2023 OHIO HIGH SCHOOL STATE SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – DIVISION I
- February 21-25, 2023
- C.T. Branin Natatorium, Canton, Ohio
- 25-yard pool (short course yards)
- Live Results
- Division I PDF Results
- Division II Girls Recap
- Division II Boys Recap
Scotty Buff’s record-breaking 100 fly time of 44.97 wasn’t the only highlight from last weekend’s Ohio Division I Championships.
Olentangy Liberty senior Hudson Williams broke two Ohio state records in the 50 free (19.55) and 100 free (42.98), both belonging to current University of Florida junior Adam Chaney. In the 50, the NC State commit broke Chaney’s mark of 19.62 from 2020, moving up to No. 41 all-time in the boys’ 17-18 national age group (NAG) rankings. In the 100, Williams took down Chaney’s record of 43.27 from 2019, ranking as the 37th-fastest swimmer ever in his age group.
Williams first broke 20 seconds in the 50 free at December’s Winter Juniors with a time of 19.88. He won the 50 free title at last year’s state meet with a 20.09.
Upper Arlington senior Grant Gooding missed out on a state record by just .01 seconds in the 100 breast. The Louisville commit triumphed in a time of 53.54, just a blink behind Jake Foster’s mark of 53.53 from 2019. Gooding also placed second in the 200 IM (1:47.85) behind Westerville Central junior Chase Swearingen (1:46.67). A Kentucky commit, Swearingen also placed second in the 100 fly with a 48.21 behind Buff.
Cal commit Thackston McMullan swept the 200 free (1:35.86) and 500 free (4:26.26) to lead Cincinnati St. Xavier to a team victory. It’s the 23rd title in the past 25 years for St. Xavier, which had a 13-year winning streak going until its runner-up finish last season. McMullan also led off St. Xavier’s winning 200 free relay team with a 20.54 split and anchored its victorious 400 free relay with a 43.52 split.
Future University of Florida teammates Jonny Marshall and Buff battled for the 100 back crown, with Marshall coming out on top by four-tenths with a 46.31 to cap off his three-peat. Marshall, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound Firestone senior, just missed Carson Foster’s state record of 46.28. He also placed second in the 200 free for the second year in a row with a 1:35.93 right behind McMullan.
Boys’ Team Scores
- Cincinnati St. Xavier – 247
- Upper Arlington – 156
- Dublin Jerome – 124
- Powell Olentangy Liberty – 118
- Cleveland St. Ignatius – 90
At the girls’ Division I meet, Dublin Coffman junior Emily Brown shaved nearly a second off the state record in the 200 free with a time of 1:45.88. The University of Tennessee commit lowered the previous mark of 1:46.78 set by Cincinnati Ursuline’s Alisabeth Marsteller back in 2014. Brown pulled off a three-peat in both the 200 free and the 500 free, which she won in 4:51.17. She dropped more than a second in the 200 free, but she was about two seconds slower than her winning time from last year in the 500 free (4:45.47).
Cincinnati St Ursula Academy sophomore Addie Robillard brought home state titles in the 200 IM (2:00.05) and 100 breast (1:00.31), while New Albany senior Carly Meeting joined her as a champion in multiple events between her wins in the 100 free (49.93) and 100 back (53.73). Dublin Jerome won the 400 free relay (3:23.91) to clinch the team title by just 10 points over Upper Arlington, which claimed the 200 free relay title (1:33.30). Upper Arlington was led by sophomore Hayden Hollingsworth, who won the 50 free in 22.84.
In the 100 fly, Avon junior Alex Downing reached the wall first in a time of 55.04. She became the first girl from Lorain County to win a state title since 1995. Downing also placed second in the 100 back (54.59) behind Meeting.
Girls’ Team Scores
- Dublin Jerome – 225
- Upper Arlington – 215
- Dublin Coffman – 169
- New Albany – 160
- Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy – 160
Arguably one of the fastest high school state swim meets in the country! It’s an exciting meet and environment like none other!
