OSAA state swimming recap: Top highlights, best performances, memorable moments from 2022 championships

The Oregon high school swimming championships took place Friday and Saturday. Here's a look back at some of the best stories and memorable moments.

By René Ferrán| Photo by Taylor Balkom

The Oregon high school swimming championships took place Friday and Saturday at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.

Here's a look back at some of the best stories and memorable moments.

6A champions, placewinners, results

5A champions, placewinners, results

4A/3A/2A/1A champions, placewinners, results

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Class 6A Boys

Team scores

Lake Oswego 97.5

Jesuit 72

Lakeridge 71

Sunset 59

Nelson 53

South Eugene 37.5

McMinnville 33.5

Mountain View 26

Summit 25

Westview 24

A championship 28 years in the making: Lake Oswego ends Jesuit’s 6-year title run

The last time everyone gathered at the Tualatin Hills Swim Center for the OSAA state championships in 2020, the Lake Oswego boys barely had a presence. 

The Lakers scored one point — sophomore Dohyun Kim’s ninth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, barely a footnote as the Jesuit boys rolled to a sixth consecutive state title.

Kim returned to the state meet Saturday with plenty of company. The Lakers had 10 top-six seeds entered in the meet, and while they didn’t win an individual title, Kim swam on a couple of state champion relays to lead them to the program’s first championship since 1994.

“I knew this team was special to begin the year,” coach Geoff Marsden said. “I’m just happy I can be a part of it. They did all the work.”

Lake Oswego became the first team since Grant in 2010 to win a team title without an individual champion, making its title a true team effort. Kim posted the team’s best individual finish — placing second in the 100 breaststroke to city rival Andrew Huang of Lakeridge — but the Lakers had six swimmers score points in four events to go with their strong showing in the relays.

“It was just amazing watching them swim as a team and being so happy together,” Marsden said. “Two years ago, they were pretty good, pretty close. They were just young. It’s just a couple more years under their belt, swimming year-round — a big shoutout to LOSC (Lake Oswego Swim Club). They all did great today.”

The Crusaders edged Lakeridge for second place, marking an eighth consecutive top-two finish for the Southwest Portland powerhouse that saw two state champions from two years ago (seniors Nick Simons and Matthias Kruetzer) not return. Sunset took home the fourth-place trophy.

A strong opening act: Nelson wins first two titles in school history, narrowly misses podium finish

Mason Hopper knew entering the weekend that he had a chance to make history for Adrienne Nelson, the first-year school in Happy Valley.

The sophomore was the top seed in the 100 freestyle and a contender in the 100 butterfly, giving him two chances to become the school’s first state champion.

He took no chances and seized on the first opportunity, shaving almost 1½ seconds off his district-winning time in the 100 fly to take the title in 50.26 seconds, edging McMinnville’s Collin Bushey by 0.13.

“I wasn’t going super hard at districts,” Hopper said. “I know it was a week out, but I didn’t want to waste energy and go super-fast. I just wanted to get here. This is so awesome. I love it.”

Hopper then had about 10 minutes to get a quick cooldown swim before jumping right back into the pool for the 100 free. He nearly matched his district time but ended up a distant fourth to Mountain View phenom Diggory Dillingham.

“First and fourth, I’m super-happy with it,” Hopper said. “It’s amazing.”

An hour later, junior Quinlan Gould made it two state champions for the day for the Hawks, cutting more than four seconds off his district time in the 100 backstroke and winning in an All-American time of 48.93.

“I’m just really pumped for this meet,” Gould said. “I was really excited for state, and I felt like I put together a really good swim.”

With Hopper and Gould leading the way, the Hawks narrowly missed a podium finish, ending up four points behind Sunset for fourth. However, Gould already can’t wait for next season, when a strong freshman class joins the four swimmers and two relays that made the podium.

“This team could be really good next year,” Gould said. “It was a great first year for us, and we’ll be back.” 

Hot Diggory Dog: Mountain View junior wins two titles

Mountain View junior Diggory Dillingham didn’t set the state records in the 50 and 100 freestyles that he’d hoped to accomplish.

Instead, the nationally ranked swimmer — who transferred to the Bend school over the summer after his mother, Megan Oesting, became the coach of the Bend Swim Club — settled for a couple of state titles, the first double championship of his high school career.

Dillingham swam 19.52 at the Winter Junior Championships West meet in Austin, Texas, in December, the third-fastest time all-time in the boys 15-16 age group nationally. Two days later, he went 43.97 at the same meet, No. 32 on the all-time list.

With those times in mind, Dillingham had two state records in his sights — Casey McEuen’s 20.18 in the 50 free from 2018 and Morgan Henderson-Kunz’s 43.70 in the 100 free from 2009.

