CANTON, OH - For a third consecutive year, the Swim Cats won the Northwest District Championship on Saturday, February 21. The Cats would win all relays and showcased strong races in individual events, delivering notable performances and personal bests across the team.

At Bowling Green State University, the meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, won by Jaime Hong, Jude Banks, James Yan, and Thor Johannessen with a time of 1:30.32. 

Aiden Malke kept the momentum up by winning his 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.00, followed by Brendan Ormiston with a new personal best of 1:47.11. 

Jaime Hong captured the title in the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:50.85, and Johannessen followed up and won the 50 free with a blazing 20.22! Henry Scott delivered an astonishing 5:09.86 in the 500-yard free, dropping more than ten seconds from his previous time. 

Later in the meet, Jude Banks won the 100-yard breaststroke with a 53.40 to break his own District record. Chris Saxon and James Yan followed with strong finishes of 57.59 and 59.52, respectively. 

Additionally, Ian Kimak took his first District Title with a 49.93 in the 100 back, while DJ Magee dropped half a second from his previous personal best. Freshmen Ben Weber, Parker Gildea, and Max Chung performed strongly in their District debut.

Jude Banks, Jaime Hong, Chris Saxon, James Yan, Thor Johannessen, Ian Kimak, Brian Ormiston, and Aiden Malke qualified for the State Meet. 

The State Meet would begin on Friday morning at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton. It would be the preliminary rounds for the Wildcats competing to qualify for the A-Final on Saturday. The 200-yard medley team of Hong, Banks, Yan, and Johannessen would qualify with a time of 1:28.81. 

Johannessen would qualify for his final in the 50-yard Free with a time of 20.16. The Wildcats would go ahead and get two qualifiers in the 100-yard Backstroke with Hong and Kimak. Hong placed second with a time of 49.35, and Kimak seventh with a time of 50.04. 

In the 100-yard Breaststroke, Banks qualified with a time of 53.64 on a third-place finish. Johannessen qualified with a time of 55.00.

Lastly, the 400-yard Free relay team of Johannessen, Hong, Malke, and Banks qualified with a fifth-place finish of 3:05.22. 

On Saturday, for the final, it would be an incredible performance for the Wildcats. Despite finishing fifth, there were plenty of record breakers, including four program records that were shattered. 

The 200-yard medley of Hong, Banks, Yan, and Johannessen placed second in the state with a time of 1:27.72. The Wildcats broke that record earlier this season with a time of 1:27.93. Columbus St. Charles would place first with a time of 1:27.20.

Banks, who is committed to the University of Georgia, broke his 100-yard breaststroke once again, this time with a time of 53.25. Jake Lloyd of Columbus St. Charles won the event with a time of 53.06, which is an Ohio best. 

Hong placed second in the 100-yard backstroke with a personal best of 48.97. St. Xavier's Charles Tucker finished with a time of 48.39. 

Johannessen placed second in the 50-yard free with a program record of 19.86. That time broke Josh Toothman's '24 20.09 record. Jake Lloyd of St. Charles won the event with a state-record time of 19.39.

The Wildcats would wrap up the 2025-26 season in the 400-yard free event. The relay team of Johannessen, Hong, Malke, and Banks shattered a program record that stood for nearly a decade with a time of 3:03.33. It was a third-place finish for the Cats. 

When all was said and done, the Wildcats would place fifth out of 51 teams at the Division I State Championship. St. Charles would be crowned State Champions with a total of 348.5 points. The Wildcats accumulated 183 points.