Charlotte Crush Earns Double Three-Peat At Kentucky State Meet

2025 KHSAA State Swimming & Diving Championships

• Lexington, KY
• Feb. 20-22
• SCY (25 yards)
• Girls results
• Boys results

It was more of the same in the team portion, with St. Xavier winning its 37th straight title and 61st overall, while Sacred Heart won its 13th straight title and 35th overall.

There was also the combined score in the team competition, which was won by Ryle.

GIRLS’ RECAP

Once again, the competition was “Crush-ed.” Charlotte Crush, a Tennessee commit from Sacred Heart High School, set a pair of state records in being named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the meet.

Crush broke state records in the 100 butterfly (50.88) and the 100 backstroke (50.15), making it a three-peat in each event at the state meet.

Those times were actually a bit off her personal bests of 50.13 in the butterfly and 49.46 in the backstroke.

Crush then anchored Sacred Heart’s winning team in the 400 freestyle relay, which finished with a time of 3:23.76. Other team members were Ava Grazziani, Eli Summa and Sydney Green.

Sophomore Kinley Jones also won two events, winning the 50 freestyle (23.54) and 100 freestyle (51.41) events.

Another noteworthy individual performance came from an eighth grader.

Kennedy Brooks from Paul Laurence Dunbar finished second in 50 freestyle with a time of 23.61, just .07 behind Jones. Brooks also finished fourth in the 100 backstroke in a time of 54.97.

Other individual winners besides Crush and Jones were:

• Grazziani. The junior from Sacred Heart and Alabama commit won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:48.80, defending her title from the previous year.
• Kate Braeger. A junior from Louisville Christian Academy and Stanford commit, she won the 200 IM in a time of 1:59.75.
• Sydney Leslie. After a third-place finish last year, the sophomore won the diving event this year with 477.05 points.
• Clare Herfel. A freshman from Covington Notre Dame, Herfel won the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:51.22. Hanna Schmidt. The senior from Sacred Heart and Auburn signee won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:01.67.

West Jessamine captured the other two relays. The team of Shelby Gaddis, Caroline DeLong, Amelia Lee and Margaret Wilson won the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:47.39. The same crew (but a different order of Wilson, DeLong, Gaddis and Lee) won the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:37.40.

Girls’ Team Standings – Top 5

1. Sacred Heart, 371
2. Notre Dame, 249
3. Assumption, 171
4. West Jessamine, 137
5. Highlands, 125

BOYS’ RECAP

Michigan signee Alex Thiesing and Virginia signee Thomas Mercer, both from St. Xavier, ended their high school careers in style.

Thiesing set a record in the 200 freestyle (1:35.04), beating the mark of 1:35.76 set by Aldan Johnson in 2018. Thiesing also won the 100 freestyle in a time of 43.82.

Mercer broke his own state record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:43.61, beating the old mark by .07 seconds. Mercer then won the 100 backstroke in a time of 47.55.

Mercer and Thiesing were also a part of St. Xavier’s winning teams in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

Mercer swam leadoff and Thiesing anchor for the 200 medley relay team that finished with a winning time of 1:28.32. Wilson York and Boone Wilcox were other team members.

Mercer also swam leadoff and Thiesing anchor in the 400 freestyle relay, which St. Xavier won with a time of 2:58.56. Clay Baumann and Carter Rankin were other team members.

Other individual winners were:

• Sawyer Tapp. A senior from Trinity who has signed with Cincinnati, Tapp won the 50 freestyle in a time of 21.12.
• Graham Leslie. A sophomore from Lexington Catholic who finished third last year as a freshman, Leslie won the diving competition with 549.65 points.
• Tucker Bailey. The junior from Oldham County won his first state title in the 100 butterfly in a time of 48.50.
• Clay Baumann. A senior from St. Xavier who will swim for Cornell, Baumann won the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:28.71.
• Wilson York. A freshman from St. Xavier, he won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 54.54, just shy of his lifetime best set at Winter Juniors – East (54.44).

Boys’ Team Standings – Top 5

1. St. Xavier, 481.5
2. Trinity, 258
3. Ryle, 181
4. Henry Clay, 142
5. Highlands, 118

Combined team results

1. Ryle, 305.5
2. Highlands, 243
3. Lafayette, 213
4. West Jessamine, 207
5. Henry Clay, 151