'Perfect ending.' Penn's Lily Christianson ends high school career with 6 state swim titles
INDIANAPOLIS — Penn High School’s Lily Christianson achieved her perfect ending, and for all intents and purposes, brought her team along with her.
Christianson concluded her stellar four-year high school career with a banner day at the IHSAA Girls State Swimming and Diving Championships with three first-place medals — including a state-record performance in winning the 50 freestyle (21.72) to go along with a successful defense of her 100 freestyle championship from a year ago.
She finished off the meet at the famed IU Natatorium anchoring the victorious 200 freestyle relay to give the program its first-ever relay championship. As she climbed out of the pool for the last time after that relay, the N.C. State recruit leaves her mark on the Penn program with six state championship medals — the most in school history.
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“I love this team and winning that relay for the first time is the biggest win I’ve had,” Christianson said. “It really was the perfect ending … it was exactly what I wanted.”
Christianson’s performance played a large role — but, certainly not the only one — in securing Penn's third runner-up finish in school history.
Carmel, of course, won the meet for the 38th-straight season (no, that’s not a misprint), with 433 points. That title streak is the longest in the nation by any school in any sport. Penn’s 212 points gave coach Jess Preston’s squad its first runner-up finish since 2013. Penn also finished second in 1980.
GIRLS SWIM STATE FINALS: Penn’s Lily Christianson wins the State Championship in the 50 Freestyle, sets state record !!!!
Christianson is a State Champion for a fourth consecutive year !!!!#PHMExcellence 🥇🥇🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/j281p9o22S— Penn Kingsmen Sports (@The_Pennant) February 10, 2024
Fishers, which had finished second the past four years, took third with 202 points.
Penn began the meet with a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay, finishing second in 1:41.62. Carmel won the event at 1:39.13. Christianson swam the freestyle anchor, with Avery Woods, Anika Guenther and Alayna Riggins, respectively, swimming the first three legs.
The 50 free — two events later — proved to be perhaps the most thrilling race of the day. Christianson won the race her freshman and sophomore seasons, but Carmel’s Alex Shackell edged her out with a then state-record time of 21.93 in 2023.
Saturday, Christianson came in seeded second to Wawasee junior Julie Mishler, a junior national champion. The duo turned in a bang-bang finish with Christianson reclaiming the state record. Mishler finished in 21.85.
“I hit the wall, looked up and I don’t think I’ve smiled like that in quite a while,” Christianson said. “I was really going for that race. There was a lot of competition in it and anything can happen.”
“All four years,” Preston pointed out, “Lily came in as an underdog in the 50 free and won it three times.”
Christianson’s win marked the 29th time in state history a swimmer has won a single event three times in her career.
Christianson’s performance, however, wasn’t the only highlight of the race. Kaia Podlin finished third (23.03) and Riggins took 10th in the ‘B’ final giving Penn 43 team points in the event.
“We put those three in that event a while back, hoping we could come up with a result like that,” Preston said of the point total.
GIRLS SWIM STATE FINALS: Penn’s Lily Christianson wins the State Championship in the 100 Freestyle, her second state title today !!!!
Christianson own 5 State Championships in 4 years !!!!!
🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/uRSkCxLtwr— Penn Kingsmen Sports (@The_Pennant) February 10, 2024
Christianson then won the 100 freestyle in 48.45, marking the second-straight year winning that event, while the 200 free relay proved to be the capper.
Podlin led off, followed by Riggins and freshman Molly Barnes and Penn led the race from start to finish, clocking in at 1:31.94.
GIRLS SWIM STATE FINALS: Penn wins State Championship in 200 Freestyle Relay - Kaia Podlin, Alayna Riggins, Molly Barnes, Lily Christianson !!!!
Christianson now has 6 State Championships in 4 years. pic.twitter.com/7kxHYQRl2S— Penn Kingsmen Sports (@The_Pennant) February 10, 2024
Riggins brought home a sixth-place in the 100 butterfly, while Guenther took eighth in the 100 breaststroke. Penn finished off the day as Podlin, freshman Lauren McGrath, Guenther and Barnes came in fifth in the 400 freestyle relay, a place that clinched the runner-up finish.
“Our goal all year was to be runner-up at state,” Christianson said. “We hadn’t done that since 2013 and they put a banner up at the pool for that. Coach (Preston) said that team was immortal and now this team will be, too.”
Concord took eighth in the meet with 94 points. The Minutemen were led by a pair of fifth-place finishes by Catie Brenneman in the 100 free and 200 free.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA Indiana state swimming finals: Penn's Christianson wins 3 more times
