Data fall, postseason prep begins at 2026 Southwest Ohio Classic

The Southwest Ohio Classic is a Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend custom in Cincinnati. It’s billed as the most important high school swimming meet of its variety within the nation and has produced a number of the best swimming moments on this metropolis’s historical past.

The 2026 version was no totally different. Over two days at 11 totally different websites, swimmers and divers labored to proceed their spectacular seasons whereas additionally utilizing the weekend as a tune-up for the fast-approaching postseason.

Here are 5 of the most important storylines from this yr’s meet. Complete outcomes might be discovered here.

Kings senior Maya Schweikert set for postseason swimming dominance

The Kings senior and Georgia signee recorded one of many best performances in meet historical past, breaking 4 meet information, two of which she set final yr.

She received the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly in back-to-back trend on Saturday, however had just a little extra time in between her 200-yard particular person medley and 200-yard backstroke victories on Sunday.

“I was just thinking about my training and what I’ve been training for, and trying to keep my technique and strategy together and do what I’ve been practicing. I think that I executed that really well,” Schweikert stated.

She is the two-time defending Division I 100-yard backstroke state champion and received the 100-yard butterfly in 2025 however could swap up her postseason routine this time round. She referred to as the person medley a psychological problem however is beginning to like that occasion.

“Honestly, I do better with no expectation. It’s kind of just getting in and swimming. So keeping that up and not having the expectations, just practicing what I’ve been practicing. You have no idea what you’re capable of until you do it,” Schweikert stated.

Additional multi-event winners embrace St. Xavier’s Chase Grisi, Mason’s Bella Teply and Dana Fairbanks, Roger Bacon’s Reese Reilly, Milford’s Brady Campbell, Elder’s Reese Morgan and Springfield Shawnee’s Madi Lee. All besides Campbell, Morgan and Lee are seniors, showcasing simply how deep this yr’s senior class is. Expect to see the vast majority of these names atop the rostrum in Canton within the final weekend of February.

“We have a lot of great athletes in our senior class this year and it’s always exciting to see everybody swim fast and show what Cincinnati can do as a whole,” Reilly stated.

The Roger Bacon senior and Duke signee is the two-time defending DII 100-yard breaststroke winner and set a faculty document within the 100-yard butterfly this season. She missed the meet document by one-tenth of a second however received her second occasion of the weekend after claiming the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday.

“Just a few things that I could clean up, like my walls. But overall, I think it was a good swim and that the rest of the season has a lot of potential, too,” Reilly stated.

Can Ursuline ladies replicate third-place end at 2025 state meet?

The race for the ladies staff title was tight on the prime as Mason received with 445 factors, St. Ursula recorded its third runner-up end in 4 years with 414 factors and Ursuline got here in third with 400 factors.

“We want to continue the momentum moving into the end of the season, but it’s so hard to tell what the future holds. We see two of the best teams right here, right now, so it’s a really good gauge to see what what we’re getting into and what we have to play with,” head coach Grace Seibert stated.

The Lions additionally took third place on the 2025 DI state meet with 169 factors, simply 26 behind Mason. It was their finest end since they claimed back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. They have been bolstered by now-seniors Melia Eckman, Alyssa Uhlman and Grier Gordon, and junior Norah Smyth successful the 400-yard freestyle relay however have a number of key contributors making their method by means of the ranks.

While Eckman received the 50-yard freestyle, freshman Kaia Pohlmeyer took second place within the 50-yard breaststroke. Junior Maisie Moran can be a promising backstroke and particular person medley swimmer.

“Even though we have a lot of seniors, I think we have a lot of depth that can help carry us through,” Seibert stated.

Brady Campbell in search of extra historical past at Milford

Campbell turned Milford’s first swimming state champion when he claimed the 2025 DI 50-yard freestyle. He additionally swam on the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays that positioned third, the best relay finishes at school historical past.

At the 2026 Southwest Ohio Classic, he received the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard butterfly. The breaststroke is his latest stroke however as one of many prime swimmers within the state, he caught on to it naturally.

“I kind of just got into it last year at our conference meet. I found out I have a passion or a liking for it and ever since, I’ve just been working on it in practice,” Campbell stated.

Still only a junior, he stated certainly one of his occasions within the postseason will certainly be the butterfly, the place he was the 2025 state runner-up. In the subsequent few weeks, he’ll discover his choices for which freestyle distance he’ll contest.

“This season’s been great for me. I’ve opened a bunch of doors for those different distances. For the freestyle, it’s still kind of up in the air. The 50, 100 and 200, they all have great competition and I’ve just been getting better at all three,” Campbell stated.

Mason boys rapidly on the rise

Following within the footsteps of the ladies program, the Comets boys staff confirmed over the weekend that it ought to contend for a second straight prime 5 placement on the state meet.

Mason really led St. Xavier within the staff standings heading into the ultimate occasion, however a Bomber win within the 400-yard freestyle relay noticed them preserve their Southwest Classic undefeated streak alive. The margin between St. Xavier and Mason was one of many closest in meet historical past, with the Bombers successful with 703 factors to Mason’s 696.5.

“We’ve been super excited ever since state last year. We’ve had a goal, since a lot of us are seniors and juniors, to make this year as special as possible,” Mason senior Aidan Jansen stated.

Last yr’s state staff consisted of 5 juniors (Jansen, Ethan Tu, Robert Wall, Liam Clark, Yassin Ghobril) and 5 sophomores (Mulenga Cole, Noah Kirk, Samyak Ramchandre, Max Vazquez, Austin Zhong). All made worthwhile contributions over the weekend. Even sophomore Jake Xu, who swam within the 500-yard freestyle prelims as a freshman, has improved. He received the Southwest Classic 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:11.42, overtaking St. X’s Alex Nixon halfway by means of the race.

“We’ve got a lot of events with a lot of guys that are really good, and even with the four person limit on the lineup, it’s gonna be hard because we’ve got so many people who are so good,” Jansen stated.

Nine Southwest Ohio Classic meet information damaged

The two finals classes noticed a number of the quickest instances in meet historical past as seven meet information have been damaged in Saturday night time’s finals session and two extra fell on Sunday night time, together with the oldest document in meet historical past.

• Girls 200-yard freestyle: Michelle Dean, Bellbrook, 1:47.57 (beforehand set by Finneytown’s Buffy Kreiger with a time of 1:48.64 in 1985)
• Boys 200-yard freestyle: Chase Grisi, St. Xavier, 1:36.39 (Jason Zhao, Indian Hill, 1:37.41, 2025)
• Boys 50-yard freestyle: Brady Campbell, Milford, 20.06 seconds (Aaron Sequira, Walnut Hills, 20.18 seconds, 2020)
• Girls 500-yard freestyle: Bella Teply, Mason, 4:51.01 (Amanda Smith, Indian Hill, 2007, and Zoe Thatcher, Mason, 2013, 4:53.1)
• Boys 200-yard freestyle relay: St. Xavier, 1:21.47 (St. Xavier, 1:22.42, 2017)
• Girls 100-yard backstroke: Maya Schweikert, Kings, 53.23 seconds (Schweikert, 53.28 seconds, 2025)
• Girls 100-yard butterfly: Maya Schweikert, Kings, 53.51 seconds (Ella Jo Piersma, Seven Hills, 55.1 seconds, 2022)
• Girls 200-yard particular person medley: Maya Schweikert, Kings, 2:00.41 (Jenny Forster, Centerville, 2:01.15, 2005)
• Girls 200-yard backstroke: Maya Schweikert, Kings, 1:55.33 (Schweikert, 1:56.93, 2025)