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Live updates | State titles pile up at Friday’s Ohio, Kentucky state swimming, diving meet

Published

10 months ago

February 21, 2025

Live updates | State titles pile up at Friday’s Ohio, Kentucky state swimming, diving meet

Follow along as the Cincinnati Enquirer covers the 2025 Ohio High School Athletic Association and Kentucky High School Athletic Association state swimming and diving meets.

Brendan Connelly and Tony Tribble are at Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium for the Ohio meet while Jack Schmelzinger and Emory Davis are covering the Kentucky meet at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatics Centre. Friday’s action includes Division II finals in Ohio and girls diving and swimming finals in Kentucky. Saturday’s action will include Division I events in Ohio and boys events in Kentucky.

Be sure to refresh this story to see updates, videos, photos and more from The Enquirer’s sports staff.

The Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy group of Taylor Bacher, Posey Sollman, Sophia Fink and Julia Shafer are 400-yard freestyle relay state champions after a monster final leg by Shafer. Other finishers: Wyoming, fourth; Indian Hill, seventh; Seven Hills, eighth.

Connor Bennett of Ross High School won the 100-yard breaststroke in 55.61 seconds. Also swimming in that event were: Weichu Wang, Cincinnati Country Day (fourth), Cooper Stenken, Wyoming (sixth) and Henry Stimson, Seven Hills (seventh).

Connor Bennett of Ross High School wins 100 breaststroke at state meet

Connor Bennett of Ross High School won the 100 breaststroke in 55.61 seconds in the OHSAA state swimming and diving meet, Feb. 21, 2025.

Ross High School’s Cooper Burt won the 100 backstroke in a new Division II state record of 48.28 seconds. He broke old record by 0.01 seconds. Purcell Marian’s Leo Gustavsson took sixth.

Ross’s Cooper Burt breaks a state record in the 100-yard backstroke

Ross High School’s Cooper Burt won the 100 backstroke in a new DII state record of 48.28 seconds Feb. 21, 2025. He broke old record by 0.01 seconds.

Roger Bacon’s Reese Reilly won back-to-back state titles in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1.01.89 on Feb. 21, 2025, in Canton. Taylor’s Corine Rieskamp took third while Indian Hill’s Habby Henz finished fifth.

Roger Bacon’s Reese Reilly wins 100 breaststroke state title

Roger Bacon’s Reese Reilly won back-to-back state titles in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1.01.89 on Feb. 21, 2025, in Canton.

Wyoming’s Willow Adams took sixth in the 100-yard backstroke while Mariemont’s Chelsea Noone took seventh.

Notre Dame Academy’s Clare Herfel won the KHSAA state championship in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:58.62. Close behind her in second was teammate Sadie Hartig. Finishing sixth was Liv Wallace and eighth, Danaka Tucker, both NDA swimmers.

Reece Yauger of Ryle took third place in the 100-butterfly while Beechwood’s Ryon Argo finished seventh.

Keira Kobida of Highlands, the only Northern Kentucky athlete to participate in the 100-freestyle final,will take home fifth place.

Wyoming girls led the three Cincinnati relay teams in the 200-yard freestyle by placing third, with CHCA (fourth) and Summit Country Day (eighth) following.

Indian Hill boys placed second in the event by just .03 seconds. They touched the wall in 1:25.52. Wyoming’s relay finished seventh in the event.

In the girls 500-yard freestyle, Mariemont’s Julia Bohl finished fifth; Marissa McNerney, Seven Hills, finished sixth and Madison Stecher, Roger Bacon, finished eighth.

For boys, Indian Hill’s Arjun Velayutham finished third and Seven Hills’ Colin McNerney finished seventh.

Taylor senior Corine Rieskamp took sixth in the 50-yard freestyle.

Purcell Marian senior Leo Gustavsson took third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.64.

In the 200 individual medley, Reese Yauger (Ryle) took fourth, Ryon Argo (Beechwood) took fifth, Gabriella Stephens (Ryle) seventh and Abby Carnes (Notre Dame) eighth.

Sarah Jones of Highlands took fifth in the 50-yard freestyle race.

Notre Dame Academy had three swimmers in the 200 freestyle final. Sadie Hartig placed third, Clare Herfel fourth and Liv Wallace seventh.

