Records fall as Dunbar boys, Lafayette girls defend region swim titles
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s boys and Lafayette’s girls each defended their respective team titles while three records fell at the Region 8 Swimming and Diving Championships held Thursday through Saturday.
Though Dunbar had just one boys event winner with junior Sammy Nunez in the 500-yard freestyle, its boys’ team had 32 of its 33 swimmers advance from Friday’s preliminaries to Saturday’s point-scoring finals at Union College’s Stivers Aquatic Center.
“It was a true team effort,” Dunbar coach Cole Pleasants said. Every point and every swim matters. To win a championship, it takes a huge team effort and that’s what we did today.”
The win marked Dunbar’s sixth consecutive boys team title and helped the Bulldogs earn their 18th straight combined title with their girls team’s second place added in.
Lafayette girls repeat
Last year, Lafayette’s girls snapped Dunbar’s 14-year hold on the girls’ team championship. The Generals’ 200-yard medley relay team of Riley Shaw, Lauren Wedeking, Myla Phelps and Lydia Dever set the tone for their defense with a winning time of 1:51.17 in the first event of Saturday’s finals. They finished nearly two seconds in front of Lexington Catholic.
“It means a lot. I think starting off with a strong swim … gets everyone hyped up and ready to go,” said Shaw who also qualified for state with second-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.
Wedeking also won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:54.22, topping last year’s champ, Dunbar’s Amelia Jones, by 0.14. She then defended her title in the 500 free by a margin of five seconds with a time of 5:07.25.
Wedeking credited Lafayette’s camaraderie for the Generals’ success.
“It’s a really motivating and exciting group of girls to be around,” she said. “I love swimming with them and swimming fast.”
Lafayette’s girls edged Dunbar for first place by a margin of 25.5 points just under half of last year’s gap.
“There’s nothing I can say to express how proud I am of our entire team for their efforts this season,” Lafayette coach Trent Lakes said. “It would’ve been very easy to call our victory last year a ‘fluke’ or to say we ‘got lucky’ after ending Dunbar’s winning streak. Dunbar has a great program and we knew going into this season, they’d want the crown back as much as we wanted to hold on to it.”
Down to the fingertips
Dunbar’s Nunez defended his region title in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.71 just 0.04 seconds faster than Henry Clay’s Charlie Kidder. Incredibly, the two were even closer earlier in the meet when Kidder’s 200-yard freestyle time of 1:43.50 edged Nunez by 0.01.
“After the 200, I really just wanted to take it race by race, but I really wanted to bring the boom on the 500,” Nunez said. “I could tell it was going to be a close one.”
Record-breaking swims
Dunbar eighth grader Kennedy Brooks’ time of :54.96 in the 100-yard backstroke broke the previous record by 1.4 seconds and had her coach jumping up and down in celebration. She didn’t notice at first.
“I was too busy coughing over here. I’m just trying to stay alive,” Brooks said, smiling. Once she gathered herself, she looked up to see what the fuss was about. “I was in shock. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I did that.’”
Brooks earned most outstanding female swimmer honors by also topping the 50-yard freestyle and anchoring Dunbar’s 400-yard freestyle relay win behind Amelia Jones, Mallory Jones and Duncan Hornback.
Lexington Catholic’s Mia Jones’ time of 2:05.44 in the 200-yard individual medley knocked more than two seconds off the record set by former Knight Christina Aouad in 2022. Jones also won the 100-yard breaststroke and was part of LexCath’s winning 200-yard freestyle with teammates Sydney Leslie, Clara Jane Morton and Caroline Beiting.
“For the 200 IM, I was pretty confident, but for the 100 breast, I was, like, mediocre,” Jones acknowledged. Still, the freshman was pleased with her performance in her first high school regional. “I felt it was pretty good and I hope it goes well the next two meets.”
Record-breaking dive
Lexington Catholic sophomore Graham Leslie’s All-American qualifying score of 513.45 in 1-meter diving broke a two-year-old region record held by former teammate Miles Buchart, who now dives for Kentucky.
Bryan Station’s Tyler Bobadilla also qualified for state with a combined score of 490.85.
