Lawton Chiles senior Owen Ekk capped his high school swimming career with a state-record performance, leading the Timberwolves to a fourth-place finish at the 2026 FHSAA Class 3A Swimming and Diving State Championships, held Nov. 6–7 at Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training in Ocala.
Ekk won two individual state titles, breaking the state record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:43.62. The Stanford commit surpassed the previous record of 1:45.02, set by Carter Lancaster in 2022. Ekk also defended his state title in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing in 43.79.
Chiles finished fourth in the boys’ team standings with 189 points, the highest finish among Leon County programs. The Timberwolves also earned a seventh-place finish in the girls’ division with 103 points, tied with Fleming Island.
The Chiles boys finished behind state champion St. Petersburg (258), Duncan Fletcher (253) and Jesuit (214). Ponte Vedra won the girls’ championship with 293 points, followed by St. Petersburg (283), Sunlake (164), Bartram Trail (143) and Miami Beach (127).
Boys’ Results
Ekk’s two individual championships highlighted Chiles’ performance, but the Timberwolves also earned a podium finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
The team of Ekk, Emmanuel Squitier, Kipton Fenniman and William Bracken finished third in 1:25.52. Chiles also placed fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Ekk, Fenniman, Solomon Osborne and Bracken finishing in 3:08.65.
Tyler Wang contributed two top-eight finishes, placing fourth in the 100-yard butterfly in 50.65 and eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 58.76. Fenniman finished sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.22) and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:34.62). Squitier added an eighth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (52.49), while freshman Dalton Von Hertsenberg placed 10th in the 500-yard freestyle (4:41.83).
Leon junior Jake Askey led the Lions’ individual swimming performances with two top-six finishes. Askey placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.77 and sixth in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:34.81.
Leon junior Conner Smith finished sixth in 1-meter diving with 386.40 points. The Lions finished 17th in the boys’ team standings with 40 points.
Rickards junior Alexander Li placed 14th in the 100-yard backstroke preliminaries with a time of 53.98, earning three team points for the Raiders.
Lincoln’s Joseph Gussak competed in the adaptive 11-and-over freestyle events, finishing seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and fifth in the 100-yard freestyle.
Girls’ Results
The Chiles girls finished seventh overall, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Amelia McGlynn, freshman Yiyan Wu, Sofia Kharchenko and McKay Yearty combined for a time of 1:38.33 to earn bronze. The Timberwolves also placed eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with McGlynn, Wu, Teresa Castano and Yearty finishing in 3:43.87.
Yearty led Chiles’ individual swimmers with two top-seven finishes. The senior placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:05.47 and seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.02.
Wu finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:00.33, while McGlynn placed 10th in the 50-yard freestyle (24.57) and 15th in the 100-yard freestyle (55.44).
Leon sophomore Ava O’Steen led the Lions’ girls with a sixth-place finish in 1-meter diving, scoring 330.75 points. Leon finished 31st in the girls’ team standings with 13 points.
Chiles also had two divers score at the state meet. Logan Hill finished 14th with 273.50 points, while Elise Kupfer placed 17th with 192.25 points.
Ekk’s state-record swim and two individual championships headlined the meet for Leon County, while Chiles’ relay finishes and contributions across both divisions helped the Timberwolves secure the area’s strongest overall team showing at the Class 3A championships.
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