See NKY state finalists’ final dive at OHSAA state championships

Seven Northern Kentucky divers were state finalists at the KHSAA state diving meet on Friday.

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Julia Shafer won the 100 freestyle in 50.77 seconds, her second individual win.

Wyoming’s Ansley Neff took third with a time of 51.84.

CHCA’s Julia Shafer wins the 2025 DII 100-yard freestyle state title

CHCA’s Julia Shafer wins the 100 freestyle in 50.77 seconds, her second individual win, at the OHSAA state meet Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Canton.

Notre Dame Academy took fourth in the 200-yard medley relay at the KHSAA state meet. Originally, the girls finished fifth until the top placer, Sacred Heart, was disqualified. Other Northern Kentucky schools in the race finished seventh (Dixie Heights) and eighth (Ryle).

Another CB got his second gold medal as Cooper Burt won the 100-yard butterfly in 47.72. His 200-yard medley relay team won gold earlier in the night.

Madeira’s Max Welty took eighth.

Cooper Burt of Ross wins 2025 DII 100-yard butterfly state title

Cooper Burt of Ross wins the 100-yard butterfly in 47.72 at the 2025 Ohio High School Athletic Association state swimming and diving meet in Canton.

Cooper’s Chris Nowak discusses placing fifth at KHSAA state diving

Cooper junior Chris Nowak finished fifth at the KHSAA diving championships and second among Northern Kentucky competitors with a score of 418.85.

Ross swimmer Connor Bennett got his second gold medal of the evening with a win in the boys 200-yard individual medley. His time was 1:49.32.

Ross’s Connor Bennett wins DII boys 200-yard IM state title

Ross High School’s Connor Bennett wins the boys 200-yard individual medley state championship in a time of 1:49.32 Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Canton.

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Julia Shafer wins the 200-yard individual medley with a final time of 2:01.71.

Other local finishers were: Reese Reilly of Roger Bacon (third), Lila Gregory of CHCA (sixth) and Sophia Fink, CHCA (eighth).

CHCA’s Julia Shafer wins the Division II 200-yard individual medley

CHCA’s Julia Shafer wins the 200-yard individual medley in a photo finish Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at C.T. Branin Natatorium.

Notre Dame Academy’s Savannah Bien finished third in the KHSAA state diving competition with a score of 435.80 to lead the seven Northern Kentucky girls to place in the top 16. Other top-16 placers: 5. Chris Nowak (Cooper) 418.85 7. Rylee Pernell (Scott) 376.5 8. Grace Hedger (Campbell County) 375.75 10. Addison Tinkler (Highlands) 369.00 13. Emmalee Albertson (Ryle) 332.50 and 16. Zoey Beagle (Scott) 306.15.

NDA diver Savannah Bien places third at 2025 KHSAA state meet

Notre Dame Academy sophomore Savannah Bien finished third at the 2025 KHSAA state diving tournament and first among Northern Kentucky competitors.

Indian Hill senior Jason Zhao wins the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:35.42.

Other locals in that race were Arjun Velayutham, Indian Hill (third) and Colin McNerney, Seven Hills (sixth).

Indian Hill’s Jason Zhao wins the 200-yard freestyle state title

Indian Hill’s Jason Zhao wins the 200-yard freestyle state title in a time of 1:35.42 on Friday, Feb. 21, at Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium.

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Taylor Bacher wins the 200-yard freestyle for the third year in a row with a time of 1:49:49. Other local finishers in this race were Ansley Neff, Wyoming (second), Emma Rosenbaum, McNicholas (fifth) and Julia Bohl, Wyoming (sixth).

She took second place in the 100-yard butterfly in 54.87 seconds in the final individual event of her high school career. McNicholas’ Emma Rosenbaum took eighth place in the event.

CHCA’s Taylor Bacher wins 200 freestyle for third consecutive year

CHCA’s Taylor Bacher wins the 200 freestyle for the third year in a row with a time of 1:49:49.

Ross High School’s Cooper Burt, Connor Bennett, Luke Mignery and Timmy Pfirmann won the boys 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:32.3, reports Brendan Connelly. Indian Hill took sixth and Seven Hills, eighth.

Ross boys relay wins 200-yard medley Ohio state title in 2025.

