'Not one shred of nervousness': St. Xavier wins 44th swimming team title

CANTON, Ohio - It was another banner day for Southwest Ohio swimmers at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I state swimming championships.

Even though it's a little past Valentine's Day, there was plenty of love among teammates and families at C.T. Branin Natatorium. That mutual feeling led St. Xavier to its 44th team title and propelled four swimmers to individual championships.

Here are the biggest headlines from the final day of the high school swimming season.

The Long Blue Line of team titles continues

The weekend officially started for St. Xavier when junior Eli Franke swam in the para-division 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke on Friday night. His team showed up to support him and he returned on Saturday to watch the Bombers capture their 44th team state championship.

"It also shows really well that half of our team showed up, took a four-hour drive. Even if you don't make it, you always support each other. It's more of a brotherhood than a team. We're all one big family," senior Thackston McMullan said.

McMullan finishes his high school career with nine state championships, five as an individual and four with a relay team. Coming into this season, he didn't know if he would make it back to the state meet after having shoulder surgery over the summer. Just as his second family lifted him up throughout the season, he returned the favor at state.

"There was not one shred of nervousness the whole time. We were just pumping each other up the whole time. If you saw us in the hotel, you would think we were just on some outing with our friends and not competing on the highest level in high school," McMullan said.

Thanks to victories in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, wins by McMullan in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle, and Max Ward winning the 100-yard butterfly, the Bombers scored 302 points to defeat second-place Columbus St. Charles by 73 points.

"We definitely want to give credit where credit is due. Upper Arlington had a great team, St. Charles put together a great team. They're great competitors. They make us better. You know, we start off today 0-0 and we take it one event at a time," head coach Dave Albert said.

Rudowski, Schweikert win big for Kings

Kings head coach Sam Mizener isn't sure if the Knights had ever had two state champions in the same year. That's exactly what senior Faith Rudowski and sophomore Maya Schweikert did on Saturday.

Rudowski won the 100-yard freestyle after taking fourth in the 50-yard freestyle, and Schweikert won a tight 100-yard backstroke to send their teammates, coaches and fans into a frenzy.

"I saw it coming in my wildest dreams, but to see it come to fruition is amazing," Mizener said. "This is incredibly special."

Both entered their races as the second seed and were swimming in the middle of a pair of relay finals.

In her final individual race, Rudowski was less than half a second behind at the 50-yard mark before rallying to win, touching the wall 0.42 seconds before Dublin Jerome's Olivia Matson.

"Going into it, I was really thinking about attacking the first 50 and then just bring it home, going with my gut and really just focusing on what I know I can do," Rudowski said. "I kind of black out when I race, but I was trying my best to think about those things that (my coach) taught me."

The win is the culmination of Rudowski's four years of hard work. She finished ninth in the same race last year and said she has dealt with mental struggles in addition to injuries.

"Obviously, it's super special any time somebody wins state. But when you watch somebody for four years go through a lot of ups and downs and injuries, if you got to see Faith's perseverance through all that, it just makes this so much more sweet," Mizener said.

About 30 minutes later, Schweikert hopped into the pool for her signature event. Her win was even closer than Rudowski's as she edged out Avon senior Alex Downing by 0.09 seconds.

"I kind of just, like, gave it all I had, and I saw her arms. I saw her arms really coming, like she was catching me a little. So I was like, 'Uh oh.' But yeah, I just touched the wall and I didn't even look at the board. I just wanted to see everybody's reactions," Schweikert said.

She also drew inspiration from Rudowski's win and seeing her teammate's smile with her medal atop the podium.

Mizener is excited about her potential in the next two years. He believes she will win a few more gold medals before her career ends. It will be tough, seeing as Addison Daugherty (third place) is a freshman and Mia Buff (Toledo St. Ursula) is a sophomore.

"We got two more years with Maya, so we're gonna make some waves for the next couple years. It's gonna be a lot of fun," Mizener said.

Led by Teply, Mason girls take a massive stride forward

Rudowski wasn't the only sophomore to make her presence known at the state's highest level. Mason sophomore Bella Teply had the best day of any Comet as she took second place in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, and was part of the second-place 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams.

"It's just really amazing to be here with my teammates and do so well. Last year, we did good, but I mean, so many people got so many more finals and as a team, we went up so much, and I love my team so much," Teply said.

In addition to Teply's results, the Comets got podium finishes from Dana Fairbanks in the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle, and Megan Schoenlein in the 100-yard breaststroke. With 207 points, they secured their fourth runner-up finish as a team, all since 2016. Head coach Mark Sullivan was named the Division I girls coach of the year.

