Sacred Heart swimmers 'Crush' KHSAA State Championships again for 11th straight title
LEXINGTON — The Crush family has been dominating Kentucky swimming pools since the 1990s, and the youngest might just turn out to the best of them all.
Sacred Heart Academy freshman Charlotte Crush dominated Friday’s KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships, setting two state records at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center and leading the Valkyries to their 11th straight title.
Charlotte’s father, Chip, was a 1995 St. Xavier graduate who went on to win three Southeastern Conference championships at Auburn. While there, he met his future wife, Mimi Bowen Crush, who was a 13-time All-American swimmer and the national champion in the 100-yard butterfly in 1997.
Charlotte is the youngest of their four children — Annabel is a sophomore swimmer at North Carolina State; Charlie is a freshman swimmer at the University of Louisville; and Johnny is a junior swimmer at St. X and competed in Saturday’s boys state championships.
“She’s a very hard worker, very talented, very intuitive as a swimmer,” said Mike DeBoor, Crush’s coach at the Lakeside SeaHawks swim club. “She has a lot of tools to offer, and she’s been exposed to a lot and experienced a lot.
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“This sport is a little different in that you can be a freshman but still be a senior (experience-wise). This was not unexpected.”
Sacred Heart won the team title with 340.5 points and was followed by Lexington Catholic (202), Notre Dame (196), Elizabethtown (140), Paul Dunbar (135) and Eastern (115).
It was the first state title for first-year Sacred Heart coach Charlie Edmiston, who took over for Jim Luebbe during the offseason.
“There’s pressure here when you come here with 10 straight state titles,” Edmiston said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of talent, but there’s a lot riding on me, making sure I give them the opportunity to be in the right space, the right mindset and be able to race fast and perform at their best.”
Crush did just that.
She set the state record in the 100-yard butterfly during Friday’s preliminaries with a time of 51.55 seconds, beating the previous record of 51.75 seconds set by North Oldham’s Grace Oglesby in 2015. Crush won the final in 51.56 seconds, crushing the runner-up by nearly 4 seconds.
Crush won the 100 backstroke in 51.14 seconds, breaking the record of 52.66 seconds set by her sister, Anabel, in 2021.
Will Anabel be happy her younger sister broke the record?
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“I guess I’ll have to ask her tonight,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “I hope so.”
Sacred Heart won all three relays — 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle — with Crush anchoring the first and last. Sophomore Haley McDonald also starred, winning the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle.
McDonald battled back from a broken shoulder suffered in the summer.
“It’s a lot harder than you’d think getting back in it from a six-month break,” said McDonald, adding she’s about “85-90%” back from her recovery. “But it always teaches you a lesson that you have to persevere.”
Sacred Heart was the only Louisville-area school to produce an individual champion. Ballard’s Kate Mardis was the runner-up in the 50 free and 100 butterfly, and Manual’s Jenna Brown was the runner-up in the 200 free.
But the night belonged to Crush, who figures to be a mainstay at the state meet for years to come.
Her father, Chip, said Charlotte has the best training and diet habits of all the Crush children. How far that will take Charlotte as an elite swimmer remains to be seen.
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“As the youngest, it’s always been competitive because I have two older brothers who are very fast, and my big sister is my best friend and someone who is always there,” Charlotte said. “I think (high school swimming) is so fun. I love all of my teammates. It’s a good community.
“I like that I have more years to come so I can change things up. There are always going to be girls who come after me that are going to be faster.”
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.
Girls Swimming and Diving State Championships
At University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center
Team results (top 10 and other Louisville-area schools): 1. Sacred Heart 340.5; 2. Lexington Catholic 202; 3. Notre Dame 196; 4. Elizabethtown 140; 5. Paul Dunbar 135; 6. Eastern 115; 7. Ryle 101; 8. Lafayette 93; 9. West Jessamine 89; 10. St. Henry 79; 11. Assumption 78; 14. Manual 53; 15. Kentucky Country Day 46; 16. Collegiate 45; 18. (tie) Ballard 34; 22. South Oldham 30.5; 23. Oldham County 29; 26. Christian Academy 23; 29. (tie) Atherton 15; 42. (tie) Brown 3
200-yard medley relay: 1. Sacred Heart (Haley McDonald, Carlie Tyler, Charlotte Crush, Georgia Kahler) 1:42.25; 2. Elizabethtown 1:45.68; 3. Lexington Catholic 1:45.69; 4. Notre Dame 1:48.88
200 freestyle: 1. Lainy Kruger (Notre Dame) 1:46.36; 2. Jenna Brown (Manual) 1:52.15 ; 3. Amelia Jones (Paul Dunbar) 1:52.72; 4. Ava Grazziani (Eastern) 1:53.63
200 individual medley: 1. Haley McDonald (Sacred Heart) 1:59.89; 2. Kate Braeger (Elizabethtown) 2:03.66; 3. Carlie Tyler (Sacred Heart) 2:03.67; 4. Sarah Zoellner (Greenwood) 2:05.89
50 freestyle: 1. Lily Delong (West Jessamine) 23.43; 2. Kate Mardis (Ballard) 23.45; 3. Ashley Kara (Collegiate) 23.68; 4. Libby Livesay (Lexington Catholic) 23.69
1-meter diving: 1. Reagan Patterson (Madison Southern) 512.50; 2. Peytton Moore (Cooper) 512.30; 3. Brooke Ronan (Oldham County) 410.70; 4. Leigha Travis (Simon Kenton) 397.40
100 butterfly: 1. Charlotte Crush (Sacred Heart) 51.56; 2. Kate Mardis (Ballard) 55.23; 3. Sarah Zoellner (Greenwood) 55.75; 4. Madison Patel (Paducah Tilghman) 55.95
100 freestyle: 1. Lily Delong (West Jessamine) 51.35; 2. Emma Littrell (St. Henry) 51.90; 3. Ashley Kara (Collegiate) 52.13; 4. Ava Jones (Lexington Catholic) 53.24
500 freestyle: 1. Haley McDonald (Sacred Heart) 4:53.11; 2. Sadie Hartig (Notre Dame) 4:57.30; 3. Amelia Jones (Paul Dunbar) 5:01.26; 4. Lillian Borkows (Atherton) 5:02.72.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Sacred Heart (Georgia Kahler, Sara Keefe, Pilar Pagni, Ella Donlin) 1:37.02; 2. Lexington Catholic 1:38.06; 3. Paul Dunbar 1:40.16; 4. Notre Dame 1:40.56
100 backstroke: 1. Charlotte Crush (Sacred Heart) 51.14; 2. Kate Braeger (Elizabethtown) 55.25; 3. Madison Patel (Paducah Tilghman) 55.48; 4. Carlie Tyler (Sacred Heart) 56.30
100 breaststroke: 1. Lainy Kruger (Notre Dame) 1:02.30; 2. Libby Livesay (Lexington Catholic) 1:04.47; 3. Lou Elayi (Lafayette) 1:04.55; 4 Hanna Schmidt (Eastern) 1:05.27
400 freestyle relay: 1. Sacred Heart (Haley McDonald, Merritt Walker, Ella Donlin, Charlotte Crush) 3:25.39; 2. Elizabethtown 3:31.84; 3. Lexington Catholic 3:34.44; 4. Notre Dame 3:34.77
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA Swimming Championships: Sacred Heart swimmers 'Crush' it again
