The Maricopa High School swim team delivered a record-breaking performance at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division II State Championships on Nov. 7 and 8 at Mesa’s Skyline Aquatic Center, proving the Rams have built a program capable of competing with the best in Arizona. 

Senior Holden Gehrke led the way, shattering four school records and taking second place in the 200-yard freestyle. His time of 1:44.68 erased his own school record by a second and a half. 

“We had a wonderful showing and multiple move-ups from the original psych sheet going into the meet,” Head Coach Meg O’Brien reacted. “I am very happy with how the team did overall this season and at state.” 

Gehrke continued his strong meet in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing fifth in the finals with a time of 4:56.51. His most electrifying moment came in the 400-yard freestyle relay when his leadoff split of 48.29 broke the school’s 100-yard freestyle record set in 2021 by Connor Schrader. Swimming with Dante Flores, Mykah Bitter and his younger brother, Hudson Gehrke, the relay placed sixth in the state in 3:30.51, three seconds faster than the previous school record. 

The girls team featured international talent with junior exchange student Hana Iwashita of Yokohama, Japan. She broke her own school record in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:07.20, nearly two seconds faster than her earlier mark. She placed 27th in the fly and 18th in the 200-yard freestyle. 

The boys relay teams added to Maricopa’s depth. The 200-yard medley relay of Bitter, Flores, Hudson Gehrke and Holden Gehrke finished 12th overall. Flores added a 25th-place finish in the 200 individual medley and 21st in the 500 freestyle. Hudson Gehrke, a freshman, reached the finals in his first state appearance, placing 21st in the 100 butterfly and 14th in the 100 backstroke. 

The girls’ relay teams also showed improvement. The 200-yard medley relay of junior Marlie McNamee, freshman Charity Horner, junior Hana Iwashita and sophomore Xaria Martin held its position, while the 200 freestyle relay of Horner, McNamee, sophomore Ashlyn Grutzius and Iwashita placed 25th. 

Freshman breaststroker Charity Horner emerged as one of Maricopa’s breakout performers. She made the finals in the 100 breaststroke and finished 20th after entering preliminaries seeded 25th, a strong showing for a first-year swimmer on the state stage. 

Senior Mykah Bitter rounded out the individual efforts by improving to 39th in the 100 backstroke. 

The boys finished 12th out of 32 scoring teams. The girls placed 30th among the scoring teams after entering the meet seeded below that mark, meaning both groups outperformed their original projections. 

The program will graduate seniors Gehrke and Bitter, but the future remains bright. Freshmen Hudson Gehrke and Charity Horner both reached finals in their first state meet. Flores has two more years to build on his multi-event success.