CANTON -- Mason swimmer Carl Bloebaum is no stranger to beating the odds.
At least year's state swimming and diving meet, Bloebaum was part of the Comets' 200 medley relay team, which overcame the fifth-best seeding time to pull off an upset for a state championship.
On Saturday, the senior stunned the field on an individual scale during the state meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium.
In Friday's preliminary rounds, St. Francis junior Scotty Buff set a state-record with a 46.17 time and was the favorite to win the event in Saturday's finals. Bloebaum had other ideas, making sure Buff's records lasted only a day.
Despite having just the fourth-fastest preliminary time (48.58), Bloebaum set a new state and pool record for the event, winning a state title in 45.68.
"That is probably the greatest thing I've ever done," Bloebaum said. "It's the happiest I've ever felt after a race -- it's amazing."
The senior's day was far from done. He led the local field with a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke. On the relay side, he was part of the Comets' state runner-up 200 medley relay team and anchored Mason's 400 free relay, which finished third.
He was named the boys Division I Most Outstanding Swimmer.
"He (Bloebaum) is just an unbelievable kid, in and out of the water," Mason swimming coach Mark Sullivan said. "He knew he had a lot of work to do this past year and he did it. You could sense every time he practiced it was all for this meet. I can't be more proud of him."
Mason finished fifth in the team standings with 148 points. Joining Bloebaum on the state runner-up 200 medley relay was Elijah Devyak, Ethan Fang and Max Plumley. Senior Sean Huggins anchored the third-place 200 medley relay squad. Junior Andrew Fox was a part of the third-place run in the 400 free relay.
Devyak found the podium in the 100 butterfly with Bloebaum, finishing sixth. Plumley was seventh in the 100 free and
St. Xavier's 13-year team title run snapped in final race
For the majority of Saturday evening, it seemed the Long Blue Lane of St. Xavier would once again hoist a Division I state team championship trophy. The AquaBombers had won 13 consecutive team titles and 42 in program history.
In the final event of the night, though, St. Xavier's streak was snapped. Leading Beavercreek by six points (177.5-177.1), the Beavers grabbed 40 points with a state championship in the 400 free relay with a time of 2:59.53.
St. Xavier's 400 free relay finished fourth, just two-tenths of a second behind runner-up Jerome. A runner-up finish would've resulted in a tie for the team title. Instead, St. Xavier was awarded 30 points, and fell to the Beavers in the final standings, 211.5-207.5.
"These guys swam their hearts out. There's nothing to be ashamed of," first-year St. Xavier swimming coach David Albert said. "We got better every day. Obviously you want something more, but they gave everything they had and kudos to Beavercreek, they have a heck of a team this year. They had a great meet, as well."
Sophomore Thackston McMullan won St. Xavier's lone state championship, cruising to a title in the 500 free in 4:26.58. He was fourth in the event a year ago. Fellow sophomore Alex Ingram was right behind him, finishing as the state runner-up in the event.
McMullan added a third-place finish in the 200 free in 1:36.58. He was district runner-up in the event. He opened the AquaBombers' fourth-place run in the 200 free relay and anchored the 400 free relay.
"Thackston (McMullan) is a very talented swimmer," Albert said. "The guys look up to him. He swims with heart every time he gets here."
St. Xavier started the finals strong when Gavin Hang finished third in the 1-meter dive. Ingram, in addition to his runner-up finish in the 500 free, also found the podium in the 200 free (sixth).
Junior Luca Eckert picked up points in the 100 (12th) and 200 free (13th) and senior Tobery did the same, finishing 15th in both the 50 and 100 free.
Junior Nick Stroh was 12th in the 500 free, sophomore Max Ward was 13th in the 100 butterfly and senior Chase Guenther earned a podium visit with an eighth-place run in the event. Freshman Jaeger Ellerman was one of only five underclassmen to qualify for the 100 breaststroke, finishing 13th.
Sycamore, Kings crack Top-10
Cincinnati had four boys swimming programs finish in the Top-10 of the team standings with Sycamore and Kings tying for ninth with 71 points each.
Senior Avery Clapp was top-5 in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Junior Bryce Menchhofer was fifth in the 500 free. Both were in Sycamore's two podium-placing relays, along with Bishop Carl, Jack Carmody and Evan Preissler.
Kings' senior Kevin Glennon was state runner-up in the 100 free, the highest placing by a Knights' boys swimmer in program history. He was also sixth in the 100 back. Senior Aiden Leamer was seventh in the 100 fly. Kings was seventh in the 200 medley relay behind Glennon, Leamer, Brett Ninnemann and Cooper Tinsley.
Local podium placers
200 medley relay — Mason (2nd); St. Xavier (5th); Kings (7th); Sycamore (8th)
200 free — McMullan, St. Xavier (3rd); Ingram, St. Xavier (6th); Mason Bencurik, Oak Hills (7th)
200 individual medley — Adam McDonald, Lakota East (5th); Max Christensen, Springboro (8th)
50 free — Evan Fentress, Milford (3rd)
100 butterfly — Bloebaum, Mason (1st); Clapp, Sycamore (4th); Devyak, Mason (6th); Leamer, Kings (7th); Guenther, St. Xavier (8th)
100 free — Glennon, Kings (2nd); Plumley, Mason (7th)
500 free — McMullan, St. Xavier (1st); Ingram, St. Xavier (2nd); Menchhofer, Sycamore (5th)
200 free relay — St. Xavier (4th)
100 backstroke — Bloebaum, Mason (4th); Glennon, Kings (6th); Will Meyers, Turpin (t-7th)
100 breaststroke — McDonald, Lakota East (4th)
400 free relay — Mason (3rd); St. Xavier (4th); Sycamore (7th)
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