Chesterton Girls swim team packs star power and serious depth on trip to Indianapolis for state meet

TOM KEEGAN
onwardtrojans.com

​If all goes swimmingly for the Chesterton girls this weekend in Indianapolis, not all of their energy will be spent in the water. They will do plenty of walking as well. Destination: podium.
Not that watching the swimmers cut through the water so efficiently at the Hobart sectional didn’t make it obvious, but just in case, the seedings released by the IHSAA for this weekend’s state finals drive home the point: This could be a special weekend for the Trojans.
A nice blend of star power and depth has head coach Jenni Kellstrom's Trojans packing an abundance of confidence for the trip to Indy.
When looking for a shortcut to size up a swim team’s depth, start by asking two questions about the three relays. 1. How many relay teams will the school send to Friday’s state preliminaries at IU Indy? Filling three relays with state-caliber swimmers takes serious depth. 2. How good is the medley relay team? A strong medley relay means a school has swimmers earning points in events covering all the strokes.
Sectional champion Chesterton, as does chief rival and sectional runner-up Valparaiso, passes both tests, and not by a little.
The Trojans’ medley relay foursome of sophomore Adalyn Laughner, freshman Brenley Bonez, juniors Tegan Werner and Peyton Ostertag is seeded third with a 1:42.13, ranking behind Carmel (1:40.09) and Valpo (1:42.05).
The same four girls, swimming in a different order (Ostertag, Werner, Laughner, Bonez) also are seeded third in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:26.89 time, ranking behind Carmel (3:21.46) and Fishers (3:25.39).
The girls who swim those two relays combined to qualify in six individual events, including three seedings that project to a podium visit (top eight places) and a fourth that misses by one place.
Bonez is seeded third in both the 50 free (23.38) and the 100 breaststroke (1:02.42).
Laughner is seeded fourth in the backstroke (55.92) and ninth in the 100 free (51.50).
Even if Laughner doesn’t reach the podium in the 100 free, that’s a projected five events with Chesterton swimmers having medals hung around their necks. Diver Bayley Fowler would make six, or half the events.
Werner earned a No. 13 seed in the 50 free (23.86), Ostertag a No. 23 seed in the 100 free.
Lux Mountford, Patricia Ozimek, Emily Hofmann and Miata Henderson form the 200 free relay team that edged Valpo for the sectional title with a 1:38.51. The 200 relay swimmers combine to compete in three individual events at state.
Note that only one of the eight swimmers who fill the three relay teams is a senior. Henderson has another busy weekend in store. She won sectional titles in the 500 free (5:06.37, No. 13 seed) and 200 free (1:53.71, No. 20 seed). Mountford made the 200 free field, seeded 24th.
Packing so many talented swimmers into the same pool daily helps everyone.
“Being in practice together, fast sets, we’re always pushing each other,” Hofmann said.
Nothing makes someone go faster than trying to catch the person in front. Trying to prevent the swimmer behind from catching up is the next-best motivator. That’s where a more subtle depth factor that helped drive this team to state with so many high seeds came into play daily in practice.
The Trojans’ depth extended beyond those competing this weekend.
Not a single Chesterton swimmer at the sectional finished lower than sixth place in an event. So, in a very real sense, even the swimmers who didn’t qualify to compete at state had a role in getting their teammates there, including seniors Olivia West (third in the 200 IM, fifth in the 100 breaststroke) and Mallory Killosky (fifth in the 100 IM and 100 butterfly), junior Natalie Pieters (fifth in the 100 free and 500 free), and freshmen Kennedy Draves (third in the 100 backstroke; fourth in the 100 fly) and Alyssa Scalf (fifth in the 100 backstroke).
Bonez and Laughner, in that order, lead the way for Chesterton, but it takes more than two stars to finish as high as the Trojans are aiming this weekend.