Will Modglin Takes Down Ryan Murphy’s National High School Record in 100 Backstroke At Indiana State Champs
For more than a decade, Ryan Murphy owned the national high-school record in the 100-yard backstroke, thanks to a performance of 45.34 for the Bolles School during the 2012 season. Given Murphy’s status as an Olympic champion and world-record setter, it’s not surprising that his scholastic standard endured for 10-plus years.
On Friday night, however, Murphy’s iconic record was eclipsed, as Zionsville’s Will Modglin clocked 45.08 during the preliminaries of the Indiana High School Championships at the IU Natatorium. The top seed, Modglin surged through his four lengths of the 100 back to slice .26 off Murphy’s time. In the final on Saturday, he clocked a time of 45.69. Modglin’s swim in finals came shortly after he led off Zionsville’s state-record setting 200 freestyle relay in 19.64. The relay was timed in 1:20.53.
Also on Saturday, Modglin handled the backstroke leg (20.91) on Zionsville’s silver-medal 200 medley relay and claimed victory in the 200 individual medley. In his individual triumph, Modglin produced a time of 1:43.74 to break his state record of 1:44.10 from last year.
In his record-breaking swim in the 100 back, Modglin was out in 21.68 and came home in 23.40 to register the top seed for the final by nearly four seconds.
A University of Texas recruit and the reigning Swimming World Male High School Swimmer of the Year, Modglin entered state-championship action with Murphy’s record as a target. After all, he just missed the mark at last week’s Sectionals, where he touched the wall in 45.53. Going a couple of tenths faster seemed likely at States, and Modglin indeed got the job done.
Modglin’s national record was the second of prelims, as Carmel’s Aaron Shackell went 1:32.85 in the 200 freestyle earlier in the session.
No one from a Indiana calls it’s “States”