In the end, he threatened neither on Saturday. In the 50 free, he experimented with a new start as he looks ahead to national championships later this year, and he slipped on the wall, leaving him with a winning time (20.78) that was slower than his third-place time as an Iowa City West freshman.

“You’ve got to try stuff out sometimes, see how it works,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham was stuck in Lane 9 for the 100 final after cruising at the district meet, but fueled by the disappointment of his 50 time, “I just let it rip today.” 

He blazed to a 22.08 first 50 but couldn’t maintain that furious pace, settling for a 46.13 winning time. He won the North Carolina 4A title last year for Ardrey Kell in 45.42.

“I wish I could have gone faster, but I’m still happy getting medals,” Dillingham said.

Jesuit’s Nosack takes home two titles, still has unfinished business for 2023

Another junior with bigger and better things ahead of him also took home two titles Saturday.

Jesuit junior Diego Nosack, a Northwestern commit, added his first two individual championships — in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle — to the 200 medley relay medal he won as a freshman.

That year, he was a complementary swimmer on a deep team that won a sixth consecutive state title. This winter, with Simons and Kruetzer not returning, Nosack shouldered a heavier burden as a veteran leader for a team that didn’t have a senior among its eight qualifiers.

“I did what I needed to do for the team, so I’m happy with that,” said Nosack, who also swam legs on the third-place medley relay and fourth-place 400 freestyle relay. “We’re just having fun today, doing what we can and seeing what happens.”

Nosack built off his solid breaststroke leg in the medley relay with a solid victory in the 200 IM, winning in a 1:48.79 time that was narrowly off his personal-best mark from district (both were All-America times) and less than a second off the state record.

An hour later, he was back in the blocks for the 500 free, where he posted a personal-best 4:28.20 that qualified for All-America honors yet left him with something to shoot for as a senior.

“The state record is 4:25, and it would have been better to have gotten that,” he said. “But I have another year.”

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Class 6A Girls

Team scores

Westview 94

Lake Oswego 74.5

Jesuit 54

Lincoln 49

Sunset 49

Mountain View 47

Bend 46

West Linn 39

Summit 27

Canby 19

Lustria leads Westview to first state championship since 2008

The COVID pandemic forced many of us to reassess our lives and our priorities and make many changes.

Westview senior Fay Marie Lustria found herself in such a position when the pandemic hit several weeks after concluding her sophomore season by winning the 100-yard butterfly for a Jesuit team that won a second consecutive state title.

“A lot of things changed for me over the past two years,” Lustria said. “I just felt like it was time to find a new environment, have a change of pace.”

Lustria not only changed schools, but she also left Tualatin Hills Swim Club and joined Lake Oswego Swim Club.

“Doing that after being in such a routine for so long has really helped me in both my swimming and my academics. Changing things up definitely helped my mental state, get some faster races in the pool. I’m just really happy right now.”

That attitude change shone through Saturday as Lustria posted a couple of All-America times in winning the 200 individual medley (2:00.36) and 100 butterfly (54.22), swimming the butterfly leg of the victorious 200 medley relay and capping her day by anchoring the 400 freestyle relay to a title that wrapped up the Wildcats’ first team championship since 2008.

“It really started out well when we won the (medley) relay, and the whole day has been fairly amazing,” said Lustria, who will swim at UCLA next year. “I’m so happy that I got (All-America) times in both my events. The day overall has been something that’s been incredible.”

Lustria went on to add that she harbored no ill feelings toward her former school.

“I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” she said. “But I guess being part of something new, building something up, because Westview hasn’t really scored that much in a while, really means so much to be a contributor to the team.”

Besides Lustria’s lustrous showing, the Wildcats scored points in eight other events from four individuals and a relay to outdistance Lake Oswego by nearly 20 points — the best finish for the Lakers in a decade — with the defending champion Crusaders right behind in third. Lincoln and Sunset tied for fourth.

Jefferson’s Derr ends 65-year title drought with victory in 100 backstroke

Jefferson is not known for being a swimming powerhouse. The Democrats had not had a state champion in 22 years (Corey McManus in 2000), and on the girls side, the drought went back to 1957, when M. Lawrence won the 40-yard breaststroke (the only year the event was contested).

Senior Hazel Derr didn’t realize it’d been 65 years since a Jefferson girl won a title before taking the blocks for her best event — the 100 backstroke, in which she’d placed third as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman.

She’d already had one chance at ending the drought, coming in with the fastest qualifying time in the 100 free but finishing fourth.

“I didn’t feel so good preparing for that first race,” she acknowledged. “I was really nervous coming in as the top seed.”

She again was the top seed for the 100 back, but lining up beside her was the defending champion in the event — St. Mary’s Academy senior Anna Rauchholz.

