For the Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — As the daughter of two collegiate-level swimmers, Greenfield-Central’s Carley Logan seemed destined for the pool, but it didn’t start that way.
“Carley was heavy into gymnastics,” Greenfield-Central coach and Carley’s mother, Emily Logan, said. “At the dinner table we weren’t allowed to talk about swimming for a while, which made conversation very limited in our house.”
After competing in gymnastics, softball and soccer, the Hancock County Girls Swimmer of the Year eventually committed to the pool and the results speak for themselves — two school records, two sectional records and seven sectional championships. She qualified for the IHSAA state finals four consecutive years and will continue her swimming career at Carson-Newman University, about 30 miles east of Knoxville, Tenn.
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“I am happy with how things ended up,” Carley Logan said. “I know I wanted to get top 16, but all four years I got faster and dropped time.”
She lowered her school-record time in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.07 at state, which was good for 22nd. She also placed 25th in the 200 freestyle.
Logan said breaking the 200 freestyle school record as a junior was the favorite moment of her high school career.
“Freshman year I got the record in the 500, and I really wanted the 200, too,” Logan said. “I was at 1:58 as a freshman. My sophomore year I was at 1:57 so I was really close. When I got it at state my junior year I started to cry because I’d been working so hard for it. I kept breaking the 500 so it didn’t feel as much of an achievement as the 200.”
The distance specialist has made her mark in the Indiana Swimming Open Water Championships as well. She placed second in the 15-and-over division in 2017 and fifth in 2018.
“Carley’s one where the longer the distance, generally the more successful she is,” Emily Logan said. “The longer she goes, the more she digs in. She works very hard. When she goes into training mode, she’ll push her body to limits most kids won’t.”
At Carson-Newman, Logan will likely get a chance to swim the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyles. She will continue the family tradition of collegiate swimming, following not only her parents but also her older brother, Drew Logan. Drew competed for Olivet Nazarene University, helping the Tigers win back-to-back NAIA national championships in 2016 and 2017.
“I liked going to see my brother swim in college and I wanted to do that,” Logan said. “I want to see how I do in a different program. I always looked up to him. He gave me good advice and cheered me on. They had a baby recently and couldn’t make it to state but he said they watched online and were cheering me on with the baby.”
Logan, who celebrated her 18th birthday on Friday, will likely be a great role model for her new niece, as she has been for the younger swimmers in the Greenfield-Central program.
“Her teammates respect what she does every day,” Emily Logan said. “This isn’t a sport where you get put in because you’re the coach’s kid. You have to do your work in order to get there.
“She gives back to our program. She gives swimming lessons and has now started helping us coach the younger groups. She’s really good with young kids.”
Logan plans to pursue a degree in elementary education.
Before leaving the high school ranks, she did have a bit of advice for swimmers coming up through the club and high school programs.
“Use every race you get as an opportunity,” Logan said. “You might not always drop time, but you can get better.”
