Three individual state champions, two of whom won two events each, and three anchors of Upper Arlington’s third consecutive Division I team championship squad highlight The Dispatch’s 2025-26 All-Metro girls swimming and diving team.
Eleven of the 12 honorees have appeared in multiple state meets, and the 12th might be poised to join that club.
The Athlete of the Year in each sport – 30 in all – will be announced at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards on June 22 at Upper Arlington High School.
Maren Berg, Upper Arlington
The junior and North Carolina commit was state runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle (23.09 seconds) and fourth in the 100 free (50.62) – an event in which she repeated as district champion (50.28). Berg, a three-time state qualifier who also won the 50 free at district in a meet-record 22.85, anchored UA’s state-title 200 free (1:33.67) and 400 free (3:25.21) relays.
Alexa Briseno, Gahanna Lincoln
The Division I district champion in the 100 backstroke (54.79) and runner-up in the 100 free by 0.05 of a second, Briseno was third at state in both the 100 back (54.85) and 100 free (50.2). The sophomore also anchored the Lions’ sixth-place 400 free relay (3:32.88) and led off the seventh-place 200 free relay (1:37.06).
Olivia Crock, Watkins Memorial
A senior who has signed with Cleveland State, Crock was Division I district champion in the 200 free (1:52.7) and runner-up in the 500 free (5:01.98) before placing seventh (1:52.55) and fourth (5:02.31), respectively, in those events at state. The three-time state qualifier, who was fifth in the 500 free as a junior and sixth as a sophomore, earned her first top-eight finish in the 200.
Sophie Dankof, Bexley
One of several talented underclassmen for the Lions, who finished third in the Division II state meet for the second year in a row, Dankof won district in the 100 back (58.31) and was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.4). At state, the sophomore was fourth in the 100 back (57.92) and ninth in the 100 breast (1:05.45) and led off the second-place 200 medley relay (1:45.67).
Katie Drummond, Bexley
The sophomore enjoyed a stellar season despite coming up 0.26 of a second shy of repeating as Division II state champion in the 50 free. Drummond won the event at district (23.26) and was second at state (23.21), and in the 100 butterfly was first at district (55.98) and third at state (55.83). She also was on the 200 medley relay and third-place 400 free relay (3:35.65).
Riley Hollingsworth, Upper Arlington
A three-time state qualifier, Hollingsworth was on the winning 200 medley (1:42.99) and 400 free relays and finished fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:05.87) and sixth in the 100 fly (55.12). A junior, Hollingsworth was district champion in the 100 fly (55.05) and runner-up in the 200 IM (2:03.38).
Brooke Nagy, Olentangy
A sophomore sprint specialist and two-time Division I state qualifier, Nagy was third in the 50 free (23.43) and fourth in the 100 fly (54.99) on the season’s final weekend after placing third (23.5) and second (55.14), respectively, at district. Nagy, who was fourth in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 free at state as a freshman, also was on the Braves’ third-place 200 free relay (1:35.24) and sixth-place 200 medley relay (1:46.48).
Leah Nebraska, Olentangy Berlin
The Akron signee finished her high school career with two Division I state championship swims, winning the 50 free (22.84) and 100 free (49.98). A three-time state qualifier who was seeded second and fourth, respectively, for those events at state, Nebraska was district runner-up in the 50 free (23.16) and third in the 100 free (53.98). She also was on the Bears’ seventh-place 200 medley at state (1:47.95).
Alexis Peltcs, Hilliard Darby
A senior and three-time state qualifier who has signed with Purdue, Peltcs was Division I district champion in the 100 breast (1:03.28) and fourth in the 200 IM (2:05.03) before finishing third (1:02.04) and fourth (2:03.87) in those events at state. Peltcs was breaststroke state champion and runner-up in the IM as a sophomore.
Sammy Petroff, New Albany
The freshman diver capped a dominant season by sweeping the Division I district and state championships, winning district with 504.15 points and state with 480.4. Petroff was the first big-school diving champion for central Ohio since Olentangy Liberty’s Olivia Lynch in 2020 and first for her program since Nikki Watters in 2016. The top five finishers were all from the Columbus area.
Kiera Powers, Upper Arlington
The sophomore won her first state championships, taking the 200 IM (1:59.79) and 500 free (4:55.92). She also led off the winning 200 free and 400 free relays, securing UA’s third straight team title and 15th all-time. Powers also swept her events at district (2:01.11 and 4:56.49, respectively) and was the No. 1 seed in both at state. She was seventh in the 200 free and eighth in the 500 free at state as a freshman.
Lily Schneider, Jonathan Alder
The Southern Indiana signee and four-time Division II state qualifier dominated the 100 breast in her prep career, winning district (1:03.96) this winter before placing second (1:02.96) at state, 0.27 of a second out of first place. Schneider, who reached state in the breaststroke every year, also excelled in the 200 free, finishing third at district (1:57.43) and eighth (1:57.38) at state.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Ruslan Gaziev, Watterson
A former Ohio State and Canadian national swimmer in his second year as head coach, Gaziev has helped steer a remarkable turnaround for Watterson.
Two years after the Eagles had only one Division I state qualifier and did not score as a team, they had four individual qualifiers, advanced all three relays to state and finished 10th overall – 42 places better than a year ago. That came a week after Watterson placed second in the district meet, its best finish since tying for second in 2012.
A native of Moscow who was raised in Toronto, Gaziev was a four-time first-team All-American in the 100 free and 200 and 400 free relays with the Buckeyes. He also was a two-time first-team all-Big Ten swimmer and eight-time honorable mention All-American. Gaziev participated in the 2021 Olympic Games with Team Canada, helping the 400 free relay to fourth place.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