Derr, though, was not to be denied in the final race of her high school career. She got off to a strong start and led by nearly a half-second at the halfway point, pulling away to win in 54.68, just off her personal-best 54.49 at the PIL district meet.

“This means a lot, especially since it’s my last year, and we didn’t get a season last year,” said Derr, who will swim at UC Santa Barbara next year. “I was doing it for my team. It feels good to represent them. It’s pretty exciting.”

Strong day for PIL ends with three titles, fourth-place trophy for Lincoln

Derr’s victory in the 100 backstroke capped a banner day for the PIL, which until Saturday had gone nine years without a state champion and 16 without one at the 6A meet.

Those streaks ended with a bang when Grant senior Quinn Brown rallied from third place at the halfway point to stun top seed Sydney Wilson of Jesuit in the 200 freestyle, winning in 1:51.76.

“I was a little nervous, but adrenalin just took force, and everything happened from there,” said Brown, who became the first Grant girl to win a title since 2005.

Following Derr’s victory, Lincoln senior Katherine Adams added a third title to the PIL’s haul, winning the 100 breaststroke in a personal-best and All-American time of 1:02.23 for the Cardinals’ first title since 2006 and making it the first time since 1997 that the league had three state champions in the same meet.

Unlike Brown, who wasn’t aware of Grant’s titleless run, Adams knew it had been a while since a Lincoln girl found herself atop the podium.

“I was doing this for my coach (Mikha Kaiel), because he hasn’t handed out medals in a while,” said Adams, who’s considering USC and Virginia as college choices. “I’m happy with how I did. I did it for my school and for myself.”

Adams’ victory also helped the Cardinals take home their first team trophy since 2002, when they placed fourth — also the last time a PIL team trophied at a state meet.

And while all three PIL champions are seniors, Adams believes Lincoln — with four underclassmen among the scoring swimmers Saturday — and the PIL won’t recede into the background anytime soon.

“I think we’re making a comeback,” she said. “I’m excited for the next few years. Even though I’m graduating, I’m going to come back, visit my teammates over winter break.” 

A first for Caldera: Meskill wins first state title in school history

Caldera, like Nelson, is in its first year of existence after the Bend school opened in the fall.

And like Nelson, the Wolfpack saw their first state champion in any sport crowned Saturday as freshman Kamryn Meskill blazed to victory in the 50 free, winning by nearly a half-second in 23.80.

It took a few seconds after exiting the pool for the significance of the moment to hit Meskill, who was slated to attend Bend before Caldera opened.

“It means everything,” she said. “It’s really exciting.”

Just as meaningful was breaking the 24-second threshold, something she hadn’t done until Saturday.

“It’s been my goal for a long time to go that fast,” she said. “Before the race, I felt like I was in the strongest mindset I’ve ever had. The mental side is typically the hard part for me, so having that was really important.”

Winning one for herself: Sunset’s Trainer finally takes home individual title

Sunset senior Hannah Trainer denied Derr a potential double by winning the 100 freestyle, holding off a fast-closing Meskill by 11-hundredths of a second to win in 51.96.

Trainer had been a part of four state champion relays — including swimming the third leg on the state-record 400 freestyle relay as a freshman — but her best individual finishes until Saturday were a couple of fourth places.

“Especially being a senior, this is my first individual win, so it feels really good,” Trainer said. 

She later added a fifth relay title, anchoring the 200 free relay to victory, and placed third in the 200 free before finishing her career with a fifth-place finish in the 400 free relay.

Jesuit’s Wilson swims personal best to win 500 freestyle

Not that Sydney Wilson needed any extra motivation for the 500 freestyle, but the Jesuit sophomore got it when Brown out-touched her at the wall in the 200 free to deny her the title.

“Our 200 was an amazing race,” Wilson said. “I was pretty happy with my time, and I split it pretty well. Quinn’s an amazing swimmer. But the 500, I went out there to swim my best race, and I did that.”

Indeed, Wilson jumped out to a one-second lead in the first 50 yards and stretched it out to an eventual 2.75-second victory in a personal-best time of 4:54.03 that earned her All-America consideration.

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Class 5A Boys

Team scores

Crescent Valley 65

West Albany 61

Redmond 34

Parkrose 26

Corvallis 25

Title comes down to final event — again — before Crescent Valley comes out on top

A week ago at the Mid-Willamette district meet, the team title came down to the 400 freestyle relay before Crescent Valley pulled out an eight-point victory over rival West Albany.

Friday night at Tualatin Hills Swim Center, the same two teams found themselves in a dead heat in the title race with one event remaining — the 400 free relay.

And once again, the Raiders came out on top, building a huge lead that not even 100 free champion Luke Milburn could erase. Crescent Valley won the race by nearly two seconds, finishing in 3:13.78 to win the school’s first boys title since 2007.

