Orange Grove junior Kade Riley finishes second in 50-yard state freestyle

Orange Grove High School junior Kade Riley earned a podium finish at the Class 4A University Interscholastic League State Swimming & Diving Championships, placing second in the boys 50-yard freestyle in San Antonio on Friday, Feb. 14, 2026. The finish marked a high point for the Orange Grove program at the state meet.

Riley reached the state final after a strong performance at the Region IV-4A championships the week of Jan. 26–31, 2026, where he finished second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.68 seconds. That runner-up showing auto-qualified him for the UIL State Championships, and he also qualified in the 100 free at the Region IV-4A meet.

The Orange Grove junior’s run through region and state was recognized locally: Riley was voted Apple Dental Center Caller-Times High School Athlete of the Week for Jan. 26–31, 2026. He received 5,267 of the 7,408 votes cast, a 71.1 percent share of the total. The Athlete-of-the-Week final results listed Aubree Leal of Aransas Pass girls basketball with 1,630 votes, Kayley Ford of Beeville girls soccer with 312 votes, and Noah Westbrook of King boys diving with 140 votes.

The Athlete-of-the-Week honors follow the award’s nomination and voting procedures for the Coastal Bend sports feature: students may be named Athlete of the Week only once per season per sport, and athletes from a single school cannot win more than three consecutive weeks. Nominations for the weekly award are due by 5 p.m. Saturday and may be submitted by email to ctsports@caller.com or on X at @CallerSports, with voting running through Thursday each week.

Riley’s state-medal result came without a published time in the available state-meet summary, but his 21.68 at Region IV-4A and his dual qualification in the 100 free establish him as one of Orange Grove’s leading swimmers this season. As a junior, Riley will remain eligible to compete for Orange Grove in the 2026-27 high school season and for next year’s UIL Class 4A championships, providing a returning centerpiece for the program as it builds on the San Antonio performance.