Meanwhile, Lexington Catholic’s Sydney Leslie, Graham’s twin sister, defended her girls 1-meter diving region title with an All-American qualifying score of 467.45. Henry Clay’s Claire Nicholas took second for the second year in a row with a score of 413.15, also an All-American mark in the girls event.
Switching things up
Lexington Christian senior Lauren Cox decided to try the 100-yard butterfly this year and drop both the 100 and 50 freestyle from her slate. The gamble paid off with a win in the butterfly and a state qualifying second place in the 100 breaststroke. Last year, she only automatically qualified in the latter.
“I just wanted to switch it up,” Cox said. “I thought it would turn out well, but not like this.”
More multiple winners
Lafayette’s Jimmy Rogers earned most outstanding male swimmer honors for his wins in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke as well as his first-place 200 free relay with teammates Isaac Barrow, Colton Brewer, Joseph Schmidt.
In the 200 IM, Rogers topped last year’s champion, Sayre’s Max Yeoh by more than three seconds.
“It was fast, a little faster than I thought it was going to be,” said Rogers, who took up the 200 IM this year and admitted nerves going into the event. He felt better after the last turn. “I couldn’t see him until the last 25 and I knew I had it by then.”
Lafayette’s Barrow won the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Barrow tries not to put too much pressure on his performances.
“After the meet yesterday, I went home, hydrated, stretched out and just came back with a different mentality,” Barrow said. “The goal of today’s meet is just to get placing really (at state). But before the race, I just locked in on myself trying to stay focused and trying to pull out the win.”
Lexington Catholic’s Caroline Beiting, a senior Michigan signee and state record holder in track, defended her 100-yard freestyle title with a time of :52.74, nearly two seconds ahead of Lafayette’s Mya Phelps. Beiting also helped LexCath take first as the anchor of the 200 free relay.
Competing in swimming and track is about more than conditioning for Beiting.
“I just want to have fun and enjoy the time with my friends and teammates,” she said. “Everyone else’s success is my favorite part about the sport.”
Henry Clay’s Jack Liau and Hayes Doolin went 1-2 in the 100-yard butterfly and joined Charlie Kidder and Nick Johnson for the Blue Devils’ defense of the 200-yard medley relay and win in the 400 free relay.
Johnson also defended his title in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of :47.33 a tenth better than a year ago.
Liau, Doolin and Johnson are all seniors. Liau and Doolin paused for photos of them together after the butterfly event.
“We’ve always been swimming against each other and pushing each other,” Doolin said.
“You know like LeBron (James) and Steph Curry? That’s like us. That’s a good comparison,” Liau said, dryly.
Heading to state
The top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for the 2025 KHSAA Swimming State First Round to be held for Regions 7-9 at Scott High School in Taylor Mill on Feb. 8. An additional 15 qualifiers will advance based on the best times/scores in those three regions once all regionals are complete. The State Final Round will be at the University of Kentucky Feb. 20-22.
REGION 8 SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Swimming at Stivers Aquatic Center, Barbourville, Jan. 25. Diving at the University of Louisville, Jan. 22. Automatic KHSAA State First Round qualifiers listed. Remaining State First Round qualifiers to be determined from the next best among Regions 7, 8 and 9. Complete results will be available online at khsaa.org
GIRLS’ RESULTS
Team: 1. Lafayette, 350. 2. Paul Laurence Dunbar 324.5. 3. George Rogers Clark, 277. 4. Lexington Catholic, 248. 5. Tates Creek, 178. 6. Bryan Station, 151.5. 7. Frederick Douglass, 151. 8. Henry Clay, 122. 9. Lexington Christian, 110. 10. Great Crossing, 104. 11. Scott County, 100. 12. Montgomery County, 66. 13. Bourbon County, 16. 14. Sayre, 4.
200-yard Medley Relay: 1. Lafayette (Riley Shaw, Lauren Wedeking, Myla Phelps, Lydia Dever), 1:51.17; 2. Lexington Catholic (Sydney Leslie, Mia Jones, Lola Tovar, Caroline Beiting), 1:52.90.
200-Yard Freestyle: 1. Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 1:54.22; 2. Amelia Jones, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1:54.36.
200-Yard IM: 1. Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 2:05.44*; 2. Riley Shaw, Lafayette, 2:14.27.
