Hononegah’s Reign Rolls On: 16 Straight NIC‑10 Crowns, Three Firsts to Seal the Deal

Sixteen winters. Sixteen seasons of hearing the same refrain at the end of conference meet night: Hononegah stands atop the NIC‑10. Call it dynasty, call it dominance, call it what you will — the Indians’ boys swim program has become the measuring stick for excellence in our part of the state. This year’s title felt less like a surprise and more like the inevitable punctuation on a season of steady, relentless work. Yet even inevitability needs heroes, and on this night the names Bryson Beck and Dan Parsonage rose above the rest.

Athletes are creatures of habit, and champions are the ones who make the right habits stick. Hononegah’s habits are simple: show up, do the work, race the race in front of you. That discipline was on full display as the Indians collected the NIC‑10 crown, a run of success that now stretches to 16 consecutive conference titles. It’s a staggering number, but the real story is in the small moments — the early morning practices, the extra laps, the teammates who push one another when no one’s watching.

Bryson Beck was the evening’s headline maker. He took first in the 200‑yard freestyle and then came back to win the 100 free, bookending the night with performances that were as efficient as they were authoritative. Beck’s 200 was a masterclass in pacing and power; he controlled the race from the first turn and never let the field breathe. In the 100, he showed the kind of sprint speed that separates good swimmers from great ones — a clean breakout, a strong middle 50, and a finish that left little doubt. Two first‑place finishes in conference finals is the kind of statement that echoes beyond the pool deck.

Dan Parsonage added his own chapter to the story with a gutsy victory in the 500‑yard freestyle. The 500 is a race of patience and pain, and Parsonage navigated both with the poise of a veteran. He didn’t win by a flurry of late‑race heroics so much as by steady, unrelenting pressure — lap after lap, stroke after stroke, until the scoreboard confirmed what the clock had been whispering all along. That win was the kind of performance that anchors a team and gives younger swimmers a blueprint for handling the long grind of a championship meet.

There’s a curious thought that crossed my mind watching the Indians celebrate: imagine this run with only two seniors. Think about it — two seniors leading a program that has now claimed 16 straight NIC‑10 titles. That’s not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of depth and culture. It suggests the pipeline is healthy, the coaching is steady, and the younger swimmers are learning the rituals of winning. If those two seniors return next year, and if the underclassmen keep improving, 16 could easily become 17, 18, or 19. But there’s no reason to look that far ahead tonight. This season deserves its own celebration.

Coaching deserves a tip of the cap as well. Building a dynasty isn’t about one man or one superstar; it’s about systems that produce excellence year after year. Hononegah’s staff has created an environment where swimmers understand their roles, where relays are rehearsed until they’re second nature, and where the mental side of racing is treated with the same seriousness as stroke mechanics. The result is a program that replaces graduating talent without missing a beat.

The NIC‑10 title also showcased the depth that makes Hononegah so dangerous. Beyond Beck and Parsonage, there were swims that mattered in the margins — a relay split that turned a close race into a comfortable lead, a diving start that shaved tenths off a time, a coach’s timeout that steadied a nervous swimmer. Championships are rarely won by a single performance; they’re won by a thousand small decisions made well.

For the community, this run is more than a string of trophies. It’s a tradition that brings families to the pool, that gives younger kids someone to emulate, and that puts Hononegah on the map for swimmers across the region. Rival teams measure themselves against the Indians, and that competitive pressure raises the level of everyone involved. That’s the best kind of dominance — the kind that lifts the whole conference.

There will be plenty of time for retrospectives and for counting banners in the gym. For now, savor the image of the team gathered on the pool deck, towels around shoulders, smiles that mixed exhaustion with satisfaction. Bryson Beck and Dan Parsonage will get the headlines, and rightly so. But the title belongs to a program that has made excellence habitual.

Sixteen straight NIC‑10 crowns is a number that will be hard to top. But if the habits hold, if the coaching continues to cultivate toughness and technique, and if the underclassmen keep learning from the seniors who lead by example, Hononegah’s run may not be close to finished. Tonight, though, it’s enough to celebrate another championship, another chapter in a story that has become part of our local sports lore.