Islanders Dunn and Carson capture state titles at swim and dive meet
Published 8:30 am Monday, February 23, 2026
Connor Carson was tops on the diving board and Luke Dunn ruled the pool.
For the second consecutive year, Mercer Island High School (MIHS) sophomore Carson won the 1-meter 3A state diving competition and Islander sophomore Dunn notched his first state titles in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle on Feb. 21 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
MIHS took third place in the team standings with 230 points at the two-day event that occurred on Feb. 20-21. Bellevue placed first with 332 points and Lakeside took second with 239.5 points.
Head coach Tim Chung discussed the team’s evolution this season and the Islanders reaching a third-place finish at state: “It took a while to get here. Back in November, I didn’t really know what this team was going to look like or where it would be heading. It took the entire season to figure out everyone’s strengths — and as always, what teenagers are willing to do for the team in the pool.”
The Islanders powered through the state meet and achieved immense success.
Carson finished atop the victory podium with 417.55 points, just ahead of Everett’s Tyler Simmons’ 417.20 points. Also for MIHS, Asher Weeks took third, Shane Kornblum took seventh and Keith Chung finished 14th.
In the swimming realm, Dunn won the 200 IM in 1:51.03 and triumphed in the 500 free in 4:28.89 and set a MIHS record in the latter event. He placed third in both those events at state last year.
On the relay front, all three MIHS teams placed third: The 200 medley (1:35.72) of Dunn, Brendan Sung, Alex Jack and ZiZi Song; the 200 freestyle (1:27.44) of Alex Xia, Graham Lucas, Andrew Wang and Song; and the 400 freestyle (3:12.94) of Dunn, Song, Wang and Xia.
Carson ran the Reporter through his state diving experience: “There’s been a lot of work that’s been put into this. It feels good to be there with my teammates. It was a super fun competition. There were a lot of people cheering me on, and I was glad to be able to cheer on other people.”
The Alpha Diving Club member noted that his highest-scoring dive of the event was a forward two-and-a-half pike. Another highlight at state was diving alongside his Alpha teammate Simmons at the top of the standings.
“After every single round, we both knew that it could have gone either way in the end and we were just being really friendly towards each other. We were clapping for each other, supporting each other,” said Carson, adding that Simmons is one of his best diver friends.
Dunn worked hard all year on his events for MIHS and his Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club squad and swam against some solid competitors at state. After taking third last year in both events, he “was excited for this year to be able to win.”
In the 200 IM, Dunn said it was a great feeling when he finished off the race with his freestyle to place first. To succeed in the 500 free, Dunn said that endurance is crucial and swimmers need to be conservative and smart when tackling that lengthy race.
“I was very happy with my swims. They were some of my best times I’ve ever had,” said Dunn, who noted that he’s honored to soon have his name placed on the MIHS record board for his 500 free performance.
MIHS reaped success with a strong and balanced squad with everyone providing support to bring out the best in each other, Dunn said.
Coach Chung experienced a special moment when watching Dunn win the 200 IM, an event that Chung won at state for MIHS more than 25 years ago.
“To see the next generation carry that event forward on that stage was electric. It’s a moment coaches won’t forget,” he said.
