After main the St. Xavier boys to their thirty sixth Kentucky state title in a row, head coach Todd Larkin was named Nationwide Coach of the 12 months earlier this week by the Nationwide Excessive Faculty Coaches Affiliation (NHSCA).
Larkin, who graduated from the Louisville-based St. Xavier in 1986, has guided this system to state titles for the previous 15 years. St. Xavier is tied with Florida’s Bolles Faculty for the longest energetic streak within the nation.
Military commit Johnny Crush capped his undefeated highschool profession with a dominant 383-point victory on the 2024 KHSAA State Championships in February, breaking particular person information within the 100 freestyle (42.70) and the 100 backstroke (45.70). St. Xavier’s final loss got here again in January of 2020 towards Cincinnati St. Xavier.
“It’s all coach Larkin,” Crush instructed the Courier Journal in February. “He’s such an incredible coach, superb particular person, superb mentor to us. He will get on us once we do dangerous, and he makes us go quick. He does it in a loving method, and that’s why we’ve been an ideal group these 4 years.
“It’s not simply letting ourselves down if we lose, it’s letting him down if we lose. Each single particular person on this group, that’s their biggest worry — letting coach Larkin down.”
Larkin’s quest for a thirty seventh state title in a row ought to be more durable subsequent season with out Crush. Nevertheless, he nonetheless has loads of depth to develop as St. Xavier received 9 of 12 occasions at the latest KHSAA State Championships.
Larkin’s squad has additionally captured nationwide highschool crowns twice previously three years. St. Xavier now boasts 60 state championships in complete.
“That’s all the time going to be the bar in our program now that we’ve achieved that,” Larkin mentioned of the nationwide highschool title. “They know the sooner they go, the higher likelihood we have now. … We instructed our guys, ‘Be that group that they speak about in 10 years.’ They took it upon themselves, and I couldn’t be extra happy with them.”
Different NHSCA Coach of the 12 months finalists in swimming and diving included Fargo North’s Talia Butery, Dowling Catholic’s Paul Eure, Cottonwood Classical’s Colleen Gibson, Panther Creek’s Megan Gnoza, Jackson Gap’s Jim Jenkins, Farmington’s Jen Marshall, and Livonia Stevenson’s Greg Phil. Final 12 months’s recipient was Visitation Faculty (Minn.) coach Nate Allen Linscheid.
2023/24 NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR! The NHSCA confirmed what we already know, there isn’t a higher Swimming and Diving coach within the nation. Congrats to Todd Larkin, the teaching workers, and all our superb student-athletes which have made this program really elite.
We’re proud. pic.twitter.com/lbOiPCbiqv
— Tiger Swim & Dive (@StXTigerSwim) June 3, 2024
