Indian Hill Sophomore Jason Zhao Breaks Ohio DII State Record in 500 Free with 4:24.01

2023 OHIO HIGH SCHOOL STATE SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – DIVISION II

On Friday night, Indian Hill sophomore Jason Zhao broke an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division II record that had stood untouched for nine years.

Zhao cruised to victory in the 500-yard freestyle by more than five seconds with a time of 4:24.01, lowering the previous Division II mark of 4:24.31 set by Dayton Oakwood’s Brock Turner back in 2014.

Zhao has been even faster in the 500 free, blazing a 4:23.31 to make the A-final at Winter Juniors in December. Last year as a freshman, the Maston Manta Rays club swimmer placed second in the 100 free and third in the 200 free. This year, Zhao also helped Indian Hill secure a pair of relay victories in the 200 medley relay (1:32.62) and 400 free relay (3:05.52). He recorded a 24.70 breast split on the 200 medley relay before splitting 44.76 on the 400 free relay.

Zhao’s teammate, Indian Hill senior Gibson Holmes, earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for pulling off three-peats in both the 100 fly (47.69) and 200 IM (1:45.23). The Stanford commit was slightly faster during prelims as well as during his victories last year, when he set Division II records in the 100 fly (56.77) and 200 IM (1:44.59). Holmes also joined Zhao on both of Indian Hill’s winning relay squads, splitting 20.91 on the butterfly leg for the 200 medley relay and anchoring the 400 free relay with a 43.97 split.

Despite five event wins, Indian Hill still finished runner-up in the team standings with 172 points behind Hunting Valley University School’s 290.5. Hunting Valley University School only placed first in one event (200 free relay, 1:25.93), but the program placed five swimmers in the top four and prevailed thanks to its depth.

Other individual standouts included Dover senior Lucas Lane, who swept the 100 free (45.12) and 200 free (1:36.81). Springfield Kenton Ridge senior Evan Blazer triumphed in the 50 free (20.45) while taking second in the 100 free behind Lane. Plain City Jonathan Alder senior Eli Stoll claimed the 100 back title in 48.82, edging Wiloughby Andrews Osborne junior Krys Gorski by .05 seconds.

Cincinnati Hills Christian senior Logan Ottke defended his 100 breast state title (54.89) while also clocking a new personal best in the 100 fly (48.20) during his runner-up finish behind Holmes. One freshman captured an individual state title: Huron diver Maximus Wasiniak, who totaled 485.90 points on the 1-meter.

Team Scores

  1. Hunting Valley University – 290.5
  2. Cincinnati Indian Hill – 172
  3. Gahanna Cols Acad. – 131.5
  4. Dayton Oakwood – 124
  5. Rocky River – 114

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About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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