CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC, CARDINAL GIBBONS WIN TEAM TITLES IN 3-A SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

CARY⎯ Junior Erin Gaeckle helped lead Charlotte Catholic’s women to their ninth consecutive state championship in two different classifications with a strong performance on Friday night in the 3-A All American Swim Supply-NCHSAA 2010 State Swimming and Diving Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center.

Catholic won its fifth straight 3-A title after four consecutive 1-A/2-A crowns as Gaeckle earned the Most Valuable Performer award with a great all-around effort. The Charlotte Catholic junior won the 200 freestyle, set a new state 3-A record in the 100 back and was a member of two record-setting relay teams in the 200 medley and the 400 free.

Catholic tallied 432 points to outdistance runner-up Chapel Hill at 246. Waynesville Tuscola was third with 238, followed by Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (205) and Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (167). A total of 38 schools recorded points in the women’s meet.

Ashlyn Koletic of the state champions was also a double winner, taking the 50 free and the 100 butterly. Katherine Plevka of Weddington set a new state standard in the 200 intermediate medley by almost three seconds with a time of 2:04.70, and Chris McDonough of Catholic broke her own state record in the 100 breaststroke.

Junior Graham Williams of Hickory was named the MVP of the men’s meet but Cardinal Gibbons rolled to the team championship. Williams won both the 200 free and the 500 free, the only male swimmer to win two individual events.

Gibbons scored 249 points to take its third consecutive crown, 50 points ahead of runner-up Charlotte Catholic. Chapel Hill was third with 191, followed by Concord Jay Robinson at 152 and Marvin Ridge at 143.

Jacob White of Marvin Ridge captured first place in the 50 free and also swam a leg on the victorious 200 free relay team.

Wendy’s is the presenting sponsor of the NCHSAA sports programs and the Raleigh Sports Consortium is the primary host sponsor for the championships in Wake County.

COMPLETE RESULTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NCHSAA WEB PAGE BY GOING TO CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS AND CLICKING ON SWIMMING, THEN THE APPROPRIATE 2010 RESULTS