Kentucky state swim meet sees four records fall as Sacred Heart and St. Xavier roll
There are a few certainties at the KHSAA’s State Swimming and Diving Championships each year.
Records will be broken and swimmers from Louisville’s St. Xavier and Sacred Heart will dominate many events.
Per usual, Sacred Heart and St. Xavier each cruised to their respective team titles during Friday’s and Saturday’s state championships at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center. For the Valkyries, it was their 13th straight and 35th overall, while St. X won its 37th consecutive team title and 61st overall.
But there’s glory to be had for everyone else, too — medals to be won, personal bests to be set and lessons to be learned racing against some of not only the best swimmers in Kentucky but also the nation.
Louisville’s record-breakers
Sacred Heart’s Charlotte Crush, a Tennessee commit who is still just a junior, broke her own state records in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke during Friday’s girls competition.
Her 50.88 time in the butterfly shaved 0.45 seconds off the standard she’d set last year. Her 50.15 in the backstroke bettered her 2023 record by almost a full second (0.99 to be exact). Crush also anchored her team’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay.
“We’re here to have fun,” said Crush, who also earned most outstanding female swimmer honors from the coaches association. “And I think this is the best team to do it with. Everyone’s here to give it their all and have a fun energy.”
On Saturday, a pair of St. X seniors also set some new fastest times.
Alex Thiesing raced the 200 freestyle in 1:35.04, besting the mark of 1:35.76 set by another Tiger, Aldan Johnston, in 2018. The senior Michigan commit was pleased to have the record, but he’s actually been faster in other events.
“It wasn’t my best time, but I’m still happy,” said Thiesing, who missed breaking the record in his state win last year by five hundredths of a second. He didn’t want to fall short again. “That was the goal — to come here and not leave any doubt.”
One event later, St. X’s Thomas Mercer, a senior Virginia commit, trimmed his own 2024 state record by 0.07 seconds with a new time of 1:43.61 in the 200 individual medley. The meet’s most outstanding male swimmer was more pleased with continuing St. X’s legacy.
“It’s kind of about everybody else,” Mercer said. “There’s so many people who contribute to St. X. I’m just a small part.”
West Jessamine takes advantage
Sacred Heart’s troubles in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay left the door open for West Jessamine’s team of Shelby Gaddis, Caroline Delong, Amelia Lee and Margaret Wilson to grab victories in both and help the Colts earn fourth place overall as a team.
The Valkyries were disqualified for having a swimmer leave early in Friday’s medley relay, advancing West Jessamine’s time of 1:47.39 to the top spot, more than a second ahead of runner-up Assumption.
“It’s unfortunate for the other team, but we’re very thankful we were able to pull out the time that we did,” Gaddis, a senior, said. She and her teammates found out about the disqualification while they were in line to pick up their medals. “It was utter shock. … We wanted to be respectful, but we were super pumped.”
Sacred Heart didn’t get to participate in the 200 freestyle relay because its team had been disqualified at the regional. Again, West Jessamine took advantage and outpaced the field by more than a second with its time of 1:37.40 with the same four swimmers as before.
“We had no idea we would win the medley, but for the 200 free, we were seeded first and were really hopeful that we would win,” said Delong, who along with Gaddis held up fathead posters of teammates Lee and Wilson at the medals presentation because they each had upcoming races.
Lee placed second in the butterfly and third in the backstroke. Wilson took fourth in the 100 freestyle.
Their results added up to a fourth-place finish overall in the girls team standings, but the Colts didn’t know the KHSAA awarded a fourth-place team trophy. That led to a scramble to go get it as everyone packed up.
“I’m still reeling over it,” West Jessamine coach Conrhod Zonio said. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch. A lot of personal bests and just a lot of heart for what they do. … They’ve done all the work. It’s been a ‘wow’ experience.”
Henry Clay rallies to fourth place
Henry Clay seniors Jonah Kearns, Nick Johnson, Charlie Kidder, Jack Liau and Hayes Doolin helped return Blue Devils to the team trophy ceremony as fourth-place finishers after just missing out last year.