"He helps us out so much. This morning, he gave us all individual cards and really gave us motivation to swim fast. It wasn't even about the placement. He just wants us all to do well and just have fun and be close together," Teply said.

The team's second-place trophy was a reflection of how far the Comets have come in one year. At the 2023 state meet, they had a fifth-place relay team and a sixth-place relay team, but no swimmers appeared in a championship final.

"So many people are gonna get so much better, and we improved so much this year. It's just amazing to see how much our team grows because we're really close. I love this team and we all love each other," Teply said.

Podium placers:

Girls 200-yard medley relay: Mason (Dana Fairbanks, Julia Gregory, Addison Soehnlen, Kaitlyn Weitz), second; Kings (Samantha Crum, Ashleigh Bender, Maya Schweikert, Faith Rudowski), fourth; St. Ursula (Sydney Herr, Aubrey Buchanan, Riley Kleinfelder, Audrey Zimmerman), fifth; Ursuline (Kiera Wood, Alyssa Uhlman, Grier Gordon, Melia Eckman), sixth

Boys 200-yard medley relay: St. Xavier (Tucker Charles, Jaeger Ellerman, Max Ward, Liam Bien), second; Ross (Cooper Burt, Connor Bennett, Luke Mignery, Conner Norton), eighth

Girls 200-yard freestyle: Isabelly Teply, Mason (second); Grier Gordon, Ursuline (eighth)

Boys 200-yard freestyle: Chase Grisi, St. Xavier (third); Alex Ingram, St. Xavier (fifth); Nathan Spetz, Lakota West (sixth); Cameron Craft, Walnut Hills (seventh)

Girls 200-yard individual medley: Alyssa Uhlman, Ursuline (third); Dana Fairbanks, Mason (sixth); Sofia Matern, Walnut Hills (seventh); Aubrey Buchanan, St. Ursula (eighth)

Boys 200-yard individual medley: Ryder Hicks, Moeller (fourth)

Girls 50-yard freestyle: Faith Rudowski, Kings (fourth)

Boys 50-yard freestyle: Brady Campbell, Milford (third); Max Ward, St. Xavier (fifth)

Girls 100-yard butterfly: Quinn Schureck, Walnut Hills (fourth)

Boys 100-yard butterfly: Cooper Burt, Ross (fourth); A.J. Gomez, Lakota East (eighth)

Girls 100-yard freestyle: Grier Gordon, Ursuline (eighth)

Boys 100-yard freestyle: Jaeger Ellerman, St. Xavier (second); Brady Campbell, Milford (fourth)

Girls 500-yard freestyle: Isabella Teply, Mason (second); Dana Fairbanks, Mason (fifth)

Boys 500-yard freestyle: Alex Ingram, St. Xavier (third); Cameron Craft, Walnut Hills (fourth); Nathan Spetz, Lakota West (sixth); Jake Karulf, Moeller (seventh)

Girls 200-yard freestyle relay: Mason (Lucy Rhoten, Chloe Wall, Isabella Teply, Kaitlyn Weitz), second; St. Ursula (Audrey Zimmerman, Natalie Gockerman, Sydney, Caroline Lied), fourth; Ursuline (Norah Smyth, Sophia Molina, Melia Eckman, Lydia Habel), sixth

Boys 200-yard freestyle relay: Milford (Landon Crum, Emmett Fentress, Cameron Barclay, Brady Campbell), eighth

Girls 100-yard backstroke: Maggie O'Toole, Anderson (eighth)

Boys 100-yard backstroke: Hayden Meyers, Turpin (second); Cooper Burt, Ross (third)

Girls 100-yard breaststroke: Quinn Schureck, Walnut Hills (second); Alyssa Uhlman, Ursuline (fourth); Megan Schoenlein, Mason (fifth); Aubrey Buchanan, St. Ursula (sixth)

Boys 100-yard breaststroke: Jaeger Ellerman, St. Xavier (second); Ryder Hicks, Moeller (seventh)

Girls 400-yard freestyle relay: Mason (Dana Fairbanks, Chloe Wall, Addison Soehnlen, Isabella Teply), second; Kings (Samantha Crum, Ashleigh Bender, Maya Schweikert, Faith Rudowski), fifth; Ursuline (Norah Smyth, Kiera Wood, Alyssa Uhlman, Grier Gordon), sixth

Boys 400-yard freestyle relay: Moeller (Jake Karulf, Alex Held, Jack Peterson, Ryder Hicks), eighth

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. Xavier wins team swimming trophy, 4 win individual gold at state