Wawasee’s Paige Miller looks to pull ahead of Carmel’s Morgan Miller during the 500 free. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

INDIANAPOLIS — It was a performance three years in the making and it was well worth the wait.

Paige Miller was the lone competitor for Wawasee at the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving Championships but she made quite the impact in getting herself through to the top 16 in both of her events. She advanced to the consoles in the 200 free and to the finals in the 500 free. The latter being the highlight of her meet.

Miller entered as the fifth overall seed in the 500 with her time of 4:57.27 and swam in the event’s third heat, along with Carmel’s Morgan Miller and Chesterton’s Lauryn Kallay. The three provided one of the finest races of the entire evening.

Kallay lined up in lane three, followed by Carmel’s Miller in lane four and the Wawasee junior in lane five.

The two Millers led the pack, with Carmel’s junior leading for the majority of the race. Over the last quarter of the heat Kallay made a move and looked as if she would emerge as the fastest of the group.

Paige Miller would have had a tough time in the 500 free without somebody counting her laps, that’s where Madi McBride made a name for herself.

The wall touches went from being a one-two pattern of the two Millers to a one-two sequence of Carmel’s Miller and Kallay. It appeared that Wawasee’s distance stud was fading, but that was far from the case, she was merely biding time.

The final series of turns between the three competitors suddenly had the attention of everyone in The Nat. Event announcer Mike Miles’ call of the heat’s last laps sounded more like the call for the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby.

“And here they come!”

Alright, Miles didn’t actually say that, but he could have and it would have fit perfectly.

The lead inched back and forth between the two Millers with Kallay desperately trying to keep pace. As the three approached the wall it was the Miller girls coming in just ahead of Kallay as the crowd burst into a thunderous roar. The two Millers had tied, each coming in at 4:55.01.

Wawasee’s cheer block quickly broke out a chant for their star, Carmel’s fans did the same while Chesterton celebrated Kallay’s impressive finish of 4:55.31. The two Miller’s shook hands, both wearing wide smiles.

Through the well-deserved cheering Miles’ voice could be heard, “That’s what makes Indiana swimming so special.”

Wawasee coaches Cheryl Miller (left) and Julie Robinson.

Miller, who first made it to state for Wawasee her freshman year, made it point back then to break the five-minute mark on her sports largest stage. She fell short in each of the last two years, making this moment all the more enjoyable.

“I’m obviously really excited,” Miller said. “Julie (Robinson) and I talked a lot about time and I’m okay with where I placed. To be honest, I wanted to go 4:54, I went 4:55.01, I’m still in the top eight, I’ll take it.

“We’ve really just talked about sticking to my plan. We talked about what my splits needed to be and sticking to the plan and it worked.” The junior will enter tomorrow’s 500 tied with Carmel’s Miller as the third overall seed, behind Carmel’s Emma Nordin (4:49.01) and Franklin’s Carla Gildersle 4:54.68. Northridge’s Katie Hughes will also join Miller in the finals as the six seed (4:55.32).

The stage will be a little bigger, the competition a little tougher but it’s all just icing on the cake at this point for Miller. The plan was to get to the finals, missions accomplished. So, now what?

“I got to get a new plan,” Miller said with a laugh. “I just used my plan.

“I don’t know, I’m just excited. It’s great to make the finals and not just be top eight, but to be so high up on that list. It’s exciting.”

Miller missed the finals of the 200 free by fractions of a second. She will be the top seed on the event’s console heat with her time of 1:50.69. Mackenzie Looze of Bloomington South secured the final spot in the finals with a time 1:50.66.

Swimming and diving final start at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Paige Miller sends a smile towards her mom and coach after swimming a 4:55.01 in the 500 free.