The Ross High School boys relay team of Cooper Burt, Connor Bennett, Luke Mignery and Timmy Pfirrman win the 200 medley relay in 1:32.3 Feb. 21, 2025

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy girls finished second in the first event of the 2025 state meet, followed by Indian Hill’s fourth-place, Seven Hills’ sixth-place and Roger Bacon’s eighth-place finishes.

Enquirer staff arrives in Canton

Four Southwest Ohio divers finish in the state’s top 10

The Ohio state championships kicked off Tuesday with the Division II diving competition, followed by Division I on Wednesday.

As such, the Ohio divers have already finished their season with three divers finishing in the top eight: West Clermont’s Bryce Cousins (fifth), Sycamore’s Simon Huth (seventh) and Anderson’s Bella Basford (eighth).

The KHSAA delayed Kentucky’s diving competitions earlier in the week because of the weather. The girls diving competition was rescheduled to 2 p.m. Friday ahead of the finals, scheduled for around 6:40 p.m.

Which Greater Cincinnati swimmers and divers qualified for the 2025 state meet?

Brendan Connelly provided previews for Ohio Division I, Ohio Division II and Northern Kentucky swimmers and divers heading to state. Here are the links:

Check out Greater Cincinnati photo galleries from major swimming contests in 2025

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Ohio

Ohio’s secretary of state shows “cognitive dissonance” on election integrity – again

Published

6 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Ohio’s secretary of state shows “cognitive dissonance” on election integrity – again

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is once again demonstrating that he operates not based on principles but on his loyalty to President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, say the hosts of the Today in Ohio podcast.

Tuesday’s episode took aim at LaRose’s recent announcement that Ohio is joining the EleXa Network, a system where states share voter data to combat fraud—nearly identical to the ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) system LaRose abandoned after MAGA criticism.

“This was the case that — for anybody that wanted to see it — showed just how lily-livered LaRose is, that he doesn’t stand for anything,” said Chris Quinn. He noted how LaRose was full-throated in supporting ERIC “until all of a sudden ‚the MAGA folks said it’s bad. And then like you said, hot potatoes.”

Lisa Garvin explained that LaRose had previously championed ERIC as an essential tool for maintaining accurate voter rolls and preventing fraud. However, when conservative media outlets began claiming the system favored Democrats and undermined election integrity, LaRose abandoned it—only to now join a nearly identical system with a different name.

Quinn didn’t hesitate to predict LaRose’s future behavior: “And watch, if MAGA comes out and says, ‘Oh, we hate this system,’ he’ll immediately turn tail again. And it shows you everything. He doesn’t stand for anything except supporting MAGA and the Republicans.”

Garvin said LaRose’s decisions are part of his pattern on election integrity.

“He’s always trumpeted the integrity of Ohio’s election system. And then he turns around and said, ‘well, there’s fraud everywhere.’” She said. “This is like cognitive dissonance?”

Both Eric and EleXa allow states to share information on people who may be registered in multiple states or who have died, helping to keep voter rolls accurate and prevent people from voting twice. Ohio is joining with nine neighboring states, including Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Of course, as podcast hosts noted, voter fraud is extremely rare.

Listen to the episode here.

Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.

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Leaders from dozens of states in Ohio to fight federal overreach

Published

18 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Leaders from dozens of states in Ohio to fight federal overreach

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio Statehouse hosted a historic gathering of legislative leaders from across the country Monday, discussing concerns about the increasing power of the federal government.

Senate presidents and House speakers from about 40 states met in the chambers of the Ohio House of Representatives, unanimously adopting a nonbinding declaration for the restoration of federalism and state empowerment.

“The states are not instrumentalities of the federal government; the states created the federal government, the states created the constitution,” said Bryan Thomas, spokesperson for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NSCL), which organized the assembly.

In addition to the federalism declaration, the inaugural Assembly of State Legislative Leaders unanimously adopted rules and frameworks for future assemblies. These rules were submitted by a bipartisan steering committee made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. Likewise, the Assembly’s proposal process requires bipartisan support in order to get a vote.

“Coming from a blue state and minority [party] in the current federal government, it’s really important for us to find partners to work with,” Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi (D) said. “What better partners than our fellow legislators?”

Ohio Speaker of the House Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has been working to organize an assembly of legislative leaders to reassert the tenets of federalism for years.