“It’s not where we want to be, but it’s still a really solid swim tonight,” said Johnson, who as a freshman was part of Henry Clay’s second-place overall finish in 2022. “We got everybody’s best effort, so I’m really proud of everybody.”
The combination of Kearns’ second place in Saturday’s diving event and medal performances by the others, including fourth places in the both the event-opening 200 medley relay and event-closing 400 free relay, helped Henry Clay outpace Highlands for the hardware.
Top Lexington performances and other notes
▪ Paul Laurence Dunbar eighth grader Kennedy Brooks finished runner-up to Assumption’s Kinley Jones in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.61, just 0.07 off the leader. She swam fourth in the 100 backstroke won by Sacred Heart’s Crush.
“They are so intimidating,” Brooks said, smiling, when asked about what it’s like to line up against some of the Louisville swimmers. “But I just like to talk to them and be nice and have a fun time.”
▪ Lexington Catholic freshman Mia Jones ran runner-up to Christian Academy-Louisville’s Kate Braeger in the 200 individual medley. She also took fourth in the breaststroke.
Braeger, a junior committed to Stanford, won the 200 IM in 1:59.75, more than two seconds ahead of Jones. Still, Jones was happy with the experience.
“That was scary. I was like ‘Stanford commit?’” Jones said. “I thought she’d be like half (a pool) ahead of me, but I was actually closer than I thought.”
▪ Lexington Catholic’s Caroline Beiting, a Michigan track signee, closed out her swimming career with third-place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle events.
▪ Lexington Catholic twins Graham Leslie and Sydney Leslie each won their respective state diving events.
▪ Lafayette’s Jimmy Rogers, a senior Denison commit, took fourth in the 100 breaststroke with an All-America consideration time of 56.22.
▪ Boyle County’s Clark Coyle, a junior Texas A&M commit, finished fourth in the 50 freestyle, got his medal and then raced to get back into the pool to take third in the very next event, the 100 butterfly, and notched an All-America consideration time of 49.08.
▪ Ryle claimed the coaches association championship trophy for its combined boys and girls team scores for the second year in a row.
STATE SWIMMING AND DIVING RESULTS
2025 KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships presented by UK HealthCare.
At the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center on Feb. 21-22. Individual results include top three places plus any top eight (medalist) finishes from Lexington-area schools. Complete results online at khsaa.org.
Boys team standings (top 10 and Lexington schools): 1, St. Xavier, 481.5. 2, Trinity, 258. 3, Ryle, 181. 4, Henry Clay, 142. 5, Highlands, 118. 6, Eastern, 106. 7, Lafayette, 99. 8, Manual, 91. 9, Murray, 77. 10, West Jessamine, 70. 10, Bowling Green, 70. 16, Lexington Catholic, 37. 18, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 30. 21, Sayre, 26. 31, Tates Creek, 11.
Girls team standings (top 10 and Lexington schools): 1, Sacred Heart, 371. 2, Notre Dame, 249. 3, Assumption, 171. 4, West Jessamine, 137. 5, Highlands, 125. 6, Ryle, 124.5. 7, Beechwood, 114. 7, Lafayette, 114. 9, Lexington Catholic, 110. 10, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 107. 22, Bryan Station, 18. 23, Lexington Christian, 17.5. 30, Henry Clay, 9. 35, Tates Creek, 6. 40, Frederick Douglass, 1.
Top combined team standings (top 10): 1, Ryle, 305.5. 2, Highlands, 243. 3, Lafayette, 213. 4, West Jessamine, 207. 5, Henry Clay, 151. 6, Lexington Catholic, 147. 7, Eastern, 144. 8, Beechwood, 139. 9, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 137. 10, Madison Central, 133.
Boys 200-Yard Medley Relay: 1, St. Xavier (Thomas Mercer, Wilson York, Boone Wilcox, Alex Thiesing), 1:28.32 AA-A. 2, Trinity (Sawyer Tapp, Aidan Clark, Hampton Stuecker, Alec Kammeyer), 1:33.68 AA-C. 3, Highlands (Luke Deegan, Barlow, Gracey Griffin, Noah, Chanith Abeysinghe), 1:34.18 AA-C. 4, Henry Clay (Nick Johnson, Hayes Doolin, Jack Liau, Charlie Kidder), 1:35.80. 5, Lafayette (Isaac Barrow, Jimmy Rogers, Joseph Schmidt, Colton Brewer), 1:36.55.
