Reese Reilly '26 Wins Back-To-Back State Titles!

Click here to read the article by Cincinnati.com - Photo by Tony Tribble

Story by Brendan Connelly

Reese Reilly named most outstanding swimmer after back-to-back breaststroke titles

The Roger Bacon junior began Friday's meet with an event that she has a complicated history with, the 200-yard individual medley. She placed fifth in the event in 2024 but improved to a third-place result this time around.

"I think it scared a little more this year, but I've gotten a lot better with it so I enjoyed this swim. It was fun but I was happy that it was over because I was definitely nervous before it," Reilly said.

Even though she finished four seconds behind Julia Shafer and Sofia Jimenez, she put up a commendable performance given her competition. She was also coming off limited rest after an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay.

Thankfully, Reilly got extended rest before her signature event, the 100-yard breaststroke. She had the top time from preliminaries, almost a second faster than Hathaway Brown's Catherine Dorsey and Taylor's Corine Rieskamp. She held a half-second lead at 50 meters, then was able to cover Dorsey's surge in the second half of the race to hold on for the win in 1:01.89.

"I was just trying to stay calm on my pull outs and make sure that they were long. I think I was really smooth on my third one. I got a little antsy but I tried to stay calm and get through it," Reilly said.

For her efforts, she was given the "Most Outstanding Swimmer" award, taking home a plaque to commemorate her accomplishments.

Roger Bacon Swimming had several other Spartans joining Reese at the State Championship Meet. See below for details on the other swimmers and their finishes at the meet:

• Cole Andrews '26 placed 28th in the Boys DII 1M State Diving Championship.
• Erin Pare ‘26, Madison Stecher ‘25, Helen Russell ‘27, & Reese Reilly ‘26 swam the 200yd Medley Relay on Thursday in the semis and finished 8th, qualifying them for the finals. On Friday, they finished 8th in the finals.
  
• Madison Stecher '25 swam the 200yd Freestyle on Thursday and finished 19th.
• Helen Russell '27 swam the 200yd Freestyle on Thursday and finished 26th.
• Fritz Russell '28 swam the 200yd IM on Thursday and finished 24th.
  
• Helen Russell '27 also swam the 100yd Butterfly on Thursday and finished 20th.
  
• Fritz Russell '28 also swam the 100yd Butterfly on Thursday and finished 26th.
  
• Madison Stecher '25 also swam the 500yd Freestyle on Thursday and finished 8th, qualifying her for the finals. On Friday, she finished 8th.
• Matt Schomaker '27 swam the 500yd Freestyle on Thursday and finished 11th, qualifying him for the finals. On Friday, he finished 11th. .
• Paige Ernst '28 swam the 100yd Backstroke on Thursday and finished 31st.
  
• Madison Stecher '25, Annie Boyle '28, Helen Russel '27, & Reese Reilly '26 swam the 400yd Freestyle Relay on Thursday and finished 19th.

Congratulations to all the swimmers and the entire Roger Bacon Swimming & Diving program on a banner year for the program and RB Athletics!