50-Yard Freestyle: 1. Kennedy Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, :23.84; 2. Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, :24.11.
1-meter Diving: 1. Sydney Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 467.45#; 2. Claire Nicholas, Henry Clay, 413.15#.
100-Yard Butterfly: 1. Lauren Cox, Lexington Christian, :59.64; 2. Max Reynolds, Bryan Station, 1:00.14.
100-Yard Freestyle: 1. Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, :52.74; 2. Myla Phelps, Lafayette, :54.50.
500-Yard Freestyle: 1. Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 5:07.25; 2. Amelia Jones, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 5:12.87.
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Lexington Catholic (Mia Jones, Sydney Leslie, Clara Jane Morton, Caroline Beiting), 1:42.24; 2. Paul Laurence Dunbar (Amelia Jones, Mallory Jones, Charlie Boyd, Nora Morgan), 1:44.08.
100-Yard Backstroke: 1. Kennedy Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, :54.96*; 2. Riley Shaw, Lafayette, 1:00.06.
100-Yard Breaststroke: 1. Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 1:06.07; 2. Lauren Cox, Lexington Christian, 1:07.85.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Paul Laurence Dunbar (Amelia Jones, Mallory Jones, Duncan Hornback, Kennedy Brooks), 3:40.88; 2. Lafayette (Myla Phelps, Lauren Wedeking, Mia Foley, Avery Hutchison), 3:41.22.
BOYS’ RESULTS
Team: 1. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 367. 2. Henry Clay, 338. 3. Lafayette, 262. 4. Lexington Catholic, 242. 5. Tates Creek, 163. 6. Scott County 121. 7. Sayre, 119. 8. George Rogers Clark, 112. 8. Frederick Douglass, 112. 10. Montgomery County, 98. 11. Lexington Christian, 82. 12. Bryan Station, 68. 13. Bourbon County, 62. 14. Great Crossing, 35. 15. Mason County, 18.
200-yard Medley Relay: 1. Henry Clay (Nick Johnson, Hayes Doolin, Jack Liau, Charlie Kidder), 1:37.24; 2. Lafayette (Isaac Barrow, Jimmy Rogers, Ollie Swank, Reed Chitwood); 1:41.88.
200-Yard Freestyle: 1. Charlie Kidder, Henry Clay, 1:43.50; 2. Sammy Nunez, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1:43.51.
200-Yard IM: 1. Jimmy Rogers, Lafayette, 1:54.86; 2. Max Yeoh, Sayre, 1:58.00.
50-Yard Freestyle: 1. Isaac Barrow, Lafayette, :21.54; 2. Wil Jones, Lexington Catholic, :21.63
1-meter Diving: 1. Graham Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 513.45*#; 2. Tyler Bobadilla, Bryan Station, 490.85.
100-Yard Butterfly: 1. Jack Liau, Henry Clay, :51.87; 2. Hayes Doolin, Henry Clay, :53.01.
100-Yard Freestyle: 1. Nick Johnson, Henry Clay, :47.33; 2. William Naehr, Paul Laurence Dunbar, :49.38.
500-Yard Freestyle: 1. Sammy Nunez, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 4:43.71; 2. Charlie Kidder, Henry Clay, 4:43.75.
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Lafayette (Isaac Barrow, Jimmy Rogers, Colton Brewer, Joseph Schmidt), 1:29.16; 2. Paul Laurence Dunbar (William Naehr, Blake Salyer, Neihal Saini, Sammy Nunez), 1:31.12.
100-Yard Backstroke: 1. Isaac Barrow, Lafayette, :51.02; 2. Nick Johnson, Henry Clay, :53.04.
100-Yard Breaststroke: 1. Jimmy Rogers, Lafayette, :57.37; 2. Wil Jones, Lexington Catholic, :58.24.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Henry Clay (Jack Liau, Charlie Kidder, Hayes Doolin, Nick Johnson), 3:13.48; 2. Lexington Catholic (James Barnett, Ben Henry, Samuel Grimm, Wil Jones), 3:25.10.
*Region championship record. #Automatic All-American score.
State meet information: khsaa.org/sports-sport-activities/winter/swimming/
