Aria Grossenbach Won the 50 and 100 Freestyle Again, Both Faster Than Last Year: Stevenson's Senior Sprinter Leaves the Illinois State Meet With Three Titles

Aria Grossenbach Won the 50 and 100 Freestyle Again, Both Faster Than Last Year: Stevenson's Senior Sprinter Leaves the Illinois State Meet With Three Titles

The Stevenson senior swam 22.58 and 48.65 to repeat as Illinois champion in both sprints, then helped win the 400 free relay. Her 47.93 in prelims was reported as a state record.

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In sprint swimming, a season's work gets measured in tenths of a second. Aria Grossenbach found them in both of her races.

The Stevenson High School senior won the 50-yard freestyle in 22.58 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 48.65 at the Illinois High School Association girls state finals on Saturday at FMC Natatorium in Westmont. She won the same two events a year ago, in 22.85 and 49.19. Both times dropped, and both titles stayed in Lincolnshire, according to the IHSA's list of state champions.

Four Individual State Titles and a Relay Win in Two Years

That makes four individual state championships for the Class of 2027 sprinter. She added a fifth gold on Saturday as part of Stevenson's 400-yard freestyle relay, which won in 3:23.13 with Emma Kierzkowski, Christine Liu and Claire Wang, about nine tenths of a second ahead of Hinsdale Central.

The climb has been steady. As a freshman, Grossenbach set school records of 23.41 and 51.37 at the state meet, the Stevenson student newspaper reported in a profile last year. Since then she has taken more than eight tenths off the 50 and nearly three seconds off the 100.

A 47.93 in Prelims, Reported as an Illinois Record

Her fastest swim of the weekend may have come a day early. The Daily Herald reported that Grossenbach went 47.93 in Friday's 100 freestyle preliminaries and called it a state record. The IHSA's published record book has not been updated since the meet. The mark it lists is 48.34, set by Kaneland's Leah Hayes, so a 47.93 would lower it by four tenths.

For a sense of the 50, the state record there is 21.99, set by Glenbrook South's Olivia Smoliga in 2012. Grossenbach's 22.58 is about six tenths back.

Hinsdale Central Won the Team Title With 236 Points

Stevenson won its first team championship in 2025 but could not repeat. Hinsdale Central took the title with 236 points, its eighth and its first since 1993, ahead of New Trier (220) and Lyons Township (156.5), Shaw Local reported.

The state meet closes the Illinois girls high school season. More high school coverage from every sport is on the BallerTube high school page.