catholic’s Sam Holl competed in the 500 free, finishing 15th.
Westfield’s Zach Welch finished fourth in the 500 free and seventh in the 200 free. (Julie Brown)
Noblesville’s Joshua Naas swam on the Millers’ eighth-place medley relay. (Julie Brown)
Hamilton Southeastern’s Bryce Salvadori placed 10th in the 500 free. (Julie Brown)
Guerin Catholic’s Sam Holl finished 15th in the 500 free. (Julie Brown)
