North Carolina crowns state swimming champions

Myers Park girls and Providence boys prevail in 4A; Carrboro sweep boys and girls events in 3A

4A: Myers Park girls repeat behind Wilhelm while Providence edges Marvin Ridge in the boys meet

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA – The Myers Park girls team earned their second straight state title, powered by the swimming of Kiley Wilhelm, and the Providence boys edged Marvin Ridge by a 203-192 count in the final team scoring.

Wilhelm was selected as the Most Outstanding Performer for the girls meet, winning gold in the 100 Backstroke and the 100 Butterfly. She powered to the wall in 51.20 seconds in the 100 Butterfly, earning a win in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 53.27 seconds.

Kiley Wilhelm help Myers Park to the girls 4A state championship and earned Most Outstanding Performer honors for victories in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Butterfly, as well as taking part in two winning relay teams

Wilhelm also took part in two victorious relay teams, swimming the third leg of the 200 Medley Relay with Kayman Neal, Avery Klamfoth and Sofia Plaza as they set a new all classification State Meet Record with a time of 1:42.10.

Wilhelm also led off the 400 Free Relay, combining with Grace Tuchi, Juia Pou, and Neal to touch in 3:24.60 and win the event to round out their night.

Myers Park captured the NCHSAA 4A girls swimming state title for a second straight year

Broughton’s Wells Walker was the star of the boys meet, earning Most Outstanding Performer honors while breaking two 4A State Meet Records himself and helping the Broughton 400 Free Relay team topple the all classification State Meet Record.

Walker won the 50 Freestyle in 20.19 seconds, shaving three hundredths of a second off his 4A Meet Record time in the prelims and out-touching Ashley’s Sean Setzer. Walker also collected the 100 Freestyle gold, winning the event with a time of 44.64 seconds which tied the 4A State Meet Record prior to his morning prelim swim in the event. Walker swam the prelims in 44.57 seconds to break the 4A Meet Record set in 2017 by Broughton’s Jack Messenger who swam the distance in 44.64 seconds.

Broughton's Wells Walker set two new state records (50 and 100 freestyle) while winning pair of gold medals and led off the winning 400 free relay team, which all set a state record with its victory. He was name the 4A Most Outstanding Swimmer

Walker led off the 400 Free Relay for the Caps, teaming with Gus Wiggins, Wilson Tuttle, and Clem Camacho to touch in 3:03.63 and eclipse the all classification State Meet Record of 3:04.31 set in 2022 by Green Hope.

The 2023 4A Swimming & Diving Girl’s Sportsmanship Award Winners were Sarah Dichak from Charlotte Catholic and Wilhelm from Myers Park. The Boy’s Sportsmanship Award Winners in 4A were Colin Mumford from Marvin Ridge and Hayden Stallings from Providence.

The Providence boys were the 4A boys state champions

3A: Carrboro boys, girls sweep team titles for second straight year while Battaglini and Sikes shine in individual events

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA — The Carrboro boys and girls teams won the team championships for the second straight year and Durham School of the Arts junior Lucca Battaglini was the star of the boy’s meet, setting a pair of all classification state meet records in the event. Battaglini set the all classification 50 Freestyle record in the prelims at 19.76 seconds, shaving Western Alamance’s Noah Henderson’s time of 19.92 from 2019. Battaglini one-upped himself in the finals, posting a stunning 19.47 second time, the sixth fastest time swam all-time in the NFHS National Record Books.

The Carrboro girls joined their boys counterparts in sweeping the NCHSAA swimming state championships

Battaglini was not done with the records with his 50 Freestyle performance. He dazzled again in the 100 Butterfly, clocking in at 46.94 for another all classification State Meet record, taking down the 47.01 second time posted by Reagan’s Max Edwards in 2019.

On the girl’s side, Katie Belle Sikes of Orange High School provided some fireworks of her own. Sikes smashed the 50 Freestyle all classification State Meet Record touching the wall in 22.17 seconds.

