North Vermillion High School Athletics

North Vermillion wrapped up one of its most successful swimming seasons in school history during the 2024-2025 school year. The Falcons competed in their final meet on Saturday, February 22, at the IHSAA Swimming & Diving Sectional, hosted at Crawfordsville High School. The Falcons finished 9th overall, their highest placing since 2016. Results from Saturday's Sectional Finals: 200 Medley Relay: The team of Emery Strubinger (Back), Owen Hazelwood (Breast), John Clay (Fly), and Payton Russell (Free) nearly set a personal record with a time of 2:17.85, finishing 9th overall. 200 Freestyle Relay: The relay team of Brandon Miller, Dylan Lamb, Brady Dryer, and Austin Ball set a new personal record with a time of 1:56.18, earning an 11th-place finish. 100 Backstroke: Emery Strubinger placed 6th with a personal best time of 1:09.85, marking the highest finish for a North Vermillion swimmer since at least 2003. The sophomore is now just five seconds away from the school record. 100 Backstroke: Senior Payton Russell also set a new personal record, finishing his swimming career with a best time of 1:20.97. He is only the second male swimmer from North Vermillion to advance to the Consolation/Championship heats since 2018 (Strubinger in 2024 and 2025). 400 Freestyle Relay: The team of Brandon Miller, Brady Dryer, John Clay, and Austin Ball set another personal record after already improving in Thursday’s preliminaries. The Falcons finished 8th with a time of 4:19.98, dropping a total of 12.81 seconds during the Sectional meet. A Season of Unprecedented Team Success: This season was nothing short of extraordinary for the Falcons. For the first time since 2009-2010, the boys’ team secured back-to-back victories over Attica, demonstrating their growth and resilience. Their 75-73 win over Fountain Central was a historic milestone, marking North Vermillion’s first-ever victory against their conference opponent in the history of the swim program. The Falcons showcased their growth in the Wabash River Conference Finals by qualifying for an impressive 15 events, the most in over a decade. The team’s relentless pursuit of improvement was evident in their consistent time drops. Over the course of the season, they collectively shaved off an astonishing 296.39 seconds across 63 individual events and 20 relays. Senior Payton Russell played a significant role in this effort, single-handedly reducing his times by 62.43 seconds. North Vermillion’s 2024-2025 swim season was a testament to the dedication and effort the Falcons have put in over the last three years to establish themselves as a competitive force in the Wabash River Conference. With only two swimmers graduating in the past two years, the team was able to build on their experience and capitalize on the rewards of their hard work. They set new benchmarks, broke barriers, and solidified their place as one of the best swim TEAMs in school history.