The year Carmel nearly lost in girls state swimming
The Streak wasn’t that long then. Not even in double digits.
Girls swimming was a fall sport in 1991, and Carmel High School had won five successive state championships. Six? That was not going to happen.
New coach. New training. No superstars. And did we mention Elkhart Central was loaded, featuring future Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Benko?
“On paper, we weren’t supposed to win the meet at all,” said Tiffany (Tryon) Becher, a swimmer on that Carmel team.
Somehow, the Greyhounds did win. They beat Elkhart Central by six points, 190-184. They have been winning ever since.
Last year, Carmel had arguably the best high school team ever. Carmel broke national records in all three relays, featured four national champions and won state by a record 266 points. On Friday and Saturday at the Natatorium at IUPUI, Carmel is poised to win a 30th straight state championship — which would be a record for all sports in all states.
It wasn’t that way in 1991. The Greyhounds were vulnerable, and they knew it.
“You didn’t see the state champions on this team. That was one of the teams that knew it had to overachieve in order to be able to win the state championship that year,” said Tony Young, then the Carmel coach.
“They really put the team first, ahead of any self-interest. That was one of the things they learned from the previous teams that were ahead of them.”
That was not the only thing they learned.
Becher said Young contrasted to previous coach Ray Lawrence, who sent the girls through high-yardage workouts. Carmel’s swimmers were taught different stroke technique. Ultimately, that improved their performance, but Becher said the change made them nervous.
Moreover, one of their top swimmers, Kim Trager, was sidelined by mononucleosis.
“‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to lose this meet. Everything is stacked against us,’” Becher said of the swimmers’ state of mind.
It was a season of anxiety for the coaches, too. Young said he had an all-star staff in assistants Jay Chambers, now girls swim coach at Fishers, and Tom Avischious, the field services director at USA Swimming. Young is now sport development director for Indiana Swimming, which oversees club swimming in the state.
Trager (now Trager-Bohley) said in an email that the swimmers “respected and admired” Young and did not want to let the new coach down. Young said he had serious doubts until the two weeks leading up to state. That’s when Carmel brings in alumni, teachers, former coaches, pro athletes and other speakers to deliver inspirational talks to the team.
“That made me believe,” Young said.
It was not easy to believe, however, after sectional results were posted. Elkhart Central looked unbeatable.
Although the state meet came down to the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the turning point was the first event: the 200-yard medley relay, 50 yards by four swimmers in each stroke. The Greyhounds had won the medley en route to team titles in each of the previous five years.
“In our minds, we thought we had to win the medley relay,” Becher said.
Trager-Bohley was given a doctor’s approval to swim a couple of weeks before state, and she was a late addition to that medley foursome, which was seeded No. 4. Becher was swimming the backstroke leg against … Benko, the future Olympic champion. Young calculated Elkhart would be two seconds ahead after that leadoff.
Becher was proficient at the underwater kick. Before rules required backstrokers to surface before 15 meters, she could go longer. When she touched the wall, she was only a couple of tenths of a second behind. Sara Thomas swam breaststroke and Stefanie Faust, a freshman, moved into the lead on butterfly. Trager-Bohley swam the freestyle anchor, and Carmel finished first — its only first place of that state meet.
“It was just one of those things that created momentum for the meet itself,” Young said.
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Carmel coaches kept a notepad, jotting down cumulative score after each event. Consolation finals became more important than ever.
Thomas was unexpectedly second in the 100 breaststroke. Becher was fourth in the 200 freestyle. Trager-Bohley was sixth in the 100 freestyle.
The Greyhounds led by 18 points going into the closing 400 freestyle relay, but victory was not secured. Elkhart was favored, meaning Carmel would have to place higher than eighth to win the team championship.
Coaches’ advice was simple: Do not leave too early on relay exchanges.
“That last relay, I remember standing on the blocks, hoping I wouldn’t fall off because I was so nervous,” Becher said.
Elkhart did win the relay. Carmel was fifth.
For the sixth year in a row, the Greyhounds were state champions.
California high school swim team boasted Olympic medalists
Benko was a freshman then, so she would have other chances. But she said she knew from age-group swimming that Carmel would reload. This was their best shot, she said. Elkhart finished second in each of the next two years.
“We came so close to being that one team that almost did it,” said Benko, whose married name is Lindsay Mintenko.
She won three Olympic medals, including gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay in 2000. She has been national team managing director for USA Swimming since 2006 and is a mother of two.
Becher and Trager-Bohley are educators and also have two children each. Becher teaches sixth grade at Fall Creek Elementary School, and Trager-Bohley is an adjunct professor of American Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Because of them and their teammates, The Streak is at 29 and counting.
“For me, that was the sweetest win, because we had to dig deep to get it,” Trager-Bohley said.
Call IndyStar reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
The Streak
CARMEL'S FIVE CLOSEST VICTORIES
Points Runner-up, year Score
6 Elkhart Central, 1991-92 190-184
18 North Central, 2002-03 277-259
37.5 Elkhart Central, 1993-94 282-244.5
42 Valparaiso, 1990-91 260-218
54.5 Hamilton Southeastern, 2006-07 335-280.5
CARMEL'S FIVE WIDEST VICTORIES
Points Runner-up, year Score
266 Fishers, 2014-15 445-179
242.5 Richmond, 1996-97 420.5-178
241 Center Grove, 1997-98 419-178
240 Valparaiso, 1995-96 418-178
232.5 Center Grove, 2009-10 419-186.5