By Rick Morwick
National recognition isn’t the objective of the Carmel High School athletic department. But when it comes along, the Greyhounds view it as affirmation that, collectively, they are doing something right.
Earlier this month, Carmel’s varsity athletic program received high honors from MaxPreps, a national website dedicated to high school sports coverage. By virtue of seven IHSAA team state titles during the 2016-17 school year, the Greyounds ranked 10th in the final MaxPreps Cup standings.
“What’s most exciting is that it just means we have a lot of programs that are competing at the highest level,” Carmel Athletic Director Jim Inskeep said. “The achievements we’ve had here over the last several years, I think just the consistency is something that all our head coaches are very proud of.”
Carmel’s propensity for winning state titles is nothing new. But last year’s sterling collection led the state and included:
- A 31st straight for girls swimming, a national record for all sports.
- An accompanying championship in boys swimming.
- A seventh straight title for girls cross country, which was ranked fourth nationally.
- An overtime win for the Class 6A football championship.
- A third straight crown for boys tennis.
- A companion title for girls tennis.
- And a third straight championship for boys track and field.
Inskeep credits the many successes to the dedication of all involved, beginning with youth programs through each level of high school.
“We’ve had quite a bit of synergy between our feeder programs and our varsity programs,” Inskeep said. “I think our coaching staffs have done a terrific job of working with kids, getting the most of their talent.”
Each year, MaxPreps honors the nation’s top high school sports programs through the MaxPreps Cup. Rankings are based on a points system that factors in, among other criteria, state championships.
“It’s certainly not something you necessarily measure yourself on, but sometimes it’s really nice to see those things along the way to see how you stack up on a national level,” Inskeep said. “Obviously, our staff’s put in a lot of time, and our kids and parents deserve much of the credit, so it’s exciting.”
