2025 NSAA Swimming & Diving Championships
- February 27 – March 1, 2025
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- SCY (25 yards)
- Meet Central
- Meet Results
The Omaha Marian and Lincoln East boys won the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) swim & dive state titles over the weekend, both emerging after close battles with the defending champions.
The Marian girls scored 330 points to top defending champion Westside (315), with the two teams having tied for the title in 2023. The win for Marian was their first sole victory since 2021.
The Lincoln East boys secured their first title in 37 years, accumulating 334 points to best two-time defending champion Creighton Preparatory (316.5).
Lincoln East has finished as the runner-up at the state meet eight times since their last win in 1988, including last season behind Creighton Prep.
GIRLS’ RECAP
The performance of the meet came from Omaha Marian junior Meredith Peyton, who reset the state record in the girls’ 100 fly in the prelims and then re-lowered it in the final.
Peyton clocked 54.46 in the prelims and then got down to 54.27 in the final, lowering the previous record of 54.48 set by Lincoln Southwest’s Kaitlyn Witt in 2018 and defending her title.
Peyton also won a repeat title in the 200 free (1:50.27), setting a new lifetime best, and played a key role on two of Marian’s three relay victories.
In the 200 medley relay, Marian’s Lauryn Kounovsky (27.62), Easton Glandt (28.51), Peyton (24.35) and Charlotte Holcomb (24.25) combined for a time of 1:44.73, edging out Westside (1:45.02) which had a blistering 23.02 anchor from senior Piper Hagen.
In the 400 free relay, the Marian quartet of Lucy Johansen (53.67), Alaira Hadford (51.67), Kounovsky (54.04) and Peyton (50.15) pulled out another close win over Westside, as Peyton’s anchor pulled the team ahead of Westside’s Hagen (51.33) as they won by just over half a second, 3:29.53 to 3:30.07.
Marian also won the 200 free relay, with Johansen (24.63), Hadford (23.61), Holcomb (24.56) and Glandt (23.26) clocking 1:36.06 to top Lincoln East (1:36.51).
“In the fall, we were talking about our goals,” Omaha Marian coach B.J. Christiansen said. “We were talking about what we wanted to accomplish and they just put their heads down and did it all season long. All that work paid off. When you come to championship Saturday, you’ve got to get your hand on the wall first.
“From start to finish, they did it.”
Along with Peyton, two other swimmers won both of their individual events in the girls’ meet, one of them being her teammate Glandt.
Glandt, a senior and FGCU commit, defended her title in the 200 IM (2:03.24) with a new best time and also won the 100 breast (1:03.54) after placing 2nd last year.
Also winning two events was Millard North freshman Leah Inman, who completed the sprint double, claiming the 50 free (23.33) and 100 free (50.97), both in personal best fashion (she set a PB of 23.32 in the 50 free prelims).
Also winning on the day was Marian senior Hadford in the 500 free (4:58.08) and Elkhorn freshman Alice Ogura in the 100 back (55.97).
A few days earlier, Papillon-LaVista’s Lily Sherman won the 1-meter diving title with a score of 439.20, leading the field by more than 22 points.
Team Scores – Top 5
- Marian, 330
- Westside, 315
- Lincoln East, 238
- Elkhorn, 225.5
- Millard South, 152
BOYS’ RECAP
Things could’ve been much different in the boys’ meet had Creighton Prep not been disqualified in the prelims of the 200 free relay, as Lincoln East ended up walking away with a 17.5-point margin of victory in the end.
Leading the way for Lincoln East were three swimmers who scored over 30 points individually: senior Jadeon Carter, sophomore Eje Kim and senior Carson Agnew.
Carter, who is committed to Nebraska Omaha, defended his title in the 500 free in a time of 4:39.09, and he also finished as the runner-up in the 200 free (1:41.45) after winning last year.
Topping the 200 free was Westside senior Jack Boerner, who emerged over Carter in a close race in a personal best time of 1:41.16. The Swarthmore commit also placed 3rd in the 100 free in a PB of 46.76.
Kim came out on top in the 100 back in a PB of 49.73, having finished 4th as a freshman. He also placed 4th in the 100 free (47.23) to score 35 points.
Another Omaha commit, Agnew was the state champion in the 100 breast (55.53) after finishing 3rd in 2024, and he added a 6th-place finish in the 100 free (47.65) to score 33 points for Lincoln East.
Lincoln East’s lone relay win came in the 200 free relay, as Agnew (21.52), Braxton Frederick (22.09), Mason Kassebaum (21.73) and Carter (21.07) clocked 1:26.41 to top runner-up Westside (1:26.97).
Creighton Prep senior Ryan Mendlick and Millard South senior Mason Zadina were the two swimmers to sweep their individual events.
Mendlick, a Boston College commit, defended his title in the 100 free (45.19) and also won the 200 IM (1:51.06) after setting a best time of 1:50.46 in the prelims.
In the 200 medley relay, Mendlick anchored in 20.03 to lead Creighton Prep to victory in the 200 medley relay (1:32.40), edging out Westside (1:32.56) and Lincoln East (1:32.73).
At the end of the meet in the 400 free relay, Mendlick led off in 45.53 as Creighton Prep won the race comfortably in 3:06.53.
Committed to Omaha for next fall, Zadina won the 50 free (20.37) and 100 fly (48.67) with a pair of personal best times (20.36 in 50 free prelims), and he also set a 100 free PB leading off Millard South’s 400 free relay in 46.10.
Lincoln High’s Colin Farr won the 1-meter diving title with a score of 432.20 after he was the runner-up last season.
Team Scores – Top 5
- Lincoln East, 334
- Creighton Prep, 316.5
- Westside, 296
- Millard North, 188
- Fremont, 140
