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The Division I swimming state meet will close out the Ohio High School Athletic Association's aquatic season on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28.
Like it has been every year, this promises to be a showcase for Cincinnati's best swimmers as three 2025 individual state champions return to defend their titles. One thing's for sure, there will be a flood of gold medals, and hopefully a few team trophies, coming back to Southwest Ohio.
Here's an event-by-event breakdown of the season's final meet.
More: Bryce Cousins, Juju Nkhumane lead Cincinnati boys at state diving meet
More: Taylor's Calli Rieskamp leads Cincinnati girls at OHSAA diving meet
Anchored by Riley Kleinfelder and Aubrey Buchanan, St. Ursula Academy enters with the top seed, 0.75 seconds ahead of defending team state champion Upper Arlington. Mason, Ursuline and Kings also have top-five seed times and Lakota East enters at seventh. Talawanda can swim its way to the championship final and Sycamore has a chance to appear in the consolation final.
One year after losing the team title by one point, St. Xavier will surely want to start the meet on a winning note. The Bombers enter with the second-best seed time, 0.21 seconds behind St. Charles. Mason, which knocked off St. X for the district team title, has the No. 4 seed and Moeller has the No. 7 seed. Milford and Kings should appear in the consolation final, and Sycamore can swim its way to a Saturday night race.
Mason's Bella Teply was one of three swimmers to win two individual titles last year. She is one of two swimmers returning to defend those titles, starting with the second-longest freestyle event where she has the top seed time by almost three seconds.
Grier Gordon and Melia Eckman will score plenty of points for Ursuline Academy and Veronika Khudiakova could make it two Mason swimmers in the championship final. Sycamore's Chloe Fox, St. Ursula's Ella Thorsen and Ursuline's Sophia Molina have seed times that should place them in the consolation final.
Sycamore's Vivian Niu could join Fox on Saturday night. Lakota West's Janna Spetz, SUA's Maddie Nixon and Lily Balash, and Turpin's McKenna Johnson will swim in the prelims.
St. Xavier's Chase Grisi was the lone male individual champion in 2025. He will defend his title with the top seed time. Alex Nixon and Sam DeMarco should join him, along with Oak Hills' Jett Sloan. Moeller's Alex Held should appear in the consolation final while St. X's Brandon Hylton and Elder's Max Holthaus are on the fence for a Saturday night spot. Milford's Emmett Fentress, Mason's Dylan Fairbanks and Colerain's Andrew Williams have spots in the prelims.
Aubrey Buchanan and Mason's Dana Fairbanks have two of the top four seed times but everyone will be chasing Upper Arlington's Kierra Powers. Riley Kleinfelder and Ursuline's Alyssa Uhlman should also earn podium spots. Mason's Anna Erickson, Lakota East's Natalie Fada, Kings' Madi Von Schoyck and Lebanon's Andrya Carlson are the only other athletes on the start list.
This is where the Mason boys can score major points as Liam Clark, Austin Zhong and Max Vazquez are all destined for the championship final, as is St. X freshman Will Farrell (no, not that Will Ferrell). Farrell's teammates, Cole Smith, Brayden Scott and Felix Doepke, are all on the start list, as is Little Miami's Caden Woeste, Turpin's Carter Menne, Mason's Caleb Tan, Kings' Greg Zubkov and Hamilton's James Hossler.
Loveland's Isabelle Schroeder and Talawanda's Anna Gregg are Cincinnati's two hopes for podium spots in the fastest event of the meet. Gregg's teammate, Abbie Curry, Mason's Lucy Rhoten and Seton's Maddie Roos should swim in the consolation final while SUA's Tilly Shepherd and Cecilia Grossman, Mason's Sarah Li and Turpin's Sophie Busse will swim in the prelims.
This is the first of back-to-back events for Milford's Brady Campbell, the defending state champion in the sprint event. Mason's Aidan Jansen and Lakota East's Braden Fuller should also make the podium. Mason's Noah Kirk, Samyak Ramchandre and Yassin Ghobril could all appear in the consolation final. Moeller's Andrew Spivery, Moeller's Landon Crum, St. X's Andrew Clippard and Aidan Smith, Walnut Hills' Phillip Varatta and Elder's Grady Miles will all swim in the prelims.
