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Editor's note: The story's photo gallery will be updated with more images.
The 2026 Ohio High School Athletic Association swimming and diving state championships got underway on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with the Division I and II boys diving meets.
There was a lot of promise in the day for Cincinnati, which was represented by 11 divers from seven schools. It turned out to be one of the most successful state meets ever for Southwest Ohio as three divers finished in the top five and two more made the final cut to place in the top 16.
Here's how each of the 11 divers performed.
The girls diving competitions will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Enquirer will have a full recap of those meets.
The junior avenged second-place finishes at the sectional and district level, using seven dives of 50-plus points to take third place with 530.95 points.
Sitting in 11th place after the first round, he earned 54 points on his second dive to vault into fourth place and never dipped lower than sixth the remainder of the way. Cousins's best diving of the day came after the second cut when he averaged 54.7 points on his final three dives, including a 62-point finale, to cement his spot on the podium.
With state champion Mitch Caldwell and runner-up Trevor Madigan both set to graduate, Cousins could be the favorite to win the 2027 title.
Mason junior Juju Nkhumane, this year's sectional and district champion, showed great promise in the early rounds, briefly topping the standings with 146.25 total points after three rounds.
A 37.4-point dive immediately dropped him to fifth place but he surged in the final two rounds, scoring 52.8 points and 65.1 points to move from sixth to fourth. It's the highest finish at state by a Mason diver since Sean Sargent took third in 2013.
It's been a meteoric rise for Nkhumane, who took 29th place in 2024 and 15th place last year.
Sycamore sophomore Oliver Erck burst onto the scene with a narrow win over Nkhumane at the Southwest Ohio Classic and the Greater Miami Championship. A second-round score of 54 catapulted him up to third place and he never dipped lower than seventh.
Just like Cousins and Nkhumane, he had a massive final round, scoring 69.75 points, the best of any Cincinnati diver on Tuesday. Erck had played leapfrog with Nkhumane all day but couldn't quite catch up to him, ending up in fifth place with 496.8 points.
Gannaway, a Loveland freshman, had his sights set on making it four Cincinnati divers in the top 10.
He ascended to fourth place after the third round, but dives of 34.85 points, 19.95 and 27.75 had him sitting in 17th place after the sixth round and in danger of missing the second cut. But a 46.8-point seventh-round dive put him comfortably in the top 16. He finished in 11th place with 417 points.
Poh, a junior just like Nkhumane, sat in 21st place after two rounds. A third-round score of 45.5 points moved him up to 14th and held held on to a top-20 spot as the first cut trimmed the field from 32.
He hovered in that range for the next two rounds before an eighth-round score of 41.8 points moved him into 12th place as the field was trimmed to 16 divers. His two best dives of the day came at just the right time. Poh ended his competition in 14th place with 398.2 points.
Milford junior Jacob Eminger has improved his state championship finish each of the three years he has qualified for the final meet. On Tuesday afternoon, he took 21st place with 177.6 points.
Eminger's teammate, senior Emmett Derrig, followed close behind with a 24th-place finish and 172.5 points.
Cousins's teammate, Ollig Bryant, started out with a 40.7-point dive that put him in fourth place. But he would average just 31.69 points per dive over the next four rounds and finish in 28th place with 167.15 points.
Making his first state championship appearance, Turpin junior Truman Ragase took 29th place with 163.8 points.
In Division II, Roger Bacon's Cole Andrews and Theo Borgert were the only two Southwest Ohio divers to compete in Canton. Andrews finished in 27th place with 112.7 points while Borgert finished in 31st place with 86.1 points.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati boys have banner day at 2026 OHSAA state diving meet
Continue reading...
The 2026 Ohio High School Athletic Association swimming and diving state championships got underway on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with the Division I and II boys diving meets.
There was a lot of promise in the day for Cincinnati, which was represented by 11 divers from seven schools. It turned out to be one of the most successful state meets ever for Southwest Ohio as three divers finished in the top five and two more made the final cut to place in the top 16.
Here's how each of the 11 divers performed.
The girls diving competitions will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Enquirer will have a full recap of those meets.
West Clermont's Bryce Cousins leads three divers to DI podium
The junior avenged second-place finishes at the sectional and district level, using seven dives of 50-plus points to take third place with 530.95 points.
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Sitting in 11th place after the first round, he earned 54 points on his second dive to vault into fourth place and never dipped lower than sixth the remainder of the way. Cousins's best diving of the day came after the second cut when he averaged 54.7 points on his final three dives, including a 62-point finale, to cement his spot on the podium.
With state champion Mitch Caldwell and runner-up Trevor Madigan both set to graduate, Cousins could be the favorite to win the 2027 title.
Mason junior Juju Nkhumane, this year's sectional and district champion, showed great promise in the early rounds, briefly topping the standings with 146.25 total points after three rounds.
You must be registered for see images attach
A 37.4-point dive immediately dropped him to fifth place but he surged in the final two rounds, scoring 52.8 points and 65.1 points to move from sixth to fourth. It's the highest finish at state by a Mason diver since Sean Sargent took third in 2013.
It's been a meteoric rise for Nkhumane, who took 29th place in 2024 and 15th place last year.
You must be registered for see images attach
Sycamore sophomore Oliver Erck burst onto the scene with a narrow win over Nkhumane at the Southwest Ohio Classic and the Greater Miami Championship. A second-round score of 54 catapulted him up to third place and he never dipped lower than seventh.
Just like Cousins and Nkhumane, he had a massive final round, scoring 69.75 points, the best of any Cincinnati diver on Tuesday. Erck had played leapfrog with Nkhumane all day but couldn't quite catch up to him, ending up in fifth place with 496.8 points.
Dylan Gannoway, Christian Poh put on clutch performances for top 16 finishes
Gannaway, a Loveland freshman, had his sights set on making it four Cincinnati divers in the top 10.
You must be registered for see images attach
He ascended to fourth place after the third round, but dives of 34.85 points, 19.95 and 27.75 had him sitting in 17th place after the sixth round and in danger of missing the second cut. But a 46.8-point seventh-round dive put him comfortably in the top 16. He finished in 11th place with 417 points.
Poh, a junior just like Nkhumane, sat in 21st place after two rounds. A third-round score of 45.5 points moved him up to 14th and held held on to a top-20 spot as the first cut trimmed the field from 32.
You must be registered for see images attach
He hovered in that range for the next two rounds before an eighth-round score of 41.8 points moved him into 12th place as the field was trimmed to 16 divers. His two best dives of the day came at just the right time. Poh ended his competition in 14th place with 398.2 points.
Milford junior Jacob Eminger has improved his state championship finish each of the three years he has qualified for the final meet. On Tuesday afternoon, he took 21st place with 177.6 points.
Eminger's teammate, senior Emmett Derrig, followed close behind with a 24th-place finish and 172.5 points.
Cousins's teammate, Ollig Bryant, started out with a 40.7-point dive that put him in fourth place. But he would average just 31.69 points per dive over the next four rounds and finish in 28th place with 167.15 points.
Making his first state championship appearance, Turpin junior Truman Ragase took 29th place with 163.8 points.
Roger Bacon represents Division II
In Division II, Roger Bacon's Cole Andrews and Theo Borgert were the only two Southwest Ohio divers to compete in Canton. Andrews finished in 27th place with 112.7 points while Borgert finished in 31st place with 86.1 points.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati boys have banner day at 2026 OHSAA state diving meet
Continue reading...
