St. Xavier Boys Win Title #13, Sophomore Scotty Buff Drops 100 FL Record – 46.5

OHIO HS DIV. I BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 26, 2021
• Canton, OH
• Short course yards (SCY)
• Timed finals
• Results

The St. Xavier boys were on a quest to win their 13th consecutive Ohio HS Division I title this evening, but they were met by an upstart Mason team who tested them the first half of the meet.

TEAM SCORES

1. St. Xavier – 261.5
2. Upper Arlington – 190
3. St. Ignatius – 147
4. Mason – 145
5. St. Charles – 135

Mason got the first win, taking a close one in the 200 medley relay over Hoover, 1:31.17 to 1:31.58. Mason junior Carl Bloebaum was 21.40 on the fly leg, while senior Braden Osborn tracked down three teams with a 20.03 anchor leg. For Hoover, senior Karl Helmuth was 24.51 on the breast leg. Third went to Kings in 1:31.59, just a hundredth behind Hoover, with a 22.83 lead-off from junior Kevin Glennon, while Ignatius was fourth at 1:31.89 getting a 21.09 fly leg from senior Tyler Hong.

Mason was in seventh, though, after the 200 IM, until Osborn clocked a 20.23 to win the 50 free title and help pull Mason into fourth.

St. Francis (Toledo) sophomore Scotty Buff soared to the 100 fly win, breaking Jean-Pierre Khouzam’s state record of 47.01 in a time of 46.59. That’s an otherworldly swim for 16-year-old Buff, who broke 48 for the first time ever with that swim. He was well ahead of second-place Bloebaum (47.89), while Kings’ Glennon was third in 48.76. Thanks to Bloebaum and junior Elijah Devyak (49.57), who took fifth, Mason pushed into first place by six points over St. Xavier.

Buff jumps to #8 all-time in the 15-16 age group with that swim.

ALL-TIME 100 FLY RANKINGS, 15-16 BOYS

1. Luca Urlando – 45.62 (2018)
2. Aiden Hayes – 46.01 (2019)
3. Michael Andrew – 46.23 (2015)
4. Camden Murphy – 46.25 (2015) / Ethan Hu – 46.25 (2018)
5. –
6. Landon Gentry – 46.41 (2020)
7. Ryan Hoffer – 46.42 (2014)
8. Scotty Buff – 46.57 (2021)
9. Brendan Burns – 46.61 (2018)
10. Alex Valente – 46.99 (2014)

In the 500 free, St. Xavier opened up a giant lead, as they touched in third, fourth, seventh and eighth. The 500 went to Dublin Coffman junior Zac Stump at 4:28.06. In the next event, they finished second in the 200 free relay to Upper Arlington, 1:21.76 to 1:22.61. Voss was 19.77 anchoring Upper Arlington, while St. Xavier senior anchored them in 19.95.

By now, St. Xavier had regained a lead and then extended it, and they’d hold that up through the end of the meet.

St. Xavier was second in the 400 free relay in 3:03.35 to clinch the title, their 13th-straight, with a 44.16 anchor from Taylor.

OTHER WINNERS

• Ignatius senior Tyler Hong slammed down a 1:46.54 in the 200 IM to win by over three seconds.
• Beavercreek junior Dillon Edge clocked a 1:38.17 to win the 200 free as the top six finishers went under 1:40. Edge returned to help Beavercreek to the 400 free relay win, leading off in 45.50 as junior teammate Ethan Otten split a 44.99 on the third leg.
• In the 100 free, Upper Arlington senior Avery Voss and St. Charles junior Spencer Aurnou-Rhees were both under 45 seconds. Voss won in 44.47, while Aurnou-Rhees was 44.92.
• The 100 back saw two sophomores break 48 seconds, one of them the 100 fly winner Buff. Firestone’s Jonny Marshall took it in 47.41, a touch-out at the wall over Buff (47.48).
• Hoover’s Helmuth took the 100 breast in 54.62, with Upper Arlington sophomore Grant Gooding in second (55.02).