State records fell to Gabi Albiero, Will Cole, Hunter Tapp and Lexington Catholic’s 200 free relay in a tough Kentucky high school state meet.
Girls Meet
Sophomore Annabel Crush won a meet-high four events as the Sacred Heart girls more than tripled the points of runner-up Dixie Heights.
Crush opened the meet by leading off the winning 200 medley relay. She joined junior Claire Donan, junior Emily Lenihan and senior Allison Bauer to go 1:40.88 – just two tenths off of Sacred Heart’s own state record from 2016.
Two events later, Crush won the 200 IM in 1:59.23, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Sacred Heart. (Donan was second in 2:02.80 and freshman Madeline Meredith third in 2:04.10). Deep into the meet, Crush won the 100 back in 53.02 (two tenths off of Asia Seidt’s state record) and then returned to lead off the winning 400 free relay. Crush’s 50.68 leadoff leg handed off to Lenihan, Bauer and Donan to go 3:22.85 – yet again just a tenth off a 2014 Sacred Heart state record.
Sacred Heart also got a 100 breast title from Donan in 1:01.97. The team swept the relays, using Meredith, Karson Dickinson, Caroline Pape and Mary McAtee to win the 200 free relay in 1:34.79 – that’s within seven tenths of the state record.
Christian Academy of Louisville junior Gabi Albiero was the top individual performer. She went 22.63 to win the 50 free, breaking her own state record by a hundredth of a second. She also went 53.12 in the 100 fly, winning by more than a full second.
Tates Creek senior Rachel Klinker won two events. Her 1:47.34 was the top 200 free time by a full second, and she added a 4:52.11 win in the 500 free.
Other event winners:
- Henry Clay’s Van McKinley won diving. The junior scored 473.40 points.
- Assumption freshman Ella Welch paced the 100 free, going 49.94 and getting within two tenths of a state record.
Top 5 Teams:
- Sacred Heart Academy – 568
- Dixie Heights – 139
- DuPont Manual – 117
- Louisville Collegiate – 114
- Assumption – 105.5
Boys Meet
St. Xavier junior Will Cole tied a Nicolas Albiero state record in the 100 back, helping power St. Xavier to the Kentucky boys title.
Cole went 47.23 in that race, tying Albiero’s record from 2017. Albiero is now a sophomore standout at Louisville. St. Xavier won five events in all, including an individual double for Cole. His 1:36.91 topped the 200 free by more than a full second.
Fellow St. Xavier junior Connor Kang won the 200 IM in 1:47.00 – just two tenths off a state record. Kang beat the reigning state record-holder, Lexington Catholic’s Zach Hils, head-to-head. Hils was 1:48.54, well off his 1:46.83 from last year.
St. Xavier also got a 100 fly win from Holden Smith in 49.11. The combination of Smith, Kang, Cooper Tyler and Cole won the 400 free relay in 3:04.80.
Hils lost the IM, but did power Lexington Catholic to two huge relay wins. Swimming fly on the medley, he joined Matt Menke, Thomas Strother and Scott Scanlon to go 1:30.38, missing the state record by two tenths of a second. Hils also led off the 200 free relay in 20.89, joining Menke, Smith Dicken and Scanlon to go 1:21.96 and smash the state record by almost two seconds.
Trinity’s Hunter Tapp was perhaps the individual standout. The senior cracked 20 seconds to win the 50 free, going 19.93 and sneaking under the existing state record by just .01. Interestingly, Tapp also beat the reigning record-holder: Will Tarvestad, who was 20.22 for second. (Tarvestad went 19.94 last year). Tapp also won the 100 free in 43.16, breaking his own state record by eight tenths of a second.
Other event winners:
- Covington Catholic’s Logan Smith won diving. The senior scored 518.75 points.
- ET’s John Hayes took the 500 free in 4:31.48. Hayes is just a freshman, and is only about eight seconds off a 6-year-old state record.
- Alex Brehm of LCOL won the 100 breast, going 55.84.
Top 5 Teams:
- St. Xavier – 482
- Lexington Catholic – 249
- Highlands – 194
- Trinity – 152
- Covington Catholic – 138