Kings' Maya Schweikert pondered her postseason options up until the Eastern Cincinnati Conference but chose the two disciplines that gave her state championships in 2025. She'll be on state record watch as her seed time is just 0.24 seconds slower than Emily Brown's record from 2024.
Walnut Hills' Quinn Schureck, Sycamore's Eleanor Hardy and SUA's Ali Sadry should also appear in Saturday night's final. Andrya Carlson, Ursuline's Toi Carmosino, Loveland's Hannah Schroeder should swim in the consolation final. Anna Gregg, Lakota West's Peyton Lee and SUA's Cecilia Grossman have preliminary lanes.
Brady Campbell was the 2025 state runner-up in the butterfly and has the top seed entering the weekend, just ahead of Chase Grisi. St. X's Owen Gee and Mason's Ethan Tu could give Cincinnati 50 percent of the swimmers in the final. Campbell's teammate Emmett Fentress, Samyak Ramchandre and Aidan Smith should appear in the championship final. Greg Zubkov and Jaxx Cukovecki, Moeller's Gabe Trujillo, Elder's Brady Vonderahe and Lakota West's Nicholas Minch will swim in Friday's prelims.
Bella Teply could complete the freestyle double with little resistance as her seed time here is about a half-second ahead of Upper Arlington's Maren Berg. Grier Gordon, Melia Eckman and Isabelle Schroeder should join her in the final. Lucy Rhoten and Ursuline's Norah Smyth can score points for their teams in the consolation final. Lily Balash and her teammate Tilly Shepherd, Sarah Li and Lakota East's Bailey Bacher will swim in the prelims.
St. X's Tucker Charles enters with the top local seed time, good for fourth-best entering Friday's prelims. Aidan Jansen is right behind. Sam De Marco should join his Bomber brother in the final. Mason's Robert Wall and St. X's Andrew Clippard and Brandon Hylton should swim in the consolation final. Wall's teammate, Noah Kirk, could also swim his way to a spot on Saturday night. Jett Sloan, Yassin Ghobril, Phillip Varatta, Grady Miles, Carter Menne, Fairfield's Michael Metz, Lakota East's Carter Ott and Moeller's Sammy Silverman have prelim lanes.
What a year it's been for Sycamore's Chloe Fox in the longest event! She took sixth place in the 500 in 2025 but has the top seed time this year, just ahead of Dana Fairbanks. St. Ursula's Alli Sadri should make the final while Veronika Khudiakova and Ursuline's Sophia Molina and Alyssa Uhlman will fight for a spot on Saturday night. The Lions really flex their muscle in this event as Tori Carmosino is also among the top 16 seed times with Janna Spetz and Lebanon's Keelyn Maines. Mount Notre Dame's Elizabeth Priessler, Ursuline's Lanie Farrell, SUA's Maddie Nixon and Mason freshmen Alyssa Soehnlen and Nora Todd will appear in the prelims.
Max Vazquez owns the top local seed time but everyone will be chasing Beavercreek's Alex Drachuk. Owen Gee and Austin Zhong will battle it out to make the final as the eighth- and ninth-best seed times. Cole Smith and Alex Nixon appear destined for the consolation final, while Max Holthaus, Andrew Williams, St. X's Nabil Sinno, Sycamore's John Knapschaefer, Lakota East's Vincent Lievestro and Mason's Jake Xu and Mulenga Cole all have preliminary lanes.
Mason, Ursuline and SUA all appear to be chasing Upper Arlington for this state title. Talawanda and Sycamore are planted in the nine-to-16 range that should land them in the consolation final. Lakota East and Seton will make an appearance in the prelims.
St. X holds a narrow seed time advantage over Columbus St. Charles and Cleveland St. Ignatius. Mason, Moeller and Lakota East should crowd the back end of the "A" final, while Elder and Milford can also contend for spots. Sycamore seems destined for the consolation final while Springboro and Walnut Hills have prelim spots.
