Region swim championships marked by surprise wins and region records
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dunbar secured seventh straight boys title; Lafayette claimed third straight girls.
- Lexington Catholic siblings set region records in IM and 100 free; Leslies won dives.
- Bryan Station and Tates Creek delivered surprise relay and individual victories.
Lexington Catholic siblings each broke records while competitors from Bryan Station and Tates Creek notched multiple wins at the Region 8 Swimming Championships held at Centre College’s Champions Hall on Thursday.
In the battle for team titles, Paul Laurence Dunbar captured its seventh consecutive boys trophy, and Lafayette took home the girls crown for the third year in a row.
Lexington Catholic’s twin brother and sister Graham and Sydney Leslie, juniors who are the defending region and state 1-meter diving champions, swept their region dives on Tuesday at Scott High School.
Keeping up with the Joneses
Lexington Catholic sophomore Mia Jones broke her own region record set last year in the 200-yard individual medley, knocking more than a half second off her previous mark with a time of 2:04.93.
Later, her older brother Wil Jones broke a record that has stood since 2017 in the 100-yard freestyle. Wil Jones’ time of 45.34 beat the previous mark of LexCath alum Zach Hils by 0.11 seconds. Hils became an All-America swimmer at Georgia and is now a coach at Transylvania.
“Every now and then, we practice at Transy. I’ll get to see him on Monday,” said Wil Jones, who raced next to an open lane in the 100 because a friend and competitor scratched Thursday. Jones said he had no gauge for how fast he was going because of that. “I was just trying to win by a lot … . And it was a fun race. Everyone cheering for me really got me going.”
Mia Jones said she was proud of her brother, but grinned as she noted she was the first in the family to break a record and unlike Wil, it didn’t take until her senior year.
They each also won another event, with Mia taking first in the 100-yard breaststroke and Wil capturing the 50-yard freestyle. Wil’s wins helped Lexington Catholic’s boys team earn second place overall.
Mia took second place in the 200 IM at state last year and feels good about her chances again this season. All of Thursday’s first- and second-place finishers automatically qualify for the KHSAA’s State First Round meet next month.
“This is pretty much how I thought I was going to swim. It’s kind of a checkpoint for me for how I’m going to do at state,” she said. “I think it will go pretty well.”
Bryan Station makes waves
Bryan Station topped the leaderboard in the first race of the day, the girls 200-yard medley relay, with its oldest swimmer, sophomore Max Reynolds, leading off a team that included eighth graders Jolene Wong and Jameelah El-Amin and had seventh grader Maya Wedeking as its anchor.
“The fact that we won today is a really big surprise for us, and I’m so excited to see what we will be able to do,” said Reynolds, who anchored the team’s second-place finish later in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Bryan Station hasn’t been known much for swimming over the years, and coach Tyler Adams and athletic director John Byard could not guess as to when the Defenders had last won a region swimming event.
Then Reynolds won two more in her individual races, the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke. In her second season at Bryan Station, Reynolds admitted she put too much pressure on herself last year. This year, she placed her focus on having fun.
“I was really in my head, and I was struggling to love the sport,” she said. “Being able to come back here and just have fun with it, and by purely having fun, get first in these things, it’s been awesome. Starting out the season, I was not expecting this.”
Commodores sail to wins in relays and backstroke
Tates Creek has had more success in its swimming history, but senior Landon Bates said his team’s wins in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay were the first Commodore victories of his career.
“It’s a great day for Creek. We definitely knew we could do it. But it’s a lot better when we can actually get in the water and win it,” he said. “It means so much more considering how we haven’t won as much in the past as some of these other teams. It means a lot because my whole family goes to Creek and my brother never got to win because Dunbar was so dominant.”
After the medal awards for the 200-yard freestyle, Bates predicted teammate John Kennedy would win the 100-yard backstroke.
Kennedy touched the wall in a time of 51.75, 0.46 seconds ahead of George Rogers Clark’s Ethan Hatfield.
“I can’t believe it. I never thought I was going to get this,” Kennedy said. “I was just absolutely shocked when I saw the time pop up on the board.”
