FULL RESULTS (PDF) | FULL RESULTS (AP TEXT)
CARY, NC – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 1A/2A State Championship meet was an exciting one as Lincoln Charter’s women held off a tough challenge from Pine Lake Prep to win the team’s first State Championship. On the men’s side, Baylor Nelson’s record-setting performance powered Community School of Davidson to their first team State Championship in program history.
Nelson was spectacular on his way to being named the Most Outstanding Swimmer for the 1A/2A Men’s Championship. He smashed his own 200 Individual Medley record, touching in 1:43.56, the fourth fastest time ever reported in a high school meet according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Record Book. The swim bested his own all-Classification State Meet Record of 1:46.07, a record he set in 2021. He also set a new 1A/2A State Meet Record in the 100 Butterfly finishing with a time of 47.88 seconds and trimming his own 1A/2A meet record from 48.15 seconds in 2021.
The icing on the cake for Nelson and his teammates was their triumph in the final event of the meet, the 400 Freestyle Relay. Nelson anchored the team of Luke Weber, Austin Hartsell, and Jacob Navarro, combining for a time of 3:17