This is Maya Schweikert's race to lose as her seed time is already faster than her state record from 2025. She could be the only Cincinnati swimmer in the top eight as Riley Kleinfelder, Vivian Niu and Natalie Fada all have seed times that put them in the consolation final. Ella Thorsen, Springboro's Daylin Drayton and Mason sophomores Adrianna DeVito and Elaine Peng will swim in the prelims.
If Tucker Charles can't claim the 100-yard freestyle title, he can take confidence into his backstroke races as the top overall seed. Robert Wall and Michael Metz can join him in the championship final. Nicholas Minch, Jazz Cukovecki and Felix Doepke all have seed time that should place them in the consolation final. Dylan Fairbanks, Brayden Scott, Mason's Nick Moore and William Privett, and Moeller's Joseph Gertz and Gabe Trujillo will swim in the prelims.
Quinn Schureck and Aubrey Buchanan own the top two seed times in the final individual event. Norah Smyth should join them in the championship final. Madi Von Schoyck and Lakota East's Ella Witkowski should appear in the consolation final, and Anna Erickson can get there with a strong showing on Friday. Abbie Curry will also appear in the prelims.
It'll be up to Ethan Tu, Liam Clark and James Hossler to keep the Cincinnati boys from getting shut out in the championship final. Will Farrell and Caden Woeste are on the bubble for spots in the consolation final. Noah Spivery, Caleb Tan, Elder's Reese Morgan and Ethan Peyton, and St. X's Gokul Vamadeva, Tommy Colvin and Safet Hatic will all swim in the prelims.
Ursuline is the defending state champion but will have to contend with Mason, Upper Arlington and SUA to stay atop the podium. Sycamore also has a chance to make the championship final. Kings and Lakota East should appear in the consolation final while Turpin has a prelim lane.
St. X can prevent a potential Upper Arlington sweep in this event. Mason, Lakota East and Elder are all right there to make the "A" final. Kings, Moeller and Milford appear destined for the consolation final. Sycamore and Springboro will appear in the prelims.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati's top swimmers in the 2026 OHSAA Division I state meet
Continue reading...
Like it has been every year, this promises to be a showcase for Cincinnati's best swimmers as three 2025 individual state champions return to defend their titles. One thing's for sure, there will be a flood of gold medals, and hopefully a few team trophies, coming back to Southwest Ohio.
Here's an event-by-event breakdown of the season's final meet.
More: Bryce Cousins, Juju Nkhumane lead Cincinnati boys at state diving meet
More: Taylor's Calli Rieskamp leads Cincinnati girls at OHSAA diving meet
200-yard medley relay
Anchored by Riley Kleinfelder and Aubrey Buchanan, St. Ursula Academy enters with the top seed, 0.75 seconds ahead of defending team state champion Upper Arlington. Mason, Ursuline and Kings also have top-five seed times and Lakota East enters at seventh. Talawanda can swim its way to the championship final and Sycamore has a chance to appear in the consolation final.
One year after losing the team title by one point, St. Xavier will surely want to start the meet on a winning note. The Bombers enter with the second-best seed time, 0.21 seconds behind St. Charles. Mason, which knocked off St. X for the district team title, has the No. 4 seed and Moeller has the No. 7 seed. Milford and Kings should appear in the consolation final, and Sycamore can swim its way to a Saturday night race.
200-yard freestyle
Mason's Bella Teply was one of three swimmers to win two individual titles last year. She is one of two swimmers returning to defend those titles, starting with the second-longest freestyle event where she has the top seed time by almost three seconds.
Grier Gordon and Melia Eckman will score plenty of points for Ursuline Academy and Veronika Khudiakova could make it two Mason swimmers in the championship final. Sycamore's Chloe Fox, St. Ursula's Ella Thorsen and Ursuline's Sophia Molina have seed times that should place them in the consolation final.
Sycamore's Vivian Niu could join Fox on Saturday night. Lakota West's Janna Spetz, SUA's Maddie Nixon and Lily Balash, and Turpin's McKenna Johnson will swim in the prelims.
