Warsaw’s boys swim team celebrates its seventh consecutive sectional championship with its win Saturday at the Warsaw Boys Swimming Sectional. (Photos by Mike Deak)

WARSAW – Another year, another banner day for the Warsaw Boys Swimming program.

Boasting of nine titles and four meet or school records, the Tigers were on their game Saturday at the Warsaw Boys Swimming Sectional. In what head coach Nate Long dubbed ‘a total team effort’, Warsaw looked poised to not just invade Indianapolis next weekend, but post legitimate times amongst the state’s elite.

Jayden Parrett was a two-event winner and was part of two winning relays to lead the Tigers. Parrett posted a 48-flat in the 100 freestyle, but looked exceptionally sharp in the backstroke, setting a school record time of 52.08, breaking Brian Thallemer’s 52.66 set in 2009.

“I was really close last year, point-one away, so it was nice to see that go down this year,” Parrett said of the backstroke record. “I know that I can improve a lot on the things I am doing. There is a good chance of getting top-eight from seeing all the other times. Plus down at state there will be a lot more competition.”

Ethan Cook wasn’t tearing down records from the wall, be he, too, was a two-event winner and will swim four events at state as part of a pair of winning relays.

Cook hammered home a 1:48.98 in the 200 freestyle, then had escorts to the wall in the 500, those being teammates Hudson Snyder and Zach Taylor. Cook held a slight lead through the 20th lap of the 500 just ahead of Snyder and kept an arm’s length of distance enough to touch the pad at 5:00.21 to Snyder’s 5:00.35 and Taylor’s 5:06.65.

“I was a little worried, because I felt I was going fast in prelims but the time didn’t reflect that,” Cook said of the 500, who posted just a 5:14.63 in prelims, the fourth-fastest time Thursday. “I did feel a little bad because we all worked really hard. But, man, it just came down to that last 25 and I guess I just had a little bit more.”

Cook, Parrett, Josh Miller and Spencer Davidson would later set a sectional record in the 400 free relay with a 3:17.56, lowering the 2011 Warsaw mark of 3:18.27. Parrett, Davidson, Taylor and Matt Wildman would set the meet record in the medley relay at 1:38.12, which Huntington North’s 2010 team held at 1:39.57. Warsaw’s 200 free relay team of Wildman, Cook, Snyder and JD French blazed to a 1:32.65 win.

Warsaw’s 500 showing wasn’t the only sweep it had, but took one-two-three in two other events as well. Taylor led a trio of Tigers in the individual medley at 2:04.22, followed by Mac Pelo and Snyder while Davidson smashed his old sectional record from 2012 in the breaststroke with a blistering 56.90, with Pelo and Wildman trailing. Davidson’s old record from his freshman year was 1:00.27, which he was happy to erase.

“My goal time was a low 56, I wanted the school record and break 56.1 or 56.2. But 56 high, that’s a really good time going down to Indy,” Davidson said of the breaststroke.

The only swimmer able to interrupt Warsaw’s party Saturday was Rochester’s Patrick Kays. The chiseled Zebra senior pulled a mild upset in the 50 freestyle, beating Davidson to the wall by .05 at 22.04 and then won a little more comfortably in the butterfly at 53.04, beating Miller by almost two full seconds.

Cass’ Toby McGehee won the diving portion of the show, posting 370.40 points. Steven Reinholt of Warsaw was fourth at 284.80 points, earning the last qualifying spot for regionals this Tuesday at Penn.

Warsaw’s team score of 515 easily bested runner-up Culver Academy’s 307 and Rochester’s 288 points. The team title is the 15th overall for Warsaw and the seventh in a row.

“It’s always nice to see personal bests in pretty much every event, I really can’t complain,” Long stated. “This is awesome. Hopefully this sets us up nicely for Indianapolis.”

Tippecanoe Valley had two podium swims Saturday, both involving Tom Alexander. The Viking senior placed sixth in the butterfly at 1:01.61 and anchored the 200 free relay team to a 1:43.74, seventh-place finale. Alexander was also 12th in the 500 and the 400 free relay team was ninth. Noah Clampitt was 11th in the 200 free to round out Valley’s day.