The Central High boys swimming & diving program captured its third consecutive MSHSAA Class 1 state championship on Saturday (Nov. 16), outpacing runner-up Glendale High School by nearly 100 points.

With Saturday’s triumph, Central won its fourth state title (1978, 2022, 2023, 2024) and became just the ninth swimming & diving program in Missouri to accomplish a three-peat.

“Because last year was a big year for us and we graduated a lot of talent, there was a sentiment that we’d take a step down,” Central head coach Andrew Schonhoff said. “We had a lot of guys step up this year and deliver, and it was a huge reason for us to have the success that we did.”

Despite graduating six of the 12 relay slots from last year’s squad, the Colts swept the relays for a second year in a row. They featured seven different swimmers in the 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relays.

In addition to the relay dominance, Central displayed its depth, placing top eight in all but two individual events. Brody Blatt led the way with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 200 free and 500 free. Right on his heels were Connor Muran, who earned bronze in the 200 IM and 100 breast, and Colton Smith, who had a third-place finish in the 100 back and a fourth-place finish in the 100 free.

“It’s all about the culture that the boys have established,” Schonhoff said. “Year after year, we have the buy-in and hard work, and each group has done what they need to do to protect that culture, strengthen it, and pass it down to the next group.”

Results // (MSHSAA Results)
200 medley relay – Colton Smith, Connor Muran, Hunter Deutschmann, Nathan Malt (1st)
200 free – Brody Blatt (2nd), Zeidan Reza (10th)
200 IM – Connor Muran (3rd)
50 free – Nathan Malt (10th)
1-meter diving – Daniel Averbukh (13th)
100 fly – Hunter Deutschmann (7th)
100 free – Colton Smith (4th), Nathan Malt (10th), Zeidan Reza (11th)
500 free – Brody Blatt (2nd), Peyton Dimmock (15th)
200 free relay – Connor Muran, Winston Rees, Zeidan Reza, Brody Blatt (1st)
100 back – Colton Smith (3rd), Hunter Deutschmann (13th)
100 breast – Connor Muran (3rd)
400 free relay – Brody Blatt, Zeidan Reza, Nathan Malt, Colton Smith

Coaching Staff
Head Coach – Andrew Schonhoff
Assistant Coach – Abby VerMeer
Diving Coach – Natalie Kirner