NEW PALESTINE — The streak continues.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Greenfield-Central girls swimming and diving team reigned supreme after winning the New Palestine Sectional championship Monday night behind six individual-event, first-place finishes.
The defending sectional champion Cougars had to wait a few extra days to celebrate their ninth straight team title with the sectional preliminaries postponed until Saturday afternoon due to last week’s winter storm.
However, once the finals commenced on Monday, the Cougars dove in to win, decisively, tallying 518 overall team points.
The sectional final, which was pushed back from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, concluded Monday with Greenfield-Central head coach Emily Logan being named the sectional tournament coach of the year.
“This was an amazing team with so much talent,” Logan remarked. “They are a joy to coach and watch. So proud of each and every one of them.”
Greenfield-Central outpaced Hoosier Heritage Conference foe New Castle (258) for the team title, while Connersville (212) was third overall.
Mt. Vernon (203) finished fourth in the team standings. New Palestine (187) was sixth, and Eastern Hancock (116) came in ninth.
The Cougars made their intentions known from the initial event of the sectional finals by winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 49.43 seconds, which was 10 seconds better than runner-up New Castle (2:00.69).
The 200 medley relay quartet of Alyssa Osborn, Norah Johnson, Mary Ellen Stratman and Rachel Stutz later combined to contribute in five of the Cougars’ six overall event victories.
Osborn won the 200 IM in a time of 2:11.57, while Stratman took first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 59.85.
Johnson capped a dominating performance for the Cougars in the 100 breaststroke by finishing first in 1:04.86. Osborn followed in second with a time of 1:08.19.
Taylor Parsons gave Greenfield-Central another 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly by securing second behind Stratman in 1:01.75.
G-C’s Reagan Crouch, Elizabeth Coleman, Ariel Niemeier and Cecelia Duffy-Johnson won the 200 free relay in 1:44.01.
The foursome of Stutz, Stratman, Osborn and Johnson ended the night just as they began it by winning the 400 freestyle relay in a school-record time of 3:40.05.
Greenfield-Central padded its team points total with multiple top-five finishes in several events.
Coleman was third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:17.49, while Parsons was fourth in 2:20.98.
Niemeier was fifth in the 200 free (2:06.02), Stutz was second in the 50 free (25.05), Johnson finished second in the 100 free (53.61), Coleman was fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:03.10) and Niemeier placed second in the 500 free (5:38.53).
Stratman was third in the 100 backstroke (59.83), setting a new school record, and Stutz took fourth in 1:01.10. Sydnie Wherry placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.32). Duffy-Johnson was fifth in the 100 free (55.99).
Ava Jaggers-Rust (235.45). Emily Jones-Estelle (233.10) and Avery Davis (231.65) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 1-meter diving competition for Greenfield-Central.
“Altogether, we will be sending all three relays and three individuals to state this Friday,” Logan remarked. “We broke two school records.”
Mt. Vernon’s Annelise Hiner was fourth in the 50 free (25.78) and fourth in the 100 free (55.93). Marauders’ Emme Grubbs took fifth in the 100 butterfly (1;03.91).
The group of Hiner, Grubbs, Calista Smith and Madelyn Meyer were third for the Marauders in the 200 free relay (1:45.63) and third in the 400 free relay (3:52.51).
New Palestine’s Katelyn Trimpe finished third in the 500 free (5:44.90), and Chloe Siler placed fifth in the 50 free (26.15).
Dragons Sullie Leavell, Siler, Kyleigh Turner and Trimpe teamed to finished fourth in the 200 free relay (1:46.63).
State qualifiers will compete in Friday night’s preliminaries inside the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI, beginning at 6 p.m.
The top-16 individuals from each preliminary event will compete on Saturday with the top-eight advancing individuals vying for championship honors. Diving preliminaries and semifinals are scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday with championship and consolation swims set to start at 1 p.m.
2021-22 New Palestine Girls Swimming & Diving Sectional
Team Scores: Greenfield-Central 518, New Castle 258, Connersville 212, Mt. Vernon 203, Centerville 202, New Palestine 187, Shelbyville 170, Richmond 144, Eastern Hancock 116, Hagerstown 94, Seton Catholic 47.
Individual Event Winners
200 medley relay: Greenfield-Central (Alyssa Osborn, Norah Johnson, Mary Ellen Stratman, Rachel Stutz), 1:49.43
200 freestyle: Lylah Hutson, NC, 1:59.90
200 IM: Alyssa Osborn, G-C, 2:11.57
50 freestyle: Karissa Hamilton, SHEL, 24.27
Diving: Sacha Shunneson, NC, 319.65
100 butterfly: Mary Ellen Stratman, G-C, 59.85
100 freestyle: Karissa Hamilton, SHEL, 53.56
500 freestyle: Lylah Hutson, NC, 5:11.10
200 freestyle relay: Greenfield-Central (Reagan Crouch, Elizabeth Coleman, Ariel Niemeier, Cecelia Duffy-Johnson), 1:44.01
100 backstroke: Erica Lucas, CENT, 58.06
100 breaststroke: Norah Johnson, G-C, 1:04.86
400 freestyle relay: Greenfield-Central (Rachel Stutz, Mary Ellen Stratman, Alyssa Osborn, Norah Johnson), 3:40.05
