Nate Bryan

Special to Courier Journal

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Led by their individual medalist trio of junior Holden Smith and seniors Will Cole and Connor Kang, St. Xavier won their 32nd consecutive Pannell Swim Shop/KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships boys team title Saturday night at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center.

"Those guys are just so consistent," St. Xavier coach Todd Larkin said of Smith, Cole and Kang. "It's just so rare for high-school students to have that kind of passion and put that kind of effort and put that kind of energy into a program. They're phenomenal and they do an incredible job. They're team players, they're class acts and they're incredible athletes."

St. Xavier, which has won 56 team titles overall, tied Jacksonville (Florida) Bolles for the country’s longest current streak of state swimming and diving titles. Bolles won its 32nd straight title last November.

"This is very special and this is a unique group of swimmers and teammates," Kang said. "So it's a special one, especially being my last year. Over the past four years, this team has grown and shaped up to feats that I could have never imagined. I'm really pleased with it."

Larkin, a 1986 St. Xavier graduate and an alum of one of the country's most prestigious high school programs for any sport, has led the Tigers' last 11 state titles.

"Every year is different and every team is special," Larkin said. "When you have the tradition like we do, we just really try to stress and try to make sure that every team has their own identity and this team really delivered. Our season goal was to max our potential and we came here to our biggest meet and did just that."

St. Xavier just missed a 400-point win over runner-up Highlands, 592-193. Even without a top-four individual finisher, Trinity still took third with 153 points. Buoyed by its 200-yard freestyle relay, Eastern was seventh with 100 points.

"Obviously we want to win state, but this year we really wanted to aim for loftier goals," said Cole, noting the Tigers should be in the running for a virtual national championship based on times in NFHS state meets. "This year we wanted to win the national championship and one goal is to win that. But we don't know yet if we won."

The Tigers started off with a bang, as Smith, an Alabama commit, teamed with the senior trio of Ethan Highley, Cole, a Virginia signee and Yale-bound Kang to win the 200 medley relay in a state record time of 1.28.96. It was the fifth time in six years St. Xavier won the state title in the event. Kang and Cole helped set the previous record (1:30.17) in 2018.

More:St. Xavier swimming could tie a record for consecutive state titles. How they became the best

It was Kang's third career 200 medley relay gold and Cole's second.

Smith notched his first individual title of the night by edging Kang, last year's state champ, in the 200 individual medley by 0.29 seconds. Smith made it 3 for 3 by winning the 100 butterfly by almost a second over sophomore teammate Luke Thomas and 1.32 seconds over St. Xavier junior Jackson Mussler as the Tigers took the top three podium spots.

"I swam great. I'm pleased with it, but there's still a lot to work on, personally," Smith said. "So I'm not quite satisfied. But it was some good races and I'm very glad the Lord gave me the opportunities that he did today."

Cole, the state's top-ranked boys swimmer in the CollegeSwimming.com power recruiting rankings, beat Highlands junior Mac Russell by 2.2 seconds to become just the second St. Xavier competitor to win the 100 free state title in the last 22 years. Later, Cole defended his 2019 100 backstroke title by more than a second over Scott County senior Kaleb Brannock. St. Xavier sophomore Charlie Crush was third, while Mussler was fourth.

Cole became a four-time winner in the 400 freestyle relay by teaming with Smith, Anderson and Thomas.

"I don't know if anyone else has done it. I'm not sure," Cole said. "But it's pretty impressive and I take a lot of pride in it, especially with the history of our program."

Kang and Highley earned their second titles of the night by teaming with Thomas and Mussler to win the 200 free relay by more than four seconds over South Warren. Kang just missed a third gold by finishing runner-up to Highlands junior Jack Banks in the 100 breaststroke by 0.09 seconds. Banks broke the Louisville metro area's 16-year stranglehold on the event and became the first Northern Kentucky winner since Bellevue's Russell MacDonald in 2001.

Also:Sacred Heart swimmers set the pool on fire, capture eighth straight state championship

One of St. Xavier's future stars, freshman Will Scholtz, was fourth in the 100 breast and fourth in the 200 IM as the Tigers racked up three of the top four spots in the 200 IM.

Collegiate junior Alex Brehm -- who was also third in the 100 breast -- tied Greenwood junior Luke Shourds for the silver medal in the 50 free in 20.98, 0.25 seconds behind Russell.

Russell became the first non-Louisvillian to win the event since 2009 (Eric Bruck of Lexington Paul Dunbar) and the first competitor from Northern Kentucky to win the event since 1973.

Eastern's foursome of sophomores Ben Wafford and Cason Henderson and seniors Jake Cole and Keegan Henderson were third in the 200 free relay.

Elizabethtown sophomore John Hayes took the 200 freestyle title in 1:37.24 after finishing third in the event last season.

Hayes became a double winner on the night by defending his 2019 title in the 500 free over St. Xavier sophomore Jack Anderson by almost two seconds.

Team results (top 10 and other Louisville-area schools): 1. St. Xavier 592; 2. Highlands 193; 3. Trinity 153; 4. Bowling Green 132; 5. Paul Dunbar 106; 6. South Warren 102; 7. Eastern 100; 8. Covington Catholic 93; 9. Elizabethtown 76; 10. Greenwood 70.5; 16. Collegiate 45.5; 19. Male 26; 22. Christian Academy 21; 24. North Oldham 19; 33. DuPont Manual 8; 37. Ballard 3; 39. Collins 2.

200-yard medley relay: 1. St. Xavier (Will Cole, Connor Kang, Holden Smith, Ethan Highley) 1:28.96; 2. Highlands (Jack Banks, Tyler Brown, Mac Russell, Harrison Pawsat) 1:37.75.

200 freestyle: 1. John Hayes (Elizabethtown) 1:37.24; 2. Jack Anderson (St. Xavier) 1:39.07; 3. Neal Wolfram (South Warren) 1:40.31; 4.Cooper Tyler (St. Xavier) 1:41.69.

200 individual medley: 1. Holden Smith (St. Xavier) 1:47.62; 2. Connor Kang (St.Xavier) 1:47.91; 3. Jackson Millard (Henry Clay) 1:51.31; 4. Will Scholtz (St. Xavier) 1:51.67.

50 freestyle: 1. Mac Russell (Highlands) 20.63; 2. Alex Brehm (Collegiate) 20.98' 3. Luke Shourds (Greenwood) 20.98; 4. Charlie Crush (St. Xavier) 21:19.

1-meter diving: 1. Jude Dierker (Covington Catholic) 525.65; 2. Aidan Stigall (St. Henry) 486.45; 3. Conner Twyman (479.70); 4. Reid Noonan (Lexington Catholic) 478.30.

100 butterfly: 1. Holden Smith (St. Xavier) 48.01; 2. Luke Thomas (St. Xavier) 48.97; 3. Jackson Mussler (St. Xavier) 49.33; 4. Kaleb Brannock (Scott County) 49.56.

100 freestyle: 1. Will Cole (St. Xavier) 43.61;; 2. Mac Russell (Highlands) 45.81;3. Cooper Tyler (St. Xavier) 46.69; 4. Calyx Holmes (Ashland Blazer) 47.36.

500 freestyle: 1. John Hayes (Elizabethtown) 4:26.37; 2. Jack Anderson (St. Xavier) 4:28.24; 3. Eli Shoyat (Beechwood) 4:31.32; 4. Neal Wolfram (South Warren) 4:40.88.

200 freestyle relay: 1. St. Xavier (Luke Thomas, Connor Kang, Jackson Mussler, Ethan Highley) 1:24.06; 2. South Warren (Logan Hughes, Drew Wolfram, Cody Ell, Neal Wolfram), 1:28.33.

100 backstroke: 1. Will Cole (St. Xavier) 46.92; 2. Kaleb Brannock (Scott County) 48.62; 3. Charlie Crush (St. Xavier) 48.78; 4. Jackson Mussler (St. Xavier) 50.86.

100 breaststroke: 1. Jack Banks (Highlands) 55.65; 2. Connor Kang (St. Xavier) 55.74; 3. Alex Brehm (Collegiate) 55.75; 4. Will Scholtz (St. Xaver) 56.52.

400 freestyle relay: 1. St. Xavier (Holden Smith, Luke Thomas, Jack Anderson, Will Cole) 3:00.47; 2. Highlands (Sam Jones, Will Griffith, Jack Banks, Mac Russell), 3:10.76.