“What we’ve done in the last 50 years or so, I don’t think that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would recognize,” Huffman said. “There are some things that the states do better and some things that constitutionally the states are required to do.”

According to Thomas, there are several specific issues where many states feel their power has been usurped by the federal government—particularly with regard to Medicaid policy.

“With changes to Medicaid coming down the pipe from Congress, what is the state role?” Thomas said. “What flexibility can states have in administering this program?”

“Medicaid is the Pac-Man of the state budget. It is costing the state more and more money each year, it’s completely unsustainable,” Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said. “It’s necessary for us to have these conversations about Medicaid because every state’s dealing with the same challenges.”

The Assembly did not end up voting on a proposed declaration regarding Medicaid, which would have urged Congress to “avoid unfunded mandates” and assert that states should “retain the authority to customize eligibility, benefits, and delivery systems.”

Although Thomas said planning for the Assembly has stretched between presidential administrations, President Donald Trump has made several moves during the first year of his second term to assert federal authority over the states — most recently by signing an executive order limiting states’ ability to regulate AI, and attempting to pressure the Indiana state legislature into redrawing congressional maps.

“There’s no specific action here of the current administration or the past administration that spurred this,” Thomas said. “This is more about a real grounding in principles.”

“Anybody has the ability to voice their opinion or their concerns on a variety of these issues,” McColley said of Trump’s campaign to influence the Indiana legislature. “I think the administration is free to talk about it and be involved in the process.”

It is not clear when or where the Assembly will meet next, but Kouchi suggested a meeting could be held at July’s NCSL conference in Chicago. With a framework in place, Kouchi said he hopes the next assembly will get into the “meaty issues” concerning state legislative leaders.

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Why Ohio State is built to ‘wake up and move on’ from a loss before the College Football Playoff

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Why Ohio State is built to ‘wake up and move on’ from a loss before the College Football Playoff

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Breathe in. Breathe out.

The dust has settled on Ohio State football’s last contest: a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. Nearly 10 days have passed since the offensive line struggled to hold up, since the offense struggled to convert in the red zone and since the Buckeyes failed to accomplish one of their three major goals.

As is often the case at OSU, a loss is accompanied by anger, questions, concerns and aches.

“Sick to my stomach that we lost,” quarterback Julian Sayin said last week.

Now, after a week centered around College Football Playoff bracket debates and Heisman Trophy celebrations, Ohio State is looking to move on from the defeat in Indianapolis.

It should have little issue doing so.

The Buckeyes were in a similar, albeit more emotional and pressure-packed, situation last year. They entered the CFP off a loss, falling in shocking fashion to rival Michigan.

The final score of that contest: 13-10.

Ohio State went through some rigorous soul-searching, with coach Ryan Day and players having an emotional team meeting in which many on the roster expressed their frustrations with how the regular season ended.

The loss to Indiana isn’t as complicated. It’s simply a loss. However, the Buckeyes have experience flushing defeats before a postseason run.

“You’ve got to wake up and move on,” Day said.

As was the case last season, losing doesn’t diminish something apparent: Ohio State is a good team loaded with talent on its roster.

The Buckeyes are still betting favorites to go back-to-back this season, and statistics show why. They lead the nation in scoring defense and total defense while ranking in the top 25 of both categories on offense.

Ohio State has a slow and methodical approach on offense, but Day has expressed belief in his team’s ability to step on the pedal when appropriate. With Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith at receiver and Sayin under center, that belief shouldn’t falter.

“There’s still a bunch of guys in this room that know we can play with anybody in the country and beat anybody in the country when we’re on our game,” Day said.

The most pressing question left for Ohio State to answer before the CFP relates to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. The Buckeyes’ play-caller was hired ahead of the Big Ten title game as South Florida’s next head coach.

Hartline called plays against Indiana, according to Day, and the plan is for him to do the same in the CFP. If there are concerns about his ability to balance two jobs, Day has a solution: time

USF announced Hartline’s hiring three days before Ohio State took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. While also balancing the opening of the early signing period, Day had little opportunity to sit back and determine what was best for his offense.

The Cotton Bowl won’t present those challenges. Two-seeded Ohio State returns to action on Dec. 31 where it’ll meet the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami in Dallas.

By then, Day will have had time to take a breath, assess the situation and determine who will run his offense.

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