CARY, NC – The NCHSAA 1A/2A State Swimming & Diving Championships ended with a pair of repeat team champions atop the podium. Lincoln Charter’s women’s team and Community School of Davidson’s men’s squad both managed to capture their second straight 1A/2A State Championships.
Jacob Jensen won top honors as the Most Outstanding Performer in the meet. The Burns swimmer set a new 1A/2A 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 on his way to the Most Outstanding award.
For the second year in a row, Eno River Academy’s Mary Shanahan collected Most Outstanding Swimmer designation in the Women’s 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. They were led by Grace Wilson, who finished second in the 500 Freestyle behind Union Academy’s Maddilyn Geyer who brought home the gold. Wilson also finished third in the 200 Freestyle behind Thomas Jefferson’s Taia Schneider and Newton-Conover’s Morgan Ruebusch. Lincoln Charter sophomore Norah Chamblee also finished on the podium in the 200 IM, touching in third.
Elkin’s women 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 men’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 NCHSAA is committed to promoting good sportsmanship at all athletic events and has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to present the NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards to two athletes from each NCHSAA Championship Event. The 2023 Sportsmanship Award winners for the 1A/2A Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship Meet were Amelia Pressley from Elkin and Grace Wilson from Lincoln Charter. The Men’s Sportsmanship Award Winners were Evan Hancock from Raleigh Charter and Riley Hall from Community School of Davidson.
