INDIANAPOLIS – Every year the other girls swimming and diving teams around the state of Indiana are raising their level.
And every time, Carmel has the answer.
The Greyhounds won their national record 40th straight state championship on Saturday afternoon at the Indiana University Natatorium, scoring 326.5 points to beat co-runners up Carroll (Fort Wayne) and Fishers.
“We certainly understood we had a challenge in front of us, and we knew we needed to swim our best to have a chance,” Carmel head coach Chris Plumb said. “The girls really stepped up and did that.”
It was the first time since the 2008 season that a team was within 100 points of Carmel at the state meet, with Carroll and Fishers finishing with 227 points,
Plumb said that they told the girls leading up to the meet to embrace and welcome the challenges, not succumb to the pressure and give up anything.
Senior Molly Sweeney said the Greyhounds embrace the challenges thrown their way and that it brings out the best in them.
“This feels amazing and honestly I think this is the best year yet, because the competition has been closer,” Sweeney said. “Winning doesn’t feel as special when you win by like 10 seconds. But the relays were close, the individual events were close, it is much more rewarding.”
The Greyhounds won five events on the day.
They took the medley relay title for the 18th straight season, with the team of Leah DeBosch, Sweeney, Ellie Clark, and Sophia Floyd winning in a time of 1:40.90.
“The big win for us was that medley relay, going two seconds faster than last week,” Plumb said. “I thought that was a huge win for our team and got us fired up.”
Carmel also got two individual titles each from Sweeney and Clark.
Sweeney took first in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 52.78 and in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 59.24.
After a frustrating state meet a year ago, Sweeney said she had lost her love of swimming and seriously considered giving up the sport.
But she took a step back and reprioritized things, and found passion for the sport again.
“I really hated the sport. I was experiencing some over training syndrome and I’m being serious when I say I wanted to quit,” she said. “I kind of had to take a step back and realize there is much more to life than swimming, that I have this God given gift as an athlete and I’m just trying to use it to my fullest and make others around me better.”
Plumb said Sweeney has been a fantastic leader for this Greyhound team.
“Molly did a great job leading in and out of the pool,” Plumb said. “She understood what her role was, she unified the team and I love the way she brought the team together.”
The sophomore Clark captured the 200-yard IM in a time of 1:57.73, moving from third to first in the final 50 yards to overtake defending state champion Jordyn Glassley of Carroll and Zionsville’s Haley Hunter.
Clark also repeated as the champion in the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 53.08.
“Our team really swam well as a whole, and everyone stepped up when they needed to,” Clark said. “We got a lot of important races. I feel like I swam alright, but this is a meet where places mean more than time.”
Carmel got a second place finish from Helena Gibson in diving, and third place finishes from Haley Morris in the 500-yard freestyle and Leah DeBosch in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Greyhounds capped the State Finals with a third place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Carroll and Fishers tied for second, the first time in the 52-year history of the state meet that teams tied for second.
“I’m extremely proud of our girls,” Fishers head coach Joe Keller said. “I told the girls when we got on the bus today that regardless of what happened I was proud of everything they have done. The best part is when you try to create and live a culture of excellence, then success will follow. The things that they have learned and grew from and achieved this year, that’s kind of what the IHSAA embodies.”
Fishers had a double champion in junior Emily Wolf, who took the distance double, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.84 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:43.25.
“She made the national junior team this year based on performances, and she can manage and handle situations in this setting,” Keller said. “She has a level of confidence, it’s not arrogance, it’s confidence from within that she has put in the work and time and saw it pay off.”
Carroll finished second on the strength of their sprint freestylers.
Maris Williams won the 50-yard freestyle in 22.86, with teammate Kate Fetters in second in 22.92. They were the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the event since Carmel’s Amy Bilquist and Kendall Smith in 2015.
“That was awesome,” Williams said. “It’s so fun to be able to swim with my teammates and have that success together. We have definitely been thinking about doing that, and it was something we wanted to do.”
The duo reversed the finish in the 100-yard freestyle, with Fetters winning in 49.52 and Williams placing second, becoming the first teammates to finish 1-2 in that event since Carmel’s Claire Adams and Kelly Pash in 2016.
“I love having someone there that I can race every day, and I know she’s there to make me better also,” Fetters said. “It’s just so exciting to see what we’ve worked so hard for all season really come true.”
They also teamed with Glassley and Naomi Bowland to win the 200- and 400-yard freestyles.
All four girls are back next year.
Concord’s Catie Brenneman, who placed second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle, was named the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner.
Concord’s Catie Brenneman earns Mental Attitude Award
Catie Brenneman of Concord High School was named the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Executive Committee after today’s state meet.
Academically, Catie ranks fourth in her senior class and is a member of the National Honors Society. She has been named a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and NISCA All-American for the past three years and is a four-year All-Conference selection in the Northern Lakes Conference.
This year, she qualified in the 100 and 200 freestyle events and was a member of Concord’s 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. Catie qualified for state all four years of high school and earned medals every year heading into today’s meet. As a freshman, she broke Olympian Lindsay Benko’s sectional record in the 200 free and now holds school records in the 200 free, 500 free, and 200 IM.
Outside of school, she will be a 10-year 4-H club member this upcoming summer and has been a long-time volunteer, where she assists with younger members and the annual Elkhart County Fair. Catie also is a volunteer with the Concord Swim Club and Concord Junior High Swim Team as a timer.
Catie, the daughter of Dan and Angie Brenneman of Elkhart, Indiana, will attend the University of Notre Dame, where she plans to major in marketing and compete for the Fighting Irish swimming team. She becomes the second girls swimmer from Concord to earn this award, joining her sister, Grace Brenneman, who received the honor in 2022.
Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior who was nominated by her principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s proud corporate partner, presented $1,000 to Concord High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Catie Brenneman.
The 52 Annual IHSAA Girls Swimming & Diving State Finals
Indiana University Natatorium, IU Indianapolis
February 13-14, 2026
Top 10 Teams
1. Carmel 326.5 40th consecutive team championship
T2. Fishers 227
T2. Carroll (Fort Wayne) 227
4. Zionsville 201
5. Penn 157
6. Hamilton Southeastern 141
7. Chesterton 138
8. Valparaiso 122
9. Center Grove 76
10. Munster 73
State Champions
200 Medley Relay: Carmel (Leah Debosch 10, Molly Sweeney 12, Ellie Clarke 10, Sophia Floyd 11) 1:40.90
200 Freestyle: Emily Wolf (11) Fishers 1:45.84
200 Individual Medley: Ellie Clarke (10) Carmel 1:57.73 200th title by a Carmel individual or relay team
50 Freestyle: Maris Williams (11) Carroll (Fort Wayne) 22.86
One Meter Diving: Adelyn Flessner (12) North Central (Indianapolis) 529.30 Repeat state champion
100 Butterfly: Molly Sweeney (12) Carmel 52.78
100 Freestyle: Kate Fetters (11) Carroll (Fort Wayne) 49.52
500 Freestyle: Emily Wolf (11) Fishers 4:43.25 Repeat state champion
200 Freestyle Relay: Carroll (Fort Wayne) (Kate Fetters 11, Maris Williams 11, Jordyn Glassley 11, Naomi Bowland 11) 1:32.63 First-ever relay title for school
100 Backstroke: Ellie Clarke (10) Carmel 53.08 Repeat state champion
100 Breaststroke: Molly Sweeney (12) Carmel 59.24 Third state title in four years
400 Freestyle Relay: Carroll (Fort Wayne) (Jordyn Glassley 11, Kate Fetters 11, Naomi Bowland 11, Maris Williams 11) 3:21.30