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St. Xavier's Chase Grisi was the lone male individual champion in 2025. He will defend his title with the top seed time. Alex Nixon and Sam DeMarco should join him, along with Oak Hills' Jett Sloan. Moeller's Alex Held should appear in the consolation final while St. X's Brandon Hylton and Elder's Max Holthaus are on the fence for a Saturday night spot. Milford's Emmett Fentress, Mason's Dylan Fairbanks and Colerain's Andrew Williams have spots in the prelims.
200-yard individual medley
Aubrey Buchanan and Mason's Dana Fairbanks have two of the top four seed times but everyone will be chasing Upper Arlington's Kierra Powers. Riley Kleinfelder and Ursuline's Alyssa Uhlman should also earn podium spots. Mason's Anna Erickson, Lakota East's Natalie Fada, Kings' Madi Von Schoyck and Lebanon's Andrya Carlson are the only other athletes on the start list.
This is where the Mason boys can score major points as Liam Clark, Austin Zhong and Max Vazquez are all destined for the championship final, as is St. X freshman Will Farrell (no, not that Will Ferrell). Farrell's teammates, Cole Smith, Brayden Scott and Felix Doepke, are all on the start list, as is Little Miami's Caden Woeste, Turpin's Carter Menne, Mason's Caleb Tan, Kings' Greg Zubkov and Hamilton's James Hossler.
50-yard freestyle
Loveland's Isabelle Schroeder and Talawanda's Anna Gregg are Cincinnati's two hopes for podium spots in the fastest event of the meet. Gregg's teammate, Abbie Curry, Mason's Lucy Rhoten and Seton's Maddie Roos should swim in the consolation final while SUA's Tilly Shepherd and Cecilia Grossman, Mason's Sarah Li and Turpin's Sophie Busse will swim in the prelims.
This is the first of back-to-back events for Milford's Brady Campbell, the defending state champion in the sprint event. Mason's Aidan Jansen and Lakota East's Braden Fuller should also make the podium. Mason's Noah Kirk, Samyak Ramchandre and Yassin Ghobril could all appear in the consolation final. Moeller's Andrew Spivery, Moeller's Landon Crum, St. X's Andrew Clippard and Aidan Smith, Walnut Hills' Phillip Varatta and Elder's Grady Miles will all swim in the prelims.
100-yard butterfly
Kings' Maya Schweikert pondered her postseason options up until the Eastern Cincinnati Conference but chose the two disciplines that gave her state championships in 2025. She'll be on state record watch as her seed time is just 0.24 seconds slower than Emily Brown's record from 2024.
Walnut Hills' Quinn Schureck, Sycamore's Eleanor Hardy and SUA's Ali Sadry should also appear in Saturday night's final. Andrya Carlson, Ursuline's Toi Carmosino, Loveland's Hannah Schroeder should swim in the consolation final. Anna Gregg, Lakota West's Peyton Lee and SUA's Cecilia Grossman have preliminary lanes.
Brady Campbell was the 2025 state runner-up in the butterfly and has the top seed entering the weekend, just ahead of Chase Grisi. St. X's Owen Gee and Mason's Ethan Tu could give Cincinnati 50 percent of the swimmers in the final. Campbell's teammate Emmett Fentress, Samyak Ramchandre and Aidan Smith should appear in the championship final. Greg Zubkov and Jaxx Cukovecki, Moeller's Gabe Trujillo, Elder's Brady Vonderahe and Lakota West's Nicholas Minch will swim in Friday's prelims.
100-yard freestyle
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Bella Teply could complete the freestyle double with little resistance as her seed time here is about a half-second ahead of Upper Arlington's Maren Berg. Grier Gordon, Melia Eckman and Isabelle Schroeder should join her in the final. Lucy Rhoten and Ursuline's Norah Smyth can score points for their teams in the consolation final. Lily Balash and her teammate Tilly Shepherd, Sarah Li and Lakota East's Bailey Bacher will swim in the prelims.
St. X's Tucker Charles enters with the top local seed time, good for fourth-best entering Friday's prelims. Aidan Jansen is right behind. Sam De Marco should join his Bomber brother in the final. Mason's Robert Wall and St. X's Andrew Clippard and Brandon Hylton should swim in the consolation final. Wall's teammate, Noah Kirk, could also swim his way to a spot on Saturday night. Jett Sloan, Yassin Ghobril, Phillip Varatta, Grady Miles, Carter Menne, Fairfield's Michael Metz, Lakota East's Carter Ott and Moeller's Sammy Silverman have prelim lanes.
