Keller H.S. Claims Swimming World Mythical Boys National High School Championship
For the first time in program history, the Keller High School boys’ swim team has been named Swimming World’s National High School Champion. Keller completed a dominant performance fueled by Maximus Williamson, responsible for the finest individual performances ever at his high school state meet, and freestyle specialist Cooper Lucas.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized for all the hard work that the student-athletes have put in over the years,” Keller head coach Jamie Shults said. “For me personally, it’s a joy to know that all our kids have national recognition. I see them at the pool hours on end training 5 a.m. (practices) and doubles, so to see this that hard work play out with a national title is just inspiring.”
The school, located north of Fort Worth, Texas, has become a national powerhouse over the past two seasons following Williamson’s arrival as a sophomore. Keller narrowly missed winning the title last year, coming up just two points behind Carmel, but for the 2023-24 season, Keller’s 156.5 points comfortably bettered second-place Louisville St. Xavier, which was the top independent school with 136 points.
Williamson dominated the Texas 6A State Championships in February, lowering a pair of individual national high school records and spearheading a pair of record-setting relays on his way to National High School Swimmer of the Year honors. In the 200 IM, Williamson broke a 13-year-old high school record set by David Nolan prior to his NCAA-record-setting career at Stanford. Williamson became the first high school swimmer to break 1:41 with his time of 1:40.81, almost six tenths ahead of Nolan’s 1:41.39 and quicker than Williamson’s previous 17-18 U.S. National Age Group record of 1:41.18.
Williamson also won the 100 backstroke in 46.29, which was the second-fastest mark in the country, and he clocked his second individual record leading off the Keller 400 free relay in 41.84, crushing the previous national mark held by Kaii Winkler. Lucas, Maxwell Stanislaus and River Paulk joined Williamson to set a national record at 2:53.80. Additionally, Williamson, Paulk, Riccardo Osio and Lucas clocked 1:19.21 in the 200 free relay to knock six hundredths off a high-school record set 12 years ago by a team that included a pair of eventual Olympic gold medalists.
Shults credited Williamson’s “work ethic, his parents’ support and his dedication to the sport of swimming” as the key factors in his development as one of the country’s top swimmers. “Maximus has been a great leader on our program. He has generated a lot of enthusiasm among all the swimmers. He’s truly part of the team and he brings everyone together at meets to cheer,” Shults said.
Additionally for Keller, Lucas posted the country’s second-fastest time in the 200 free at 1:34.69, the only swimmer faster than him setting a national record, and he ended up with the fourth-best mark in the 500 free at 4:19.08. “He had a strong fundamental base that he built on throughout his swimming career,” Shults said of Lucas, who will compete for the University of Texas beginning this season. “He knows the ins and outs of his races and how to prepare and he takes the initiative and does what he needs to do to be successful.”
Keller also got points from Osio, who tied for the 12th-quickest time in the 100 butterfly at 47.33. Meanwhile, Keller’s success was not limited to the boys’ team, with the girls’ squad posting the nation’s fourth-best mark in the 200 free relay and Avery Collins ending up 11th in the country in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.47), putting the program in a tie for ninth among girls’ public school teams.
The dominant national performance is particularly meaningful for Shults, who attended and swam for Keller while her mother, Linda, was the team’s head coach. Back then, the program was nowhere close to earning national recognition, but the efforts of Williamson, Lucas and co. have raised the ceiling and changed the expectations.
“It makes me very proud that we have built the program up to a level that it can be nationally recognized,” Shults said. “From being a team only taking one swimmer to state, who happened to be my brother, to now being a team with back-to-back state championships and a national title is just phenomenal.”
FINAL OVERALL TEAM SCORES
- Keller, TX – 156.5
- Louisville St. Xavier, KY – 136
- Hinsdale Central, IL – 117
- Bolles School, FL – 114
- Carmel, IN – 83
- Santa Margarita Catholic, CA – 81.5
- Conestoga, PA – 79
- McCallie School, TN – 74
- St. Charles Preparatory, OH – 63
- Cherry Creek, CO – 56.5
Scoring is based on the format used in high school competition, where athletes can compete in two individual events and two relays, or one individual event and three relays. Many thanks to Bob Klapthor for his dedicated years of service in collecting times and compiling the national championship scoring.