“So much pressure,” said freshman Keller Evans, who swam anchor leg on the 400 free relay and finished fourth in the 100 free and sixth in the 100 backstroke. “I was worried that I was going to mess it up, and he was going to catch me. This means so much to us. It’s amazing. We never thought this could happen.”

Evans credited lead swimmer Andrew Hanson, a junior who swam a blistering 46.86 to give the Raiders a 4½-second cushion they never relinquished. He lay exhausted on the pool deck for several seconds after pulling himself out of the water.

“Andrew’s somebody we all look up to,” Evans said. “He’s such a role model.”

The Bulldogs had to settle for a third consecutive runner-up finish, losing previously to Springfield in 2019 and Churchill in 2020. Redmond won its first trophy by placing third, while Parkrose made the podium for the first time since 1976 with its fourth-place finish.

Crater’s Gentry sets two records to end stellar career

Two races. Two Class 5A state records. One OSAA state record.

Not a bad way for Crater senior Marcus Gentry to finish his high school career before heading to Notre Dame.

Gentry finished his career with five titles overall, winning the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke as a freshman, winning the 200 free as a sophomore (he couldn’t defend his 100 back title after being disqualified at district), and capping his run Friday with titles in the 200 individual medley and 100 back.

His winning time of 1:49.60 in the 200 IM broke an eight-year-old 5A record by more than a second. He followed by crushing the 5A record and breaking Patrick Mulcare’s state record in the 100 back (set in 2014 for Southridge) by more than a second, winning in an All-American time of 47.45.

“This had been a long time coming,” Gentry said. “I knew I was going to break that record, but the 200 IM, I wasn’t too sure about. I was pretty surprised with my time. Breaking 1:50 is exciting.”

Gentry wasn’t the only star to shine in Friday night’s session. Churchill senior Charley Page-Jones, headed to UNLV in the fall, broke Van Mathias of Beaverton’s state record in the 100 butterfly, winning in 47.63, while Milburn led off West Albany’s 5A-record winning 200 freestyle relay.

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Class 5A Girls

Team scores

Churchill 60

Crescent Valley 55

Redmond 44

Hood River Valley 31

Willamette 20

Churchill ends Crescent Valley’s two-year reign as champion

Kelsey Wasikowski watched as her teammate, senior Kylie Taylor, made up a nearly two-second gap on Crescent Valley to put Churchill just 100 yards from dethroning the Raiders as 5A champions and winning the Lancers’ first team title.

“I know how important this meet is, with Kylie being a senior, us not having the last two seasons, and this being our first season with us four on the same relay team,” the junior said. “We’ve been swimming together since we were 6 years old, so I really wanted to hold it together for my team, to bring it home.”

Not only did Wasikowski hold on to the lead, she nearly doubled it, giving Churchill a four-second victory in the final race to cement the Lancers' five-point win in the team standings.

“We went through all the numbers all day, and we knew this is what we had to do,” Wasikowski said. “And we did it.”

Wasikowski and Taylor both did their part all evening for the Lancers. They swam the first two legs on the title-winning 200 medley relay to open the meet, and Wasikowski broke the meet record in winning the 100 breaststroke.

Taylor, a Pepperdine signee, added to her medal haul with victories in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, giving her four individual titles and six overall for her career.

The Raiders finished second, their fifth consecutive top-two finish. Redmond, led by freshman Willow Messner’s victory in the 100 butterfly, won its first team trophy by placing third, just ahead of Hood River Valley.

Wilsonville junior Helena Jones broke meet records in the 50 free in 22.96 and the 100 free in 49.83, both All-American times.

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Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Boys

Team scores

Catlin Gabel 53

Newport 39

St. Mary’s 36

Madras 27

La Grande 24

Marist Catholic 24

Summary

Catlin Gabel won its first state title since 2015, ending Newport’s three-year championship run in the process. The Eagles had two individual champions in sophomore Hodge Dauler (500 free) and junior Akira Van de Groenedaal (100 back), capping their title by winning the 400 free relay. … Cove senior Tim Koza became the school’s first state swim champion, winning the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. … St. Mary’s (Medford) senior Asa Frisbee broke the meet record in winning the 200 freestyle in 1:41.71.

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Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Team scores

Sweet Home 87

Catlin Gabel 66

Newport 25

Henley 18

La Grande 15

Stayton 15

Summary

Led by senior Chloe Tyler’s meet-record victory in the 100 backstroke in 56.49, Sweet Home won a fourth team title in the past six seasons. The Huskies opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay, and they had five individual champions (the Illinois State-bound Tyler added a second in the 100 free) and a second relay victory. The runner-up Eagles, who won the 2020 title, had three individual champions and won the 400 freestyle relay.

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6A champions, placewinners, results

5A champions, placewinners, results

4A/3A/2A/1A champions, placewinners, results