St. Xavier High School Wins 33rd-Straight KHSAA Men’s State Swim and Dive Title

KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships – Men’s 

• April 22-24, 2021
• Multi-Site Meet
• Short Course Yards
• Results on Meet Mobile “KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships”

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) State Championships for swimming and diving were held across the state this weekend, with St. Xavier High School coming away with the men’s team title. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the meet was held at 3 separate sites and then the results were combined to determine the overall winners. 

St. Xavier won the meet with a total of 531 points, out-scoring runner-up Highlands High School by over 300 points. For St. Xavier, the title marks their 33rd State Championship in a row and their 57th overall. The school is currently tied with the Bolles School in Florida for the most consecutive state championships in the country. 

Men’s Team Scores:

1. St. Xavier 537
2. Highlands 201.5
3. Henry Clay 154.4
4. Covington Catholic 126
5. Dunbar 124

St. Xavier immediately got to work by winning the 200 medley relay. The team of Charlie Crush, Will Scholtz, Holden Smith, and Wyatt Johnson combined for a time of 1:30.51 to win the event by over 7 seconds. Notably, Smith split a blazing 21.94 on the butterfly leg, putting up the 3rd fastest split in the field regardless of stroke. 

Smith claimed victory for St. Xavier in the 200 IM and the 100 fly. In the 200 IM, Smith threw down a time of 1:48.91 to win the race by about a second. Two events later, Smith was back in the water, winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.29, slicing .15 off of his seed time. 

Cush also took an individual victory, cruising past the field in the 100 backstroke. The junior posted a time of 48.94 to claim victory, dropping over a second off of his seed time in the process. 

As only a sophomore, Scholtz won the 100 breaststroke, touching in a final time of 54.73. Scholtz’s time came within .4 of the state record, which currently stands at 54.36. However, he’ll still have 2 more seasons to chase it. 

St. Xavier also claimed relay titles in both the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. In the 200 freestyle relay, Crush and Johnson combined with Luke Thomas and Jackson Mussler for a time of 1:24.49, coming in about a second ahead of the field. Then, in the 400 freestyle relay, Cooper Tyler, Thomas, Jack Anderson, and Smith touched in 3:03.63, dominating the race to come in over 4 seconds ahead of the 2nd placed team. 

Highlands High School’s Mac Russell was also a multi-event winner, claiming titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle. In the 50 freestyle, Russell touched in a time of 20.34, slicing a half second off of his entry time for the victory. Russell also dropped time in the 100 freestyle, where he finished in a time of 44.66 to come in .4 under his best time for the season. 

Other Event Winners:

• Elizabethtown’s John Hayes came in 3 seconds under his best time in the 200 freestyle, winning the event in a time of 1:38.09.
• Beechwood’s Eli Shoyat dropped a second in the 500 freestyle, posting a final time of 4:24.39 en route to victory.
• In the 1m diving event, St. Henry’s Aidan Stigall put up a score of 465.75 points to beating the field by over 30 points.