Only in Ohio
I’m not bashing NC State, but why are they such a big swim school? They seem more focused on their other sports programs, how do they recruit such high level talent?
Notre Dame Alumni?
huh? chile, anyways so…
The Ryan Held generation showed out and others saw that a great coach/culture can make you very successful even at a relatively small school if everyone buys in
Holloway’s coaching tree has to be one of the best in the NCAA right now – Desorbo at UVA, Guntoro doing really well at UNCW, and Gary Taylor coaching Heilman at Cav Aquatics (albeit after a rough stint at Auburn).
Vic Riggs has Damien Dennis at IUPUI
Who needs a coaching tree when you’ve led your men’s team to 10 straight top 3 conference finishes
They’ve got some history from the Don Easterling era (moreso his earlier days than his later days), but then they weren’t good for a long time.
It really came down to they made a dynamite hire. When they hired Holloway, they weren’t very good, and now they’re top 5 every year. Sometimes in swimming it’s as simple as that.
NC State gonna let any other schools get a significant sprint talent?
Can’t loose relays if you monopolize the sprinters
I find it so strange—with Ohio State’s recent uptick in success at the national level—that they can’t seem to snag the top level talent in a swimming rich state. Are the coaches not recruiting their own state well? So much good swimming in Ohio, yet very few top recruits seem to be interested. Are there underlying issues? OSU coaches not respected at the club/HS level? Athletes just want to go out of state?
Ohio State cares primarily about Football. Columbus has a small-town feel for a fairly large city, so they get top football talent there by paying them extremely well (yes, even before NIL). It’s tougher for the other sports to recruit when they’re not getting free cars and truckloads of cash like the football team.
Athletes want to go out of state. One thing not talked about much – Wadley’s weird behavior towards the end also remains a role. Multiple police encounters at his home, a death, etc. He loomed large over central Ohio swimming.
Has nothing to do with football or the silly statement about paying players. Their recruiting personnel are slow to recruit first of all and their focus on in state swimmers is lacking as they are enamored by international swimmers.
For a long time it was the Wadley effect. The Men’s program was a bit of a meat grinder in that they brought in a lot and let people fail out. Under Dorenkott they seem to have a much more focused approach and bring in athletes they truly believe will succeed. We’ve seen a lot of Ohio swimmers go there recently and succeed too which should help. On the women’s side you have Amy Fulmer, Nyah Funderburke, Hannah Bach, Maya Geringer, Felicia Pasadyn (via an Ivy League); on the men’s side Charlie Clark and Hunter Armstrong being the two biggest recent success stories out of Ohio.
I think the program will continue to grow under Dorenkott. While I was coaching… Read more »
The Wadley meat grinder definitely turned off many Ohio HS coaches and swimmers. Agree that Dorenkott has turned it around.
Many Ohio kids just want to go to college out of state.
The recruiting is embarrassing. I know OSU had some big staffing issues to fill, which occured right around prime recruiting time, but atleast put a call or two into some top recruits in the state (I’m talking both classes of 23 and 24) I truly think OSU doesn’t feel like they need to recruit in their own backyard because of how they are regarded locally. They’ve lost out on some great talent due to this.
Most of the Ohio kids they get swim well. They do a good job of developing them. Many come from northern Ohio. The allure of leaving their home state is high for kids. Parents and kids like to brag about going far away, like it’s a contest. Remember, these are now sometimes 16 yr olds choosing a college. They think they’re ready to leave. Some are, some aren’t. Some just overlook what’s right in their backyard as not being “good enough.” In reality, that might be the best choice. Go where you can contribute. There’s so much adjustment those first 2 years that kids just underestimate. This is taking the athletic piece totally out of the equation. Being closer to… Read more »
Check any swim roster for any university and the majority of athletes are from out of state. There is an allure to leaving and if you have the funds to go out of state, many choose to do so. The OSU swim & dive roster has 31 in-state athletes between the men’s and women’s teams and many of them lead the team with their times and dives. Check it out!