’25 NC State Commit Max Carlsen Leads Palo Verde Boys to 10th-Straight Nevada 5A State Title

2024 NIAA 5A State Swimming and Diving Championships

• May 18th, 2024 (Swimming)
• Pavilion Center Pool (Swimming) 
• Las Vegas, NV 
• SCY (25y)
• Timed Finals
• Meet Central
• PDF Results
• 3A Recap
• 4A Recap

The 2024 NIAA Nevada High School State Swimming and Diving Championships concluded on Saturday with swimming action happening at the Pavilion Center Pool in Las Vegas, NV. The series is split up into three classes: 3A (and under), 4A, and 5A, which did not begin until 2022 following two cancelled state meets in 2020 and 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify for each class’ respective state meet, the top four finishers from each individual/relay event move on from each class’ two regional championships. The 4A finals session concluded on Thursday, and Saturday morning featured 3A finals.

The class 5A state swimming finals session sounded off on Saturday evening. The Coronado girls won their 3rd-straight 5A team title by ten points over Faith Lutheran. On the boys side, Palo Verde finished 40 points ahead of Coronado for their 9th-consecutive title, keeping their streak going since 2013.

5A GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Coronado, 94
2. Faith Lutheran, 84
3. Reno, 65
4. Palo Verde/McQueen, 57
5. –

5A BOYS TEAM SCORES

1. Palo Verde, 104
2. Coronado, 64
3. Faith Lutheran/Reed, 58
4. –
5. Bishop Gorman, 49

GIRLS FINALS HIGHLIGHTS

Powering the Coronado girls’ meet back-half to the 2024 team title was their freestyle relay sweep, taking both the 200 free relay (1:38.83) and 400 free relay (3:34.13), their third year in a row accomplishing this feat.

In the 100 back, Ana Schulz pulled out an individual win for Coronado, touching the wall at 57.13. Another Coronado athlete, Kacey Hu, successfully defended her 2022 and 2023 5A titles on the 1-meter diving boards.

Faith Lutheran’s Summer Mudadu won two 5A titles on Saturday as a freshman. She first edged out Coronado’s Schulz for the narrow 200 free win by a 1:51.54 to 1:51.79 margin. Mudadu then dominantly won the 500 free at 4:56.71, with defending champ Reno’s Addison Sala settling for second at 5:05.79. Reno’s Sala did go on to successfully defend her 200 IM 5A title with a time of 2:05.11.

Mudadu’s 25.93 butterfly split also powered Faith Lutheran to the 200 medley relay title at 1:48.71.

McQueen’s Izzy Porter also swept both sprint freestyle events, with the inclusion of defending her 2022 and 2023 50 free 5A titles. In that 50 free final, Porter won with a time of 23.76, the only swimmer to break 24 seconds. Porter then pulled away on the back-half of the 100 free final to win by half a second at 52.54.

Also defending her own 5A state title was Spanish Springs’ Katie Zboinski, who took out the 100 breast win at 1:05.02. Palo Verde’s Veronica Avra rounds out the girls 5A individual champions with her 100 fly win at 57.36.

ALL GIRLS 2024 NIAA 5A SWIMMING CHAMPIONS

• Girls 200 Medley Relay: Faith Lutheran, 1:48.71
• Girls 200 Free: Summer Mudadu (Faith Lutheran), 1:51.54
• Girls 200 IM: Addison Sala (Reno), 2:05.11
• Girls 50 Free: Izzy Porter (McQueen), 23.76
• Girls 1-Meter Diving: Kacey Hu (Coronado), 485.85 pts
• Girls 100 Fly: Veronica Avra (Palo Verde), 57.36
• Girls 100 Free: Izzy Porter (McQueen), 52.54
• Girls 500 Free: Summer Mudadu (Faith Lutheran), 4:56.71
• Girls 200 Free Relay: Coronado, 1:38.83
• Girls 100 Back: Ana Schulz (Coronado), 57.13
• Girls 100 Breast: Katie Zboinski (Spanish Springs), 1:05.02
• Girls 400 Free Relay: Coronado, 3:34.13

BOYS FINALS HIGHLIGHTS

Palo Verde junior Max Carlsen took on two individual 5A titles, aiding his team’s 9th-consecutive title win. Carlsen, a 2025 NC State commit and Winter Juniors champion, defended both his 200 free and 500 free 5A titles from last year. In the 200 free, Carlsen swam 1:37.56, winning by over 5 seconds and coming in 0.04s within the 2011 5A state meet record of 1:37.52. Carlsen then won the 500 free at 4:21.37, with Faith Lutheran’s Noah Mudadu also breaking 4:30 at 4:29.60.

Carlsen’s 100 free time marked a new personal best, eclipsing his former 1:38.39 PB from the March 2024 Sectionals Series. This year’s swimming finals facility at over 3,000 feet altitude, which gives Carlsen a good shot at bettering his lifetime best at NC State. At this year’s ACC Championships, it took 1:36.63 to make the top-24 finalists. At the same meet, Carlsen set his 500 free personal best of 4:19.16, only two seconds off pace at this year’s 5A state meet.

Palo Verde’s team win was also powered by their double freestyle relay sweep, winning both the 200 free relay (1:29.09) and 400 free relay (3:08.35). For the 400 free relay, this marks Palo Verde’s third-consecutive year winning the final relay of the high school state event line-up.

Faith Lutheran’s Mudadu earlier won the 200 IM final at 1:53.00, holding off Palo Verde’s Owen Carlsen (1:53.88), committed to Utah this fall. Mudadu was also featured in Faith Lutheran’s winning 200 medley relay (1:36.92).

Reed’s Hunter Dawson swept both sprint freestyle titles on Saturday. Dawson first won the 50 free at 21.11, following up from his regionals seed time of 20.87. Then, Dawson took the 100 free title, shutting out Palo Verde’s O. Carlsen by 0.06s with a 46.41 to 46.47 margin. Centennial’s Corbin Cole took third place at 47.26.Centennial’s Cole then went on to defend his 100 back 5A title with a 50.75, faster than his 2023 winning time of 51.26.

Bishop Gorman’s Valentino Montegrande easily won the 100 fly final at 50.36 while Coronado’s Parker Woodward won the last individual event, the 100 breast, at 57.92.

Looking at the diving results from Friday, Bishop Manogue’s Quinn Dyson successfully defended his 1-meter 5A title.

ALL BOYS 2024 NIAA 5A SWIMMING CHAMPIONS

• Boys 200 Medley Relay: Faith Lutheran, 1:36.92
• Boys 200 Free: Max Carlsen (Palo Verde), 1:37.56
• Boys 200 IM: Noah Mudadu (Faith Lutheran), 1:53.00
• Boys 50 Free: Hunter Dawson (Reed), 21.11
• Boys 1-Meter Diving: Quinn Dyson (Bishop Manogue), 473.55 pts
• Boys 100 Fly: Valentino Montegrande (Bishop Gorman), 50.36
• Boys 100 Free: Hunter Dawson (Reed), 46.41
• Boys 500 Free: Max Carlsen (Palo Verde), 4:21.37
• Boys 200 Free Relay: Palo Verde, 1:29.09
• Boys 100 Back: Corbin Cole (Centennial), 50.75
• Boys 100 Breast: Parker Woodward (Coronado), 57.92
• Boys 400 Free Relay: Palo Verde, 3:08.35