The Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II swimming state championships get underway in Canton with the preliminary round on Thursday morning, Feb. 26 before the finals take place on Friday night.
In 2025, Cincinnati’s athletes won 12 events and the CHCA girls and Ross boys finished as team runners-up. While that group of schools may not see that same level of success this week, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about this year’s group of state qualifiers.
Here’s a complete event-by-event rundown of the DII state swimming meet as it pertains to Southwest Ohio.
200-yard medley relay
On the girls side, Indian Hill, CHCA and Roger Bacon all have top-eight seed times. Madeira and Seven Hills could contend for spots in the championship final while Summit Country Day is on the bubble for the consolation final. Mariemont also has a starting block for Thursday’s prelims.
On the boys side, Mariemont and Madeira ran away with the top two spots at the district meet and should find the state meet podium (top eight). Wyoming could appear in the consolation final. Indian Hill enters with the 24th and final seed time.
200-yard freestyle
Cincinnati’s first swimming state title could come in this race. Wyoming’s Ansley Neff enters with the second-best seed time, just 0.03 seconds behind Carroll’s Brooklyn Talley. McNicholas’ Emma Rosenbaum and Madeira’s Lauren Klosterman also have top-eight seed times. Julia Crumback (Waynesville), Samantha Stedronsky (Madeira), Madison Zortman (Seven Hills), Bella Zaring (SCD) and Ada Dopeke (Seven Hills) are also on the start list.
Seven Hills’ Danny Beyerbach has the second-best seed time entering the prelims, but it is one second behind Oak Harbor’s Austin Sorg. Ross senior Luke Mignery should give Cincinnati a second swimmer in the championship final. Badin’s Auggy Newberry and Mariemont’s Desmond Noone are on the bubble for the consolation final, and Clinton-Massie’s Jack Clark, Madeira’s Max Welty, Seven Hills’ Colin McNerney, Roger Bacon’s Matt Schomaker and Madeira’s Drew Schau are all on the start list.
200-yard individual medley
CHCA’s Lila Gregory should improve on her seventh place finish in 2025. She has the second-best seed time at 2:05.42. Seven Hills’ Marissa McNerney (2:06.53), Roger Bacon’s Reese Reilly (2:06.61) and Indian Hill’s Gabby Henz (2:06.87) are right behind her. Mariemont’s Chelsea Noone, Indian Hill’s Libby Holmes and CHCA’s Sophia Fink could give Cincinnati seven of the top eight finishers in the IM. Wyoming’s Amelia Auger and Madeira teammates Savannah Homm and Ella Tinsler are also on the start list.
Ross junior Timmy Pfirrman enters with the top boys seed time. Madeira’s Charlie Hambidge and Wyoming’s Joss Hogenesch could join him in the championship final. Roger Bacon’s Fritz Russell and Cincinnati Country Day’s Jason Starodub should swim in the consolation final.
50-yard freestyle
While there aren’t any Cincinnati girls with a top-eight seed time CHCA’s Posey Sollmann’s district time of 24.55 seconds is just 0.13 seconds away from the eighth-best seed time. Indian Hill’s Brynne Pontius and Roger Bacon’s Brenna Huber could appear in the consolation final. Pontius’s teammate, Kate Wallbrown, has a lane in the prelims.
Mariemont’s Quinn Heis has the second-best seed time, 0.13 seconds behind that of River Valley’s Levi Priddy. Danny Beyerbach and Wyoming’s Noah Fent should join him on the state podium. Corbin Heis and CHCA’s Jonah Bowling have seed times on the fence between the two finals. Wyoming’s Jake Calvert also has a preliminary lane.
100-yard butterfly
Emma Rosenbaum and Lila Gregory went stroke-for-stroke for the district title and should do so for the top local spot in this race. Brynne Pontius and Cincinnati Country Day’s Delaney Gorman should contend for a spot in the championship final. Libby Holmes should appear in the consolation final and Ella Tinsler, Indian Hill’s Sophie Tindale, Roger Bacon’s Helen Russell, Wyoming’s Kate Chrapliwy, Seven Hills’ Ellie Krause and Wyoming’s Kayla Fent all have lanes in the prelim.
