One set a national record in a relay event, while the other continued a dynasty in one of the country’s biggest swimming hotbeds.
As a result, the 2025 Swammy Award winners for High School Team of the Year are the Santa Margarita girls’ team and the Bolles boys squad.
The Santa Margarita girls won their sixth consecutive California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I championship back in May.
Santa Margarita was led by current Cal freshman Teagan O’Dell, the 2023 World Junior Champion in the 200 backstroke.
O’Dell ended her high school career by winning the 200 IM in a time of 1:53.96 and the 100 back in a time of 51.27.
O’Dell was a part of two winning relay teams. She first swam a leadoff leg of 22.39 to help Santa Margarita win the 200 free relay in 1:31.55. Other team members were Chloe Stinson (22.94), Victoria Mori (23.86) and Gracyn Aquino (22.36).
Later, O’Dell swam a leadoff leg of 48.61 to help Santa Margarita win the 400 free relay in 3:22.76. The other team members were Eileen Song (51.74), Valentina Delgado (51.25) and Sammy Cummins (51.16).
Santa Margarita also won the 200 medley relay behind the team of Aquino (25.70), Song (29.31), Stinson (24.16) and Mori (23.03).
Santa Margarita was the only team at the meet to clear 200 points, accumulating 229.5 to win by 82 over 2nd-place San Ramon Valley.
The Bolles boys earn Team of the Year honors for the second straight year after setting a national record in the 200 medley relay at the Florida 1A State Championships.
The team of Krish Jain (21.95), Michigan commit Lucas Young (24.37), Harvard commit George Dovellos (21.03) and NC State commit Liam Carrington (19.32) clocked a time of 1:26.67, breaking the previous record of 1:26.75 set earlier in the year by Hindsdale in Illinois.
It was the 17th time in the last 18 years that the bolls 200 boys’ medley relay team won the state title.
Bolles ended up dominating the meet, winning nine events and amassing 619 points to win its 38th consecutive state championship.
Duke commit Charlie Zuhoski won the 200 IM in 1:47.03, Lussier captured the 50 free in 20.24, Dovellos claimed the 100 fly in 47.25, Carrington topped the field in the 100 free in 42.66, Jain won the 100 back in 47.36 and Thi Rai claimed the 100 breast in 53.44. All those swimmers won in personal best times.
In the 200 free relay, the team of Carrington, Dovellos, Lussier and Duke commit Ethan Bathala won in a time of 1:20.29.
Bolles also won the 400 free relay in a time of 2:55:23 behind the team of Dovellos, Carrington, Georgia commit Nicholas Kwan and Zuhoski.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- The Carmel girls’ team continued its long reign atop the state in Indiana, winning its 39th consecutive state championship. Carmel was led by Alex Shackell, who became the first swimmer in state history to claim four straight state titles in the 100 fly. Shackell, who swam in the preliminaries for the U.S. 4×100 medley relay team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Games, ended her high school career winning 14 state titles, seven of which were individual. Over the summer, she was named the Female National Athlete of the Year by MaxPreps.
- The St. Xavier boys team continued its dynasty in Kentucky, claiming its 37th straight state championship and 61st overall. St. Xavier was led by current Michigan freshman Alex Thiesing and current Virginia freshman Thomas Mercer. Thiesing set a state record in winning the 200 freestyle (1:35.04), breaking the old mark of 1:35.76 set in 2018 by Aldan Johnson. He also won the 100 freestyle in 43.82. Mercer broke his own state record in the 200 IM, finishing with a time of 1:43.61 to top his old record by seven one-hundredths. Mercer later won the 100 backstroke in 47.55. Both Thiesing and Mercer were a part of winning teams in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
- 2024 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Girls & Bolles School (FL) Boys
- 2023 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Girls & Keller (TX) Boys
- 2022 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Boys
- 2021 Swammy: Bolles School (FL) Boys
- 2020 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Boys
- 2019 Swammy: Baylor School (TN) Girls
- 2018 Swammy: Fossil Ridge (CO) Girls
- 2017 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Girls
- 2016 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Girls
- 2015 Swammy: Carmel (IN) Girls
Regardless of recruitment (or not), hell of a team and hell of a season! Congrats to both teams.
*sHoULdN’t cOuNt, tHeY rEcRuiT*
Just to clear it up – 1) We can’t and don’t recruit because we compete against public schools (unlike private schools that compete in their own leagues). 2) We don’t have to recruit when athletes/families WANT to be part of the program.
3) Development is our game. Look at the progressions of the guys on that medley relay since they’ve arrived at Bolles:
Jain (100BK): 54.4 (‘22) > 47.0 (now)
Young (100BR): 57.4 (‘22) > 53.5 (now)
Dovellos (100FL): 57.6 (‘21) > 46.8 (now)
Carrington (100FR): 47.5 (‘23) > 42.3 (now)
Literally nobody is saying it shouldn’t count.
I mean. A kid who went a 57.5 in 100 breast before high school is a good starting point!
Those time improvements are a little inflated… he put there times from freshman/middle school years
When else would they be from?
so what do you go to international meets like carfita for… to just say hi to everyone?
Poster boy