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Rochester’s Wachtmann finishes 3rd in 500 free, 6th in 50 free
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Tyson Wachtmann Tucker Whetstone
Boys swimming
Tippecanoe Valley junior Tucker Whetstone finished second in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the Warsaw sectional finals Saturday, but senior teammate Gavin Leininger finished third in diving to advance to the regional.
Meanwhile, Rochester freshman Tyson Wachtmann finished third in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 50 freestyle.
In the team standings, Warsaw topped the 12-team field with 487 points. The sectional title is their 24th in school history and their third in the last four years.
Culver Academy was second with 427. Either Warsaw or Culver Academy has won this sectional every year since 2008.
Among area teams, Rochester tied for seventh with 111, Valley was ninth with 109, Pioneer was 11th with 11, and Culver was 12th with 2.
Whetstone swam a 1:50.85 in the 200 freestyle and finished behind only Lewis Cass’ Jayden Ramer, who won with a 1:47.88.
Whetstone had an even closer call in the 100 butterfly, swimming a 52.29 and finishing behind Warsaw’s Joshgua Warner, who touched the wall first in 52.20 seconds.
Whetstone made state last year as part of the 200 freestyle relay team, but he has never made state in an individual event.
Other Valley individual swimming finalists included Aaden Bowers, who was sixth in the 50 freestyle in 23.54 seconds and eighth in the 100 freestyle in 53.12 seconds.
Leininger scored 325.00 points in diving, a 42.90-point improvement from the 2025 sectional. Warsaw teammates Ian Parrott and Skyler Kretsch finished first and second with 533.35 and 388.00 points, respectively. Parrott and Kretsch were also 1-2 last year. Plymouth freshman Jaxon O’Connor was fourth with 300.25 points.
The top four divers in the sectional advance to the regional, which Mishawaka will host at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Wachtmann was the lone Rochester swimmer to reach an individual final. He shaved 0.04 seconds off his preliminary time and finished in 23.54 seconds. Warsaw’s Ethan Farrar won in 21.97 seconds.
As for the 500 freestyle, Wachtmann was 7.50 seconds slower than he was in qualifying. Wabash’s Luke Blossom, who was third in the prelims, came away with the sectional title in 5:06.94. Warsaw’s Jonah Potter, who was the top qualifier, finished second in 5:09.25.
While Wachtmann swam in the final, teammates Brevin Nicholson and Joshua Seuferer finished 11th and 16th, respectively, in the consolation final. Nicholson swam a 5:52.91, and Seuferer swam a 7:03.22.
Nicholson also took 11th in the 200 freestyle in 2:08.94. Tanner Hamilton was 15th in the 200 individual medley in 2:58.37.
In the relays, Rochester was sixth in the 200 medley relay, ninth in the 200 freestyle relay and seventh in the 400 freestyle relay.
The 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays consisted of Nicholson, Hamilton, Wachtmann and Seuferer with Seuferer swimming anchor on the 200 medley relay and Wachtmann swimming anchor on the 400 freestyle relay. The 200 freestyle relay consisted of Bentley Blackburn, Brayden Corning, Lucas Scorsone and Aaron Furrow.
Pioneer had no individual finalists, but Eli Hines swam in two consolation finals and accounted for all 11 team points. He finished ninth in the 100 backstroke in 1:07.43 and 15th in the 100 freestyle in 59.08 seconds.
Culver’s two points came from junior Arian Day, who took 15th in the 200 freestyle in 2:27.40.
Sectional champions plus those meeting a difficult state qualifying standard advanced to the state finals in the swimming events plus those among the top 32 in their event who did not meet either of the first two criteria.
No individual swimmer or relay made the state qualifying standard from the Warsaw sectional.
WARSAW BOYS SWIMMING SECTIONAL RESULTS SATURDAY: Warsaw 487, Culver Academy 427, Plymouth 244, Columbia City 219, Logansport 162.5, Wabash 126, ROCHESTER 111, Lewis Cass 111, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 109, Manchester 100.5, PIONEER 11, CULVER 2
Scoring on 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and 40-34-32-30-28-26-24-22 basis for relays
Winners plus all Rochester, Valley, Pioneer and Culver results
200 medley relay
1. Warsaw (Warner, Cannon Swinehart, Caelin Swinehart, Ethan Farrar) – 1:38.64, 6. Rochester (Brevin Nicholson, Tanner Hamilton, Tyson Wachtmann, Joshua Seuferer) – 2:11.52
200 freestyle
1. Ramer (LC) – 1:47.88, 2. Tucker Whetstone (TV) – 1:50.85, 11. Brevin Nicholson (RHS) – 2:08.94, 15. Arian Day (CUL) – 2:27.40
200 individual medley
1. Caelin Swinehart (WAR) – 1:59.95, 15. Tanner Hamilton (RHS) – 2:58.37
50 freestyle
1. Farrar (WAR) – 21.97 seconds, 6. Aaden Bowers (TV) – 23.54, 7. Tyson Wachtmann (RHS) – 23.57
Diving (top four advance to regionals)
1. Parrott (WAR) – 533.35 points, 2. Kretsch (WAR) – 388.00, 3. Gavin Leininger (TV) – 325.00, 4. O’Connor (PLY) – 300.25, 9. Grayson Clark (TV) – 227.80
100 butterfly
1. Warner (WAR) – 52.20 seconds, 2. Tucker Whetstone (TV) – 52.29
100 freestyle
1. Farrar (WAR) – 48.10 seconds, 8. Aaden Bowers (TV) – 53.12, 15. Eli Hines (PIO) – 59.08
500 freestyle
1. Blossom (WAB) – 5:06.94, 3. Tyson Wachtmann (RHS) – 5:17.95, 11. Brevin Nicholson (RHS) – 5:52.91, 16. Joshua Seuferer (RHS) – 7:03.22
200 freestyle relay
1. Warsaw (Farrar, House, Potter, Caelin Swinehart) – 1:30.88, 6. Valley (Aaden Bowers, Grayson Clark, Gavin Leininger, Tucker Whetstone) – 1:48.03, 9. Rochester (Bentley Blackburn, Brayden Corning, Lucas Scorsone, Aaron Furrow) – 2:32.79
100 backstroke
1. Turner (CMA) – 54.24 seconds, 9. Eli Hines (PIO) – 1:07.43
100 breaststroke
1. Cannon Swinehart (WAR) – 1:02.62
400 freestyle relay
1. Culver Academy (Zhang, Doyle, Turner, Allen) – 3:23.11, 7. Rochester (Tanner Hamilton, Joshua Seuferer, Brevin Nicholson, Tyson Wachtmann) – 4:10.50