Multiple winners for Lafayette, Henry Clay and Scott County
Lafayette junior Lauren Wedeking won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle relay and anchored the Generals’ first-place 200-yard free relay team of Elaina Heil, Avery Hutchison and Lucie McCaffrey. A winner in multiple region events over the years, she medaled in three state events last season.
“I felt really good. I felt confident and powerful, but overall, I just go out there to have fun with the race,” she said. “I feel like I’m peaking at the right time. It doesn’t happen every year, but I think this year it’s happening.”
Henry Clay junior Charlie Kidder captured the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle and thinks the Blue Devils will soon get back to contending for a team title.
“It feels great to represent my school like this,” he said. “We’ve still got a ways to go, but we’re definitely getting back.”
Scott County’s Decklin Jeffs surprised himself with wins in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breastroke.
“I’ve never won anything. The highest I’ve got was like fifth,” he said, laughing. “I’m just doing this for fun.”
Dunbar swimmers repeat
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Kennedy Brooks defended her 50-yard freestyle title, took second in the 100 and anchored the first place 400-yard free relay team of Mallory Jones, Duncan Hornback and Charlie Boyd.
In a 50 free race that took only 24.08 seconds, there barely seemed time for the ordeal Brooks went through in order to get the win.
“As I was going down and I took a breath and I inhaled, like, just water. So then I just started to die,” she said. “And then my turn was pretty long, which was kind of annoying. But it’s OK, because then I came back. But I was annoyed when I saw my time.”
The 400 free relay win was Dunbar’s second in a row and was bittersweet for senior Mallory Jones who was swimming at regionals for the first time without her sister Amelia, who graduated last year.
“It’s really special that we could pull this off without her,” she said. “All of these girls have done so good. The energy is amazing.”
The Dunbar girls also got a win in the 500-yard freestyle from freshman Duncan Hornback.
On the boys’ side, wins in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard butterfly helped secure the boys’ team title.
Senior Sammy Nunez won the fly and swam the third leg for the relay team of Neihal Saini, Daniel Liew and Colton Brewer
“Being part of Dunbar makes regionals extra special, even compared to state,” Nunez said. “Competing against my friends from other schools makes it really fun.”
Region 8 swimmers must await results from the competitions in Regions 7 and 9 to see what at-large entries will join their automatic qualifiers at the KHSAA State First Round swim meet at Scott High School on Feb. 7. The KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships will be Feb. 19-21 at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center.
Region 8 Swimming and Diving Championships results
Swimming at Champions Hall on the campus of Centre College in Danville on Thursday. Diving at Scott High School in Taylor Mill on Jan. 20. 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 when all competitions are complete. Complete results will be available online at khsaa.org soon.
GIRLS’ RESULTS
Team: 1. Lafayette, 360.5; 2. Clark, 298; 3. Bryan Station, 265; 4. Dunbar. 260; 5 . Henry Clay, 221.5; 6. Lexington Catholic, 181; T7. Lexington Christian, 143; T7. Frederick Douglass, 143; 9. Tates Creek, 126; 10. Scott County, 92; 11. Montgomery County, 54; 12. Great Crossing, 47; 13. Bourbon County, 34; 14. Sayre, 19.
200-yard Medley Relay: 1. Bryan Station, 1:49.88 (Max Reynolds, Jolene Wong, Jameelah El-Amin, Maya Wedeking) . 2. Lafayette, 1:52.43 (Avery Hutchison, Lauren Wedeking, Katherine McCormick, Kaylee Wylie).
200-Yard Freestyle: 1. Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 1:51.49; Avery Hutchison, Lafayette, 1:57.62.
200-Yard IM: 1. Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 2:04.93*; Lila Kidder, Henry Clay, 2:13.36
50-Yard Freestyle: 1. Kennedy Brooks, Dunbar, 24.08; 2. Myla Phelps, Lafayette, 24.61.
1-meter Diving: 1. Sydney Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 296.35; 2. Sophie Kroggel, Lafayette, 243.65.
100-Yard Butterfly: 1. Max Reynolds, Bryan Station, 56.68; 2. Marissa Thomas, Clark, 59.60.
100-Yard Freestyle: 1. Lauren Wedeking, Lafayette, 51.24; 2. Kennedy Brooks, Dunbar, 52.12.