500-yard freestyle
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What a year it's been for Sycamore's Chloe Fox in the longest event! She took sixth place in the 500 in 2025 but has the top seed time this year, just ahead of Dana Fairbanks. St. Ursula's Alli Sadri should make the final while Veronika Khudiakova and Ursuline's Sophia Molina and Alyssa Uhlman will fight for a spot on Saturday night. The Lions really flex their muscle in this event as Tori Carmosino is also among the top 16 seed times with Janna Spetz and Lebanon's Keelyn Maines. Mount Notre Dame's Elizabeth Priessler, Ursuline's Lanie Farrell, SUA's Maddie Nixon and Mason freshmen Alyssa Soehnlen and Nora Todd will appear in the prelims.
Max Vazquez owns the top local seed time but everyone will be chasing Beavercreek's Alex Drachuk. Owen Gee and Austin Zhong will battle it out to make the final as the eighth- and ninth-best seed times. Cole Smith and Alex Nixon appear destined for the consolation final, while Max Holthaus, Andrew Williams, St. X's Nabil Sinno, Sycamore's John Knapschaefer, Lakota East's Vincent Lievestro and Mason's Jake Xu and Mulenga Cole all have preliminary lanes.
200-yard freestyle relay
Mason, Ursuline and SUA all appear to be chasing Upper Arlington for this state title. Talawanda and Sycamore are planted in the nine-to-16 range that should land them in the consolation final. Lakota East and Seton will make an appearance in the prelims.
St. X holds a narrow seed time advantage over Columbus St. Charles and Cleveland St. Ignatius. Mason, Moeller and Lakota East should crowd the back end of the "A" final, while Elder and Milford can also contend for spots. Sycamore seems destined for the consolation final while Springboro and Walnut Hills have prelim spots.
100-yard backstroke
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This is Maya Schweikert's race to lose as her seed time is already faster than her state record from 2025. She could be the only Cincinnati swimmer in the top eight as Riley Kleinfelder, Vivian Niu and Natalie Fada all have seed times that put them in the consolation final. Ella Thorsen, Springboro's Daylin Drayton and Mason sophomores Adrianna DeVito and Elaine Peng will swim in the prelims.
If Tucker Charles can't claim the 100-yard freestyle title, he can take confidence into his backstroke races as the top overall seed. Robert Wall and Michael Metz can join him in the championship final. Nicholas Minch, Jazz Cukovecki and Felix Doepke all have seed time that should place them in the consolation final. Dylan Fairbanks, Brayden Scott, Mason's Nick Moore and William Privett, and Moeller's Joseph Gertz and Gabe Trujillo will swim in the prelims.
100-yard breaststroke
Quinn Schureck and Aubrey Buchanan own the top two seed times in the final individual event. Norah Smyth should join them in the championship final. Madi Von Schoyck and Lakota East's Ella Witkowski should appear in the consolation final, and Anna Erickson can get there with a strong showing on Friday. Abbie Curry will also appear in the prelims.
It'll be up to Ethan Tu, Liam Clark and James Hossler to keep the Cincinnati boys from getting shut out in the championship final. Will Farrell and Caden Woeste are on the bubble for spots in the consolation final. Noah Spivery, Caleb Tan, Elder's Reese Morgan and Ethan Peyton, and St. X's Gokul Vamadeva, Tommy Colvin and Safet Hatic will all swim in the prelims.
400-yard freestyle relay
Ursuline is the defending state champion but will have to contend with Mason, Upper Arlington and SUA to stay atop the podium. Sycamore also has a chance to make the championship final. Kings and Lakota East should appear in the consolation final while Turpin has a prelim lane.
St. X can prevent a potential Upper Arlington sweep in this event. Mason, Lakota East and Elder are all right there to make the "A" final. Kings, Moeller and Milford appear destined for the consolation final. Sycamore and Springboro will appear in the prelims.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati's top swimmers in the 2026 OHSAA Division I state meet
Continue reading...
