On February 20th and 21st, Jesuit Swimming and Diving concluded a historic season at the UIL Class 6A State Championships. The meet took place on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, in the Lee and Joe Jamal Texas Swimming Center. The Rangers had five finals swims and scored a school record 118 points to finish fifth. This ties the highest ever finish for the Rangers, the last occurring in 2016.
Preliminaries
After a restful Thursday night, the Rangers had one goal: get into finals. This task proved easy for the Rangers, getting all their swims into the finals. Jonah Ruhl ’27 was the first qualifier, placing fourth with a 1:49.62. Sam Kennington ’26 then went a 20.90 to qualify sixth. Luke Lary ’26 then qualified fourth in the 100 fly, swimming a 49.12. After Lary’s solid swim, Ruhl secured a second qualification, finishing third in the preliminaries in the 100 free.
“Finishing second at state isn’t just about touching the wall after someone else- it’s about every 5 a.m. practice, every aching shoulder, and knowing you raced your heart out in the fastest water of the season.” – Jonah Ruhl ’27
After concluding all their individual events, the Rangers turned their attention to the relays. The squad of Ruhl, Kennington, Sebastian Suwanda ’26, and Lary qualified second with a time of 1:23.91. This time broke a school record, set in 2015 by Nolan Daniels, Jack Ayres, Aedan Quinn, Brendan Feehery. Their second free relay, the 400 free, gave the Bue & Gold a scare. The same foursome barely snuck into the “A” final, qualifying eighth with a time of 3:06.36. After prelims, the team headed back to the hotels, but a big change was brewing.
Finals
The Rangers returned the next afternoon, in contention to claim the program’s first-ever UIL state title. The Rangers individual swims performed well. Jonah Ruhl maintained his position with a fourth-place finish in the 200IM, swimming a 1:48.94. Sam Kennington moved up a spot to finish fifth in the 50 freestyle with a 20.75, tying his school record. Luke Lary claimed his first state-medal with a third-place finish in the 100 fly. Ruhl then claimed bronze in the 100 free with a time of 44.84.
After the individuals the Rangers were second behind their brothers at Strake Jesuit. However, Strake did not have a 200-freestyle relay, giving Jesuit an opportunity to take the lead. The quartet of Kennington, Lary, Ruhl, and Sebastian Suwanda took full advantage, claiming a silver medal in a school-record time of 1:23.57. However, Marcus would come on to them, with swimmers placing high in the 100 back and 100 breast. The Rangers entered the last event third but would need a big swim in the 400-freestyle relay, in addition to needing some outside help.
Immediately following the prelims session, the decision was made to remove senior Sebastian Suwanda from the 400-freestyle relay. Suwanda, who had split a 48.53 in the preliminaries, was taken out in favor of sophomore Porter Pope ’28. As the relay commenced, the other swimmers hoped that the gamble with Pope would pay off. However, things did not go as planned from the get-go. Luke Lary led off in a 47.36, and gave way to Kennington, who split a 46.08. Porter Pope went third, splitting a 49.09. Jonah Ruhl tried to mitigate the damage, but the Rangers were too far behind. Despite a 45.05 split, the Rangers were last in the “A” final. This relay, combined with a massive finish from Southlake Carroll, pushed the Rangers down to fifth. Ultimately, Jesuit would end up in a three-way tie for fifth with San Antonio Reagan and Humble Kingwood.
Season Recap
Perfect 9-0 Dual Meet Record
vs. Bishop Lynch: W 152-21
@Allen: W 117-69
@Lovejoy: W 147-38
vs. Coppell: W 146-37
vs. Saint Mark’s: W 125-60
vs. Greenhill: W 125-60
vs. Parish: W 170-13
vs. TCA: W 167-13
vs. Cistercian: W 166-19
2025 Ranger Relays Champions
2025 North Zone TISCA Invitational Champions
2026 District 7-6A Champions
2026 Region 2-6A Champions
2026 UIL Class 6A State Championships- 5th Place (Tied Highest finish in school history)
Jonah Ruhl- District 7-6A Swimmer of the Meet, Region 2-6A Swimmer of the Meet
Head Coach Doug Moyse- District 7-6A Coach of the Year, Region 2-6A Coach of the Year
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