Bloomington North's Ashley Freel leads Herald-Times All-Area girls swim team again

Leaving a legacy as Ashley Freel did with the Bloomington North girls' swimming program means going through a lot of paint.

The senior leaves with every individual swimming school record but breaststroke and the 500 freestyle and had a hand in two of the three relay records as well. So her name fills nearly all of the slats that hang on the recordboard held over from the old pool.

But she'll remembered for more than that as Freel repeats as Herald-Times Girls Swimmer of the Year for 2024. It's not hyperbole to say she is the best in school history.

"I feel like she's going to leave her legacy at North for a long time," North coach Taylor McGregor said. "The 100 fly mark, it went from 57.7 to 54.63. It's going to take a while to break that. She's made her mark there.

"But also with her character and leadership, I just truly admire what she's been able to do. I'm honored to be a part of that story."

Freel was breaking records to the end. She was the first Cougar to sweep a Conference Indiana event all four years and did it in two races, the 200 individual medley and the butterfly. She lowered her school record in the fly in each of her last three races and had her final drop in the backstroke (56.12) in the prelims.

Her fourth place finish in the fly was the school's best since Andrea Jastremski was fourth in the 200 individual medley in November, 1986, when swimming was a fall sport.

Her attention to detail and the small improvements she made in her form and technique made it happen.

"It's hard to stay at the level she did over a week, week and a half," McGregor said. "She just got more and more dialed in and got into the way she swims that race.

"She's one of the best racers I've ever seen. She wants it and finds a way to make it happen. That's a nice combination. She responds to the tweaks and feedback and the feeling she has in the water. It's really fun to have that interaction with her. She does a great job knowing what her body needs. It's an easy thing for me as a coach to stand back and let an athlete like that do her thing."

Freel headed to Duquesne

Freel's mastery of all the strokes makes her a valuable asset at the college level. Freel chose Duquesne in Pittsburgh over the University of Cincinnati.

"It was a long process," Freel said. "It was hard but super fun. Duquesne reached out to me over the summer and at first, I didn't know what school that was or how to say it.

"Then I looked into it, took some visits and ended up liking it. The city of Pittsburgh is really nice, so that was exciting. And the team was really nice."

Freel also liked Cincinnati, but liked the smaller feel of Duquesne. Interestingly, South swimmer Tamara Kun is headed to the same school to compete in her specialty, women's triathlon.

"They had a tight knit team," Freel said. "And it's a really good academic school, which is important to me."

Fly and free are the events she thinks she'll focus on eventually, but knows she could end up filling any number of spots. In any case, she's a college athlete.

"It means a lot," Freel said. "It's definitely something I've been working toward for 11 years now, so to be able to swim in college and at a DI level is really cool.

"I'm happy the work paid off and I'm excited to see what the next four years bring."

2023-24 Herald-Times All-Area Girls' Swimming and Diving

First Team

ANNA ASPLUND, South, Sr.

Sectional champ in the 100 freestyle, she went 52.56 in the state prelims and placed 15th in the finals. Runner-up in the 100 backstroke at sectional and lowered her best time to 56.86 in the state prelims and finished 13th. Leadoff for 200 medley relay that won sectional and finished 21st at state. Anchor for 400 free relay that won a sectional title and had a 53.21 leadoff went the squad went 3:40.68 to place 24th at state. CI champ in the 100 free and back. Repeat All-Area.

HARPER EAKIN, South, So.

Has taken over distance ace roll from older sister Alex. Sectional champ in the 200 and 500 freestyles. Had her career best 5:02.25 in the 500 at state prelims to make the B Final and placed 12th. In the 200, went a career best 1:56.44 to finish 24th at state, cutting nearly two seconds off her sectional time. CI champ in both events. Had a 25.74 finish for the 200 free relay at state (25th) then had a 55.11 finish for the 400 free relay at state (24th). Repeat All-Area.

ASHLEY FREEL, North, Sr.

Repeat H-T Swimmer of the Year, rewrote the school record board again this season, taking down the 200 individual medley mark with a 2:05.26. Swept the fly and IM all four years at the Conference Indiana Meet. Sectional champ in the backstroke and butterfly, breaking her school record in both events and the sectional record in the fly. She broke the fly record twice at state, settling at 54.63 for fourth, the best finish of her career. In the back, her prelim time of 56.12 was her best ever and she took 10th in the finals. Also swam the medley relay and 200 free relay. Four-time All-Area. Signed with Duquesne.

ISABELLA MARTIN, North, Sr.

Area's top diver at sectionals, taking fourth with a 304.00 to advance to regional, where she placed 19th. Finished second at Conference Indiana with a 319.05.

KATE SEIDENFADEN, South, Sr.

Earned her first individual bid to the state finals in Indiana, winning a sectional title in the 200 individual medley with a best time of 2:14.10. Went on to place 24th at state in a new career low of 2:12.91. Also took third in backstroke at sectional (1:01.67). Runner-up in both events at Conference Indiana. Swam legs for the 200 medley relay (27.88 fly leg) and 400 free relays (55.50) at state after both teams won sectional titles.

LUCY TAIT, South, Sr.

Sectional runner-up in the 50 free (25.15), fifth in the 100 free (56.91). Freestyle anchor (24.59) for 200 medley relay that won sectional and placed 21st at state (1:50.63) and handled leg for 200 free relay that won sectional, going 25.25 to lead off a 1:41.94 for 25th at state.

EMILY WANG, South, Fr.

Sectional runner-up in the breaststroke in a career best 1:07.33. Placed fourth in the 200 IM in 2:20.37. At CI meet, won title in the breast by just .13 and was fourth in the IM. Member of the 200 medley relay that won a sectional title and placed 21st at state (1:50.63).

HONORABLE MENTION: Nora Borneman, South, Jr. (breast); Sara Buehler, North, So. (100, 200 frees, relays); Nia Johnson, South, Fr. (diving); Tamara Kun, South, Sr. (200IM, fly); Ellie Lewis, Edgewood, Jr. (breast, 500 free); Ambra Marchionne, South, So. (50, 100 frees relays); Lucy Miksza, South, So. (diving); Merlyn Rojas, South, So. (fly, 50 free); Abagail Smith, South, Sr. (200, 500 free); Katie Thies, North, Jr. (500 free, back, relays); Ellie Vagedes, Edgewood, So. (200 free, fly); Leona Wang, North, So. (breast, fly); Campbell Warren, South, Fr. (200-500 frees, relays).

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: North's Ashley setting Freel leads H-T All-Area girls swim team again