Seminole High's Vivian Swain, Ryan Ackerson earn statewide water polo honors
Seminole High swept Florida Dairy Farmers water polo honors as Vivian Swain and Ryan Ackerson capped a 31-0 season and another state title.
Seminole High’s water polo program turned its latest championship run into a statewide sweep, with senior Vivian Swain named Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Miss Water Polo and head coach Ryan Ackerson selected as Girls Water Polo Coach of the Year.
The honors mattered because they came after a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school water polo coaches, giving Seminole County’s latest celebration weight well beyond Sanford. Florida Dairy Farmers uses a three-step nomination and voting process for its high school sports awards across 30 FHSAA-sanctioned and recognized sports, and the organization says the program has honored more than 5,000 student-athletes and coaches since 1992.
Swain’s case was built on production that dwarfed most high school stat lines. She helped Seminole win the state championship with 121 goals, 87 assists and 40 steals this season, then finished her four-year varsity career with 341 goals, 361 assists and 203 steals. MaxPreps listed her among the national leaders in assists in late April, a sign that her playmaking was drawing attention far beyond Seminole County.
Ackerson’s award reflected not just one title, but a sustained standard. Seminole finished 31-0 in 2026, beat West Orange 8-4 in the state championship game, and claimed its second state title in three years. The Fighting Seminoles’ three-year run of 90-2 showed a program that has remained elite through multiple seasons, not one that surged for a single spring and faded.
The 2026 girls water polo state championships were held April 24-25 at the Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, where Seminole and West Orange met in the title game on April 25. Seminole was also one of the schools that sent both boys and girls teams to the championship event, underscoring the broader depth of the Sanford program.
Seminole’s recent record now includes girls state titles in 2024 and 2026, a runner-up finish in 2025, and repeated regional, district and conference championships. For Seminole County athletics, the awards signal something bigger than one trophy haul: a local pipeline built to sustain excellence, produce national-caliber players and keep a program at the center of Florida water polo.
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