Luke Mignery enters with the top seed time, good for fourth place on the psych sheet. Max Welty should also make the championship final. Expect to see Jonah Bowling and possibly Fritz Russell in the consolation final.
100-yard freestyle
Ansley Neff could be a two-time state champion by night’s end; her seed time of 51.19 seconds is tied with Hathaway Brown’s Josephine Piliang. Posey Sollman, Julia Crumback and Wyoming’s Corinne Cline have a solid chance to swim in the consolation final. Bella Zaring is on the bubble with the 18th-best seed time. Kate Wallbrown, Seven Hills’ Mary Sellinger, Fenwick’s Hadley Dissel, and Badin’s Callie Gibbons will take the starting blocks in the prelims.
Quinn Heis figures to be the lone Cincinnati swimmer as he owns the fifth-best seed time. Noah Fent has a solid chance to swim in the consolation final while his teammates, Jake Calvert and Willem Hogenesch, will swim in the prelims.
500-yard freestyle
Marissa McNerney should be safely in the championship final and, if Lauren Klosterman can duplicate the district performance that gave her a 9.5-second personal best in this distance, she will join McNerney. Ada Doepke, CHCA’s Teagan Stover and possibly Badin’s Addy Tatum will appear in the consolation final. Madeira’s Isla Muroski, Williamsburg’s Taylor Sefton and SCD’s Caroline Mulvihill at, at the very least, swim in the prelims.
Auggy Newberry and Clinton-Massie’s Jack Clark should appear in the championship final, as should Matt Schomaker if he can improve his time for the second meet in a row. Joss Hogenesch and Colin McNerney appear headed for the consolation final while Indian Hill’s Owen Quinn has a lane in the prelims.
200-yard freestyle relay
The Wyoming and CHCA girls appear to be safe bets to swim in the championship final. Indian Hill is currently on the outside looking in, but only by 0.49 seconds in terms of seed time. Summit Country Day should appear in the consolation final. Roger Bacon will also appear in the preliminaries.
Led by the Heis brothers, the Mariemont boys can contend for the state title. Ross and Wyoming should appear in the championship final, and Madeira has a chance to join them.
100-yard backstroke
Chelsea Noone appears to be the only Cincinnati swimmer destined for the championship final, but Wyoming’s Willow Adams has an outside chance to make it. Callie Gibbons, Samantha Stedronsky and Delaney Gorman should make the consolation final. Teagan Stover, Corinne Cline, Hadley Dissel and Badin’s Aria Nichols will appear in the prelims.
Jason Starodub owns the top seed time among Cincinnati boys and should be joined by Charlie Noone in the championship final. Noone’s teammate, Jack Brenner, could make the top eight as well. Madeira’s Drew Schau will swim in the prelims.
100-yard breaststroke
Reese Reilly is the two-time defending champion and the overwhelming favorite to win a third straight. She also owns four individual school records. Gabby Henz should join her in Friday night’s final. Sophia Fink and Savannah Homm should swim in the consolation final. Madison Zortman, Amelia Auger, SCD’s Haley Baker and Caroline Mulvihill, Seven Hills’ Avery Clayton and CHCA’s Julia Molina will swim in Friday morning’s prelims.
Corbin Heis appears to be the only Cincinnati swimmer destined for the championships final. If Charlie Hambidge’s and Timmy Pfirrman’s seed times hold, they’ll appear in the consolation final. Willem Hogenesch and Indian Hill’s Tristan Hoalst are also on the start list.
400-yard freestyle relay
Indian Hill’s girls enter with the second-best seed time but it is six seconds behind that of Hathaway Brown. Wyoming should join the Braves in the championship final. Roger Bacon, Seven Hills, CCD and Badin are next in line in terms of seed time.
The Wyoming boys have the top local seed time in the final event of the night, but again, it is off the pace set by Lake Catholic and Hunting Valley University School. Madeira will need a good prelim time to hold their spot in the championship final, while Ross should earn a lane in the consolation final. Roger Bacon will appear in the prelims.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Southwest Ohio Division II swimming state championships preview
Reporting by Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