Sikes went low again in the 100 Freestyle, setting a new 3A State Meet Record in the event with a winning time of 49.45 seconds. Her performance eclipsed the previous record of 50.02 seconds set by Charlotte Catholic’s Lauren Rhodes in the 2013 Championships and helped Sikes grab the 3A Most Outstanding Swimmer Award.

Katie Belle Sikes was named the 3A Most Outstanding Swimmer after smashing the 3A 100 Free state record

Maya Lambert from Carrboro was the lone individual female to join Sikes in winning a pair of individual events. Lambert touched first in both the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Butterfly. Lambert posted a time of 2:04.16 in the 200 IM before charging to a 55.88 second win in the 100 Butterfly.

On the boy’s side, Will Thompson from Carrboro also impressed. Thompson collected individual wins in the 100 Freestyle and the 100 Backstroke. Thompson set a new 3A State Meet Record in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 48.22, trimming down the 48.58 second mark set by Western Alamance’s Noah Henderson in 2018. Thompson also won the 100 Free with a time of 44.94 seconds and anchored the victorious 400 Free Relay team, combining with Andrew Commins, Matt Strada, and Sam McCallion to outduel Croatan.

Lake Norman Charter’s Hayden Schroeder collected top honors in the 1 Meter Diving event. His 11-dive score of 554.20 set a new 3A State Meet Record.

The 2023 Sportsmanship Award winners for the 3A Girl’s Swimming & Diving Championship Meet were Maya Peterson from Carrboro and Bellum Vine from Central Cabarrus. The Men’s Sportsmanship Award Winners were Jan Brynda from Carrboro and Kyle Hawkins from Lake Norman Charter.

2A/1A: Lincoln Charter girls and Community School of Davidson boys both roll to back-to-back titles

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA – The NCHSAA 2A/1A State Swimming & Diving Championships ended with a pair of repeat team champions.

The Lincoln Charter’s girls team and Community School of Davidson’s boys both managed to capture their second straight state championships.

Jacob Jensen won top honors as the Most Outstanding Performer in the meet. The Burns swimmer set a new 2A/1A State Meet Record in the 50 Freestyle, touching 20.33 seconds to win the event. He also won the 100 Butterfly with a time of 49.46 seconds.

For the second year in a row, Eno River Academy’s Mary Shanahan collected Most Outstanding Swimmer designation in the girls meet. Shanahan won both the 100 Butterfly and the 100 Backstroke in 54.67 and 55.89 seconds, respectively.

The Lincoln Charter women edged Elkin by a final count of 250-209. The Eagles managed to win the State Championship without winning a single individual event.

Elkin’s girls were the runners-up, finishing with 209 points in the event, mostly on the strength of the Bucking Elks relay teams. The Elks won all three relay events with Ameila Pressley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, and Sophie Welborn combining to touch in 1:48.92 in the 200 Medley Relay and 1:40.39 for the 200 Free Relay victories. Sedessa Hatcher swapped in for Mattie Wells in the 400 Free Relay and helped Elkin bring home the gold in 3:39.72.

The boy’s meet once again belonged to the Community School of Davidson swimmers. Luke Weber led the way for the Spartans, winning the 500 Free in a time of 4:37.42. He also swam the second leg of the victorious 200 Medley Relay team, combining with Austin Hartsell, Brody Collander, and Riley Hall to post a winning time of 1:38.18.

Mountain Island Charter’s Beck Armstrong also put together a strong showing, pulling down three gold medals in the meet. Armstrong won the 100 Backstroke with a time of 53.47 seconds. He helped the Raptors relay teams post victories in the 200 and 400 Free Relays, combining with Mason Green, Jack Lazaroski, and Nolan Berry to touch in 1:29.70 and 3:17.52, respectively.

The 2023 Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2A/1A Girls Swimming & Diving Championship Meet were Amelia Pressley from Elkin and Grace Wilson from Lincoln Charter. The Boy’s Sportsmanship Award Winners were Evan Hancock from Raleigh Charter and Riley Hall from Community School of Davidson.