GREENFIELD — It is not quite a decade of dominance, but it’s getting there.
The Greenfield-Central High School husband and wife coaching team of Mark and Emily Logan have led the school’s swim programs for the last eight years.
During that time their teams have been piling up the hardware.
Mark inherited a team that was coming off a Hoosier Heritage Conference and sectional title, but they haven’t stopped since he took over. The Cougars come into this season with nine straight conference titles and nine consecutive sectional championships.
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Emily’s girls’ teams have won three in a row on the conference side and six straight sectionals, the only sectional titles in school history.
“It’s hard to pin-point it to one thing,” Emily Logan said of the teams’ successes. “Having a good feeder program is probably the biggest asset and we have a lot of good younger coaches.”
The Logans also run Greenfield’s year-round competitive club program, GCAT (Greenfield Community Aquatics Team).
“We build from the ground up with the little kids,” Emily added. “We expect a lot of our kids and they want to meet those expectations.”
The history of the program’s success brings those high expectations.
During the Logans’ tenure, both programs have set numerous school records and had multiple state qualifiers. The boys’ have the school’s lone state champion, Zach Cook, who won the 100-yard butterfly in 2017.
The boys have finished in the top 20 in the state each of the past four years. They were 20th last season after placing ninth and 10th in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In 2016, they placed 17th.
The girls were 40th in the state meet last season, the only county team to score at the state finals.
The Logan children have been part of the successes, too.
Most recently, Carley Logan, a 2019 graduate, was the Daily Reporter’s Girls’ Swimmer of the Year. She is now swimming in college at NCAA Division II Carson-Newman, located in Jefferson City, Tenn.
Sam Logan is a junior on this year’s team and one of four returning state qualifiers.
“We’re a big, crazy swimming family,” Emily Logan added.
Competitive swimming has been part of both of their lives for a long time. They met when they were both competing for the University of Indianapolis swimming and diving programs. Mark was also part of the Greyhounds cross country team.
They have taken the Greenfield-Central programs a long way and that looks to continue this upcoming season. Expectations are always high, but they are a little higher this year.
Mark said this season’s team is looking to get back to the state’s top 10, but added that there are even bigger goals for this year’s group.
"It’s going to be a different season for us," he said. "Our focus is on the Olympic trials.”
Junior sprinter Travis Black finished sixth in the state in the 50 freestyle last season and is Hancock County’s top returnee. He has a shot at being a state champion, but he’s also just .5 seconds off the Olympic qualifying time in the sprint race. He has swam a 23.69. The Olympic standard time is 23.19.
“Our training method is to get our kids the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic trials."
Greenfield-Central’s successes and expectations continuing to grow.
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Boys
Eastern Hancock Royals
Coach: Chip Sunier
Last season: Sixth at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: Aaron Surburg, junior; Matthew McDaniel and Luken Edwards, sophomores
What to expect: The Royals return the majority of last year’s squad that had three relays and five individuals reach ‘A’ finals at the New Palestine Sectional. The coaching staff believes there are great opportunities to get faster and compete well in the championship portion of the season.
Coach’s comment: “For us, focus is a small word with a large meaning behind it, and as our squad progresses through the season, we feel their hard work, focus and increasing mental toughness will allow them to achieve their goals and represent Eastern to the best of their abilities,” assistant coach Mike Dolence said.
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Greenfield-Central Cougars
Coach: Mark Logan
Last season: First at New Palestine Sectional; 20th at State Finals
Key returnees: Samuel Jennings, senior; Travis Black, Samuel Logan and Anthony Nagel, juniors; Kien Dalton, sophomore
What to expect: Hard to believe finishing 20th in the state is almost considered a down year for the Cougar program, but that’s how expectations are at Greenfield-Central. With four state qualifiers back, led by Black who placed sixth in the state’s 50 Freestyle, the Cougars look to climb further up the leaderboard in 2020.
Coach’s comment: “We hope to be back up in the top 10 (at state) this year. Our sophomores and juniors got a year of maturity and development under them. We’re still a pretty young crew for this year, but we’re definitely more experienced,” coach Mark Logan said.
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Mt. Vernon Marauders
Coach: Brad Grieshop
Last season: Second at New Palestine Sectional; 43rd at State Finals
Key returnees: Cole Worley, senior; James Demircioglu, Evan Flick, Logan Schomaker, and Aiden Tierney, juniors.
What to expect: The Marauders feel a strong season lies ahead. They have veterans — including Tierney who was a sectional champion in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM, as well as, three-quarters of the sectional winning 200 freestyle relay team — to go with an incoming freshman class that is expected to fill spots left by graduation.
Coach’s comment: “We graduated a lot of great talent, but we have some promising freshmen and a lot of strong returnees. The key will be our depth, more so than ever. Our depth bodes well for a great season,” coach Brad Grieshop said.
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New Palestine Dragons
Coach: Jason Tillage
Last season: Fourth at New Palestine Sectional; 42nd at State Finals
Key returnees: Damon Estes and Colin Stacey, seniors; Darrell Drake, Austin Lines and Jackson Schwartz, junior.
What to expect: The Dragons will have one of the stronger diving contingents in the area, led by Colin Stacey, who finished 11th in the state and recently signed with TCU. Drake and Lines add depth to the Dragon divers.
Coach’s comment: “We want our swimmers to compete better than they have in the past, work hard and see their times drop. Positive attitudes create excellence,” coach Jason Tillage said.
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Girls
Eastern Hancock Royals
Coach: Chip Sunier
Last season: Eighth at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: The Royals do not have any returnees from last season.
What to expect: The Royals will be young and rely heavily on the potential of a talented freshman class.
Coach’s comment: “We are very excited about our girls’ team. Many of them had a very strong summer season. Also, our incoming freshmen smashed all of the middle school records last year, and we look for them to improve into their high school careers. Our girls are already very focused on their goals and are hungry to compete throughout our season; especially the sectional meet,” assistant coach Mike Dolence said.
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Greenfield-Central Cougars
Coach: Emily Logan
Last season: First at New Palestine Sectional; 40th at State Finals
Key returnees: Rebekah Bogle, Megan Coffin, Anne Marie DeKeyser, Grace Hall, Addison Noah and Sarah Stutz, seniors
What to expect: The Cougars will miss graduated standout Carley Logan, who won the 200 and 500 freestyle races at the sectional and was part of the victorious 400 freestyle relay team, but a good nucleus of returnees and a promising freshman class should make for another strong season.
Coach’s comment: “We are a fairly young team with a strong freshman class. With all the new energy, the kids are fighting for spots. It’s been a little more fun at practice with a lot of options,” coach Emily Logan said.
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Mt. Vernon Marauders
Coach: Brad Grieshop
Last season: Second at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: Beth Ahonen and Lizzy Hiatt seniors; Abby Crouch, Maddie Moore and Fiona Wray, juniors
What to expect: The Marauders do not have a large roster (14), but several swimmers that placed in the top eight at the sectional are back, so quality experience returns. They have one-half of their sectional champion 200 medley relay team back in juniors Moore and Crouch.
Coach’s comment: “We’re going to be relying on everyone to be at their best every meet. It’s definitely going to be a total team effort this year,” coach Brad Grieshop said.
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New Palestine Dragons
Coach: Jason Tillage
Last season: Third at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: Karen Shriver, senior; Kayleigh Wright and Bailey Young, junior
What to expect: Shriver is the county’s top returning diver, finishing 11th at last year’s regional, but the rest of the group is very young, with 12 juniors and 10 freshmen.
Coach’s comment: “We’re a young team, but we have some strong swimmers,” coach Jason Tillage said.
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