St. Xavier, Sycamore take silver, bronze at state water polo tourney

Cincinnati’s high school boys water polo teams had a strong showing at the Ohio state water polo tournament. St. Xavier finished as state runner-up, while Sycamore claimed third place in matches held on Oct. 31 at Sycamore High School.

St. Xavier and Sycamore faced each other in the state semifinals, with the Bombers passing the Aviators in a 19-14 win. St. Xavier focused on shutting down Sycamore’s star Ciaran Skinner with double-teams on defense, then using a balanced offensive attack that saw six Bombers score goals.

St. Xavier went on to face Upper Arlington in the state finals, but couldn’t quite finish the job in an 11-6 loss. Senior Spencer Meier had a standout performance from the center guard position, allowing zero goals defensively while scoring once and assisting on another goal. Senior goalie Lucas Mijares made multiple impressive saves in the first half to keep the Bombers competitive with the Golden Bears.

It was the third consecutive appearance in the state semifinals for St. Xavier, but just its first trip to the finals since 2016. The Bombers’ season wrapped up at 22-16-1 overall, recording a third-place finish at the Ohio Cup and a top-eight placement at Philadelphia’s Beast of the East Tournament.

Sycamore, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, made a statement win in the quarterfinals. The Aviators knocked off defending champions St. Charles, who had only lost three times in 2026, in a 9-6 battle. Senior Colin McAllister earned a full line in the contest, while senior David Parker was the unsung hero in denying the Cardinals’ 2-meter player any space to initiate the offense.

Following their loss to St. Xavier in the semis, Sycamore knew it had a physical matchup with Thomas Worthington coming up. The two teams had faced off three times this season, with each being decided by a single goal and one player suffering a broken nose. After a back-and-forth three quarters, the physicality got the better of Thomas Worthington as two key players were fouled out or ejected. Sycamore won the final quarter by four goals, winning the match 16-12.

Sycamore senior Ciaran Skinner, a first-team All-Ohio selection, made history in the state tournament. His 163 goals set a new single-season goal record, eclipsing the previous mark of 156. He scored 18 goals over four games in the tournament, also adding six assists, 23 steals, and 14 ejections drawn.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. Xavier, Sycamore take silver, bronze at state water polo tourney