500-Yard Freestyle: 1. Duncan Hornback, Dunbar, 5:16.20; 2. Jaylee Hearne, Henry Clay, 5:22.17.
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Lafayette, 1:40.35 (Elaina Heil, Avery Hutchison, Lucie McCaffrey, Lauren Wedeking); 2. Bryan Station, 1:42.16 (Jameelah El-Amin, Maya Wedeking, Caroline Yowell, Max Reynolds).
100-Yard Backstroke: 1. Max Reynolds, Bryan Station, 55.23; 2. Marissa Thomas, Clark, 1:00.50.
100-Yard Breaststroke: 1. Mia Jones, Lexington Catholic, 1:05.00; 2. Ava Greinke, Henry Clay, 1:08.66.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Dunbar, 3:42.18 (Mallory Jones, Duncan Hornback, Charlie Boyd, Kennedy Brooks); 2. Clark, 3:49.87 (Cooper Moore, Kerrigan Moore, Ellory Moore, Marissa Thomas).
BOYS’ RESULTS
Team: 1. Dunbar, 411; 2. Lexington Catholic, 301; 3. Henry Clay, 250; 4. Tates Creek, 219; 5. Lafayette, 181; 6. Scott County, 155; 7. Frederick Douglass, 140; 8. George Rogers Clark, 123; 9. Montgomery County, 112; 10. Sayre, 70; 11. Lexington Christian, 69; 12. Bryan Station, 66; T13. Bourbon County, 47; T13. Great Crossing, 47; 15. Mason County, 14.
200-yard Medley Relay: 1. Dunbar, 1:40.76 (Neihal Saini, Daniel Liew, Sammy Nunez, Colton Brewer); 2. Tates Creek, 1:41.68 (John Kennedy, Jacob “Max” Watkins, Griffin Dicken, Landon Bates).
200-Yard Freestyle: 1. Charlie Kidder, Henry Clay, 1:42.34; 2. Sammy Nunez, Dunbar 1:45.00.
200-Yard IM: 1. Decklin Jeffs, Scott County, 2:02.17; 2. Daniel Liew, Dunbar, 2:02.43.
50-Yard Freestyle: 1. Wil Jones, Lexington Catholic, 20.94; 2. Ethan Hatfield, Clark, 21.65.
1-meter Diving: 1. Graham Leslie, Lexington Catholic, 339.80; 2. William Darnell, Bourbon County, 260.70.
100-Yard Butterfly: 1. Sammy Nunez, Dunbar, 51.96; 2. Griffin Dicken, Tates Creek, 54.20.
100-Yard Freestyle: 1. Wil Jones, Lexington Catholic, 45.34*;
500-Yard Freestyle: 1. Charlie Kidder, Henry Clay, 4:44.32; 2. Henry Gish, Henry Clay, 4:46.65.
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Tates Creek, 1:28.58 (John Kennedy, Drew Harris, Landon Bates, Griffin Dicken); 2. Dunbar, 1:33.49 (Blake Salyer, Luke Ayoob, Kieran Derbyshire, Logan Strow).
100-Yard Backstroke: 1. John Kennedy, Tates Creek, 51.75; 2. Ethan Hatfield, Clark, 52.21.
100-Yard Breaststroke: 1. Decklin Jeffs, Scott County, 59.67; Daniel Liew, Dunbar, 1:00.11.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Tates Creek, 3:16.50 (Griffin Dicken, Drew Harris, Landon Bates, John Kennedy); 2. Lexington Catholic, 3:21.07 (James Barnett, Bryce Vinton, Samuel Grimm, Wil Jones).
*8th Region championship record.
Combined Team Standings (for coaches’ association honors): 1. Dunbar, 671; 2. Lafayette, 541.5; 3. Lexington Catholic, 482; 4. Henry Clay, 471.5; 5. George Rogers Clark, 421; 6. Tates Creek, 345; 7. Bryan Station, 331; 8. Frederick Douglass, 283; 9. Scott County, 247; 10. Lexington Christian, 212; 11. Montgomery County, 166; 12. Great Crossing, 94; 13. Sayre, 89; 14. Bourbon County, 81.
State meet information: khsaa.org/sports-sport-activities/winter/swimming/
