Eagles Cap Breakthrough State Run With First Relay Finals Since 2018
St. Edward closed out a milestone week at the 2026 OHSAA Division I State Swimming & Diving Championships in Canton, returning to the state stage for the first time since 2020 and advancing a relay to finals for the first time since 2018. The Eagles finished 43rd overall out of 51 boys teams but made their impact in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events, highlighted by one scoring relays and individual swims from junior sprinter Sam Gibson.
Gibson led the way in the individual events, placing 29th overall in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.60 and 30th in the 100-yard freestyle in 48.36. Both swims came in deep state fields dominated by future Division I college prospects, and Gibson’s performances helped set the tone for the Eagles’ relay efforts later in the session. His consistency across both distances gave St. Edward a reliable presence in the middle lanes against the state’s fastest.
St. Edward’s biggest breakthrough came in the relays, where the quartet of Luke Potts, Gibson, KC LaRue and Julian Wolke reached the B final in both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays. The 200 free relay delivered its best performance of the season in prelims, clocking 1:26.96 to earn the 13th spot in the consolation final. The time marked a season-best effort and underscored the Eagles’ development in sprint depth over the course of the year.
The same foursome returned in the 400 free relay and again advanced to the B final in 14th, finishing 15th overall. St. Edward nearly matched its program benchmark from the previous week, touching just 0.3 seconds off its recent standard with a 3:12.85. The narrow margin underscored how close the Eagles came to another record-level swim and reflected the relay’s ability to maintain speed at the end of a long state meet schedule.
Beyond the times and places, the weekend in Canton carried significant program meaning for St. Edward. This season marked the first time since 2019 that an Eagles relay qualified for the state meet and the first time since 2018 that a relay advanced to finals. The return of both a 200 and 400 free relay to championship Saturday signaled a resurgence in the program’s depth and competitiveness on the state level.
Against a field that featured state-leading performances and multiple State and meet-record swims from perennial powers such as Columbus St. Charles and Upper Arlington, St. Edward’s presence in multiple events and finals represented an important step forward. With Gibson, Potts, LaRue and Wolke gaining state experience together on relays, the Eagles positioned themselves for continued growth in the coming seasons while reestablishing the program among Ohio’s Division I qualifiers.