Boys 200-Yard Freestyle: 1, Alex Thiesing, St. Xavier, 1:35.04* AA-A. 2, Clay Baumann, St. Xavier, 1:39.99 AA-C. 3, Carter Rankin, St. Xavier, 1:40.02 AA-C. 8, Charlie Kidder, Henry Clay, 1:43.56.
Boys 200-Yard IM: 1, Thomas Mercer, St. Xavier, 1:43.61* AA-A. 2, Wilson York, St. Xavier, 1:49.46 AA-A. 3, Peyton Harrison, St. Xavier, 1:50.21 AA-C. 7, Max Yeoh, Sayre, 1:53.76. 8, Jimmy Rogers, Lafayette, 1:56.37.
Boys 50-Yard Freestyle: 1, Sawyer Tapp, Trinity, 20.46 AA-C. 2, Andy Pleiman, Ryle, 20.59 AA-C. 3, Kellie Tobergte, Murray, 20.62 AA-C.
Boys 1-Meter Diving: 1, Graham Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 549.65 AA-C. 2, Jonah Kearns, Henry Clay, 497.50 AA-C. 3, Isaiah Reinhart, Simon Kenton, 469.55 AA-C.
Boys 100-Yard Butterfly: 1, Tucker Bailey, Oldham County, 48.50 AA-A. 2, Boone Wilcox, St. Xavier, 48.98 AA-C. 3, Clark Coyle, Boyle County, 49.08 AA-C. 7, Liau, Jack, Henry Clay, 51.66.
Boys 100-Yard Freestyle: 1, Alex Thiesing, St. Xavier, 43.82 AA-A. 2, Lincoln Hofmann, Collegiate, 45.11 AA-C. 3, Andy Pleiman, Ryle, 45.45 AA-C. 7, Nick Johnson, Henry Clay, 46.96.
Boys 500-Yard Freestyle: 1, Clay Baumann, St. Xavier, 4:28.71 AA-A. 2, Chase Knopf, Ryle, 4:30.23 AA-C. 3, Cono Presti, Beechwood, 4:33.07 AA-C.
Boys 200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Trinity (Sawyer Tapp, Meyer Hitch, William Rose, Alec Kammeyer), 1:23.42 AA-A. 2, St. Xavier (Carter Rankin, Boone Wilcox, Wilson York, Clay Baumann), 1:24.12 AA-A. 3, Ryle (Andy Pleiman, Nash Parsons, Lucas Dilger, Chase Knopf), 1:24.93 AA-C. 6, Lafayette (Isaac Barrow, Jimmy Rogers, Colton Brewer, Joseph Schmidt), 1:28.25.
Boys 100-Yard Backstroke: 1, Thomas Mercer, St. Xavier, 47.55 AA-A. 2, Sawyer Tapp, Trinity, 48.14 AA-A. 3, Lincoln Hofmann, Collegiate, 48.67 AA-A. 6, Isaac Barrow, Lafayette, 51.23.
Boys 100-Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wilson York, St. Xavier, 54.54 AA-A. 2, Griffin Barlow, Highlands, 55.50 AA-C. 3, Ryan Kang, St. Xavier, 56.19 AA-C. 4, Jimmy Rogers, Lafayette, 56.22 AA-C. 7, Hayes Doolin, Henry Clay, 58.90.
Boys 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, St. Xavier (Thomas Mercer, Clay Baumann, Carter Rankin, Alex Thiesing), 2:58.56 AA-A. 2, Trinity (Meyer Hitch, William Rose, Mateo Agusti, Alec Kammeyer), 3:06.93 AA-C. 3, Ryle (Andy Pleiman, Nash Parsons, Chase Denigan, Chase Knopf), 3:10.79. 4, Henry Clay (Jack Liau, Charlie Kidder, Hayes Doolin, Nick Johnson), 3:11.53.
Girls 200-Yard Medley Relay: 1, West Jessamine (Shelby Gaddis, Caroline Delong, Amelia Lee, Margaret Wilson), 1:47.39. 2, Assumption (Mallie Whiteley, Parker Russell, Kinley Jones, Lucy Fears), 1:48.43. 3, Lafayette (Riley Shaw, Lauren Wedeking, Myla Phelps, Lydia Dever), 1:50.66.
Girls 200-Yard Freestyle: 1, Ava Grazziani, Sacred Heart, 1:48.80 AA-C. 2, Eli Summa, Sacred Heart, 1:50.05 AA-C. 3, Sadie Hartig, Notre Dame, 1:50.96. 6, Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 1:52.48.
Girls 200-Yard IM: 1, Kate Braeger, Christian Academy-Louisville, 1:59.75 AA-A. 2, Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 2:01.97 AA-C. 3, Hanna Schmidt, Sacred Heart, 2:02.18 AA-C.
Girls 50-Yard Freestyle: 1, Kinley Jones, Assumption, 23.54 AA-C. 2, Kennedy Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 23.61. 3, Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, 23.66. 8, Myla Phelps, Lafayette, 24.83.
Girls 1-Meter Diving: 1, Sydney Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 477.50 AA-C. 2, Brooke Ronan, Oldham County, 448.85 AA-C. 3, Savannah Bien, Notre Dame, 435.80 AA-C.
Girls 100-Yard Butterfly: 1, Charlotte Crush, Sacred Heart, 50.88* AA-A. 2, Amelia Lee, West Jessamine, 54.69 AA-C. 3, Reese Yauger, Ryle, 56.50.
Girls 100-Yard Freestyle: 1, Kinley Jones, Assumption, 51.41. 2, Sydney Green, Sacred Heart, 51.89. 3, Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, 52.13. 4, Margaret Wilson, West Jessamine, 52.79. 8, Myla Phelps, Lafayette, 54.44.
Girls 500-Yard Freestyle: 1, Clare Herfel, Notre Dame, 4:51.22 AA_C. 2, Sadie Hartig, Notre Dame, 4:53.78 AA-C. 3, Ava Grazziani, Sacred Heart, 4:53.99 AA-C. 7, Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 5:06.85.
Girls 200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, West Jessamine (Margaret Wilson, Caroline Delong, Shelby Gaddis, Amelia Lee), 1:37.40. 2, Notre Dame (McKenna Bien 9, Liv Wallace, Abby Carnes, Sadie Hartig), 1:38.15. 3, Highlands (Ragan Moore, Ella Kate Reynolds, Keira Kobida, Sarah Jones), 1:38.34. 4, Paul Laurence Dunbar (Amelia Jones, Kennedy Brooks, Mallory Jones, Nora Morgan), 1:40.15. 6, Lexington Catholic (Mia Jones 9, Sydney Leslie, Clara Jane Morton, Caroline Beiting), 1:40.77.
Girls 100-Yard Backstroke: 1, Charlotte Crush, Sacred Heart, 50.15* AA-A. 2, Kate Braeger, Christian Academy-Louisville, 53.53 AA-A. 3, Amelia Lee, West Jessamine, 54.30 AA-A. 4, Kennedy Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 54.97 AA-C.
Girls 100-Yard Breaststroke: 1, Hanna Schmidt, Sacred Heart, 1:01.67 AA-A. 2, Kinsley Ramey, South Oldham, 1:03.33 AA-C. 3, Sydney Green, Sacred Heart, 1:03.76 AA-C. 4, Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 1:04.47.
Girls 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Sacred Heart (Ava Grazziani, Eli Summa, Sydney Green, Charlotte Crush), 3:23.76 AA-A. 2, Notre Dame (McKenna Bien 9, Liv Wallace, Danaka Tucker, Clare Herfel), 3:37.01. 3, Highlands’ (Ragan Moore, Ella Kate Reynolds, Keira Kobida, Sarah Jones), 3:38.40. 7, Paul Laurence Dunbar (Amelia Jones, Mallory Jones, Duncan Hornback, Kennedy Brooks), 3:41.06.
Notes: * KHSAA State Championships Record; AA-A: All-America Automatic qualifying time/score; AA-C: All-America Consideration time/score.
This story was originally published February 23, 2025 at 3:46 PM.
