Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

CRAWFORDSVILLE - For four years, Arianna Stieber has been a key piece of the Western Boone swimming team, rewriting the record books. Saturday, she made sure her prep career would last one more week, winning two events at the Crawfordsville Sectional and earning a place in the IHSAA State Finals next weekend. "It's great for Ari," Western Boone head coach Hayley Eadie said. "She is undefeated in her individual events going into state, and she absolutely deserves it. She is the hardest worker in the pool and she goes out there and dominates." Stieber became a four-time sectional champion in the 200-yard IM on Saturday, winning the event in a time of 2:12.61, more than five seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. She later claimed the sectional title in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 59.16. The first three years of her high school career, Stieber was the sectional champion in the backstroke, but switched events this year for among other reasons, trying to help a couple of relays advance to state. Eadie said that Stieber's willingness to put the team over herself is one of the things that stands out the most about her. "Swimming is an individual sport, but she always puts the team first too," Eadie said. "After that last relay (where Western Boone placed second), she had a lot of pressure on her at the end and came up to us and said 'I'm sorry.' She swam the fastest leg in the field and did every thing she could, but stuff like that shows how much she cares about this team and how she wants them to succeed. We are going to miss her next year." Western Boone placed fourth as a team with 263 points. Eadie said overall, it was a good weekend for her team. "Honestly I can't complain," Eadie said. "We had some great times and the girls went out there and did their best. That's all we can ask for." The medley relay team of Jenna Twitty, Micah Hole, Annabelle Mickschl and Kaitlyn Crowley placed seventh with a time of 2:16.08. Samantha Jones was third in the 200-free in 2:08.25, with Crowley placing fifth in 2:10.45. Adelaide Jones was fourth in the 50-free in 25.78 and Twitty was seventh in the butterfly in 1:08.66. Adelaide Jones placed fourth in the 100-free in 57.26 with Samantha Jones fifth in 58.50. Crowley was fourth in the 500 in 5:53.12 and Twitty was seventh in the backstroke in 1:08.90. The 200-free relay team of Adelaide Jones, Hannah Hayden, Samantha Jones and Stieber placed second in a time of 1:43.13 and also placed second in the 400-free relay in a time of 3:47.35. While it was the end of the season for a majority of the team, Eadie said there is a lot of positives from the year. "The girls said it at their last practice, this was the best team they have been a part of," Eadie said. "They care about each other, in and out of the pool and you can't beat that when they just mesh together." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.