The fastest swim meet in Ohio took place from February 18-22 at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. The Ohio Swimming and Diving State Championship, better known simply as “State,” hosts the fastest high school swimmers, all vying for the chance to win big and find the top step of the podium. To even make it to State, swimmers have to advance through both the Sectional and District level meets by being one of the top 32 athletes at their respective locations.
This year, the SHS swim team had a grand showing, with 15 swimmers competing across all events. By the conclusion of the meet, SHS Girls Swimming finished 7th in the State—their best finish since 2015—while SHS Boys Swimming ended in 20th. The Leaf editors interviewed swimmers Eleanor Hardy, 10, and Matt Xie, 11, to gain an inside look at the exciting, stressful, and difficult aspects of competing at State.
Well before the meet, Hardy and Xie had to prepare and stick to a strict training regimen. Hardy said that leading up to state, “typical training days were changed and toned down in intensity a lot.” In the two weeks before State, she “went from swimming eight times a week to five times, lifting three times a week to lifting none. Hardy also made sure she was “drinking SO much water, and [eating] no sweet treats.”
In fact, preparation was one of the hardest parts of the entire meet for Xie. “The weeks before when I was training for the meet and my stroke wasn’t where I wanted it,” was most stressful for him, but luckily his “training was very personalized thanks to the coaches.”
In regards to their own performance at the meet, each swimmer went in with different goals. Hardy laments that before her 100-yard butterfly, she knew she “only had one shot to do [her] best, and seeing so many people watching was very stressful.” When she dove in, she “tried not to worry a lot” and just wanted to “try [her] best and have fun.”
At the meet, both swimmers agreed that watching the final event, the Men’s 400 Free Relay, was the most exciting part. “It was so loud and everyone was going crazy when St. Charles came out of nowhere and won the event, winning the meet,” said Hardy. For context, St Charles Preparatory School beat out reigning state champions, St. Xavier, by one point for the coveted state title. Xie recalled that “St. X got ‘Lezaked’ by [St. Charles swimmer] Austin Carpenter who out-split the last leg by 2 seconds to win the meet.”
Xie also shared how fun and lively the SHS swim team atmosphere is. He enjoyed “team bonding events, rides to and from meets, meets, and staying and gaming in the hotel” with teammates. Hardy agreed and said, “My favorite part about being a member of the [SHS] swim team is for sure the people. I’ve made so many friends because of the swim team, and so many fun memories. I am definitely going to miss the seniors a lot this year!”
Looking forward to next year’s season, both swimmers are striving to make it even further at the State meet. Hardy wants to “final at State in 100-yard butterfly and maybe another event like 500 or 200-yard freestyle,” while Xie hopes be on the “multiple relays podium next year,” and to “personally podium in the 100-yard breaststroke.”
In regards to the whole SHS swim team, Hardy is also “looking forward to continuing new team traditions that were started this year with the creation of the new pool.” Finally, as Xie dives in for his senior season, he will be “bringing all the good vibes and hype,” and he would like to “bring more people to the state meet its an experience that can not be topped.”
Congrats to Matt Xie, Elanor Hardy, and the entire SHS State & Swim Team for an incredible season. We cannot wait to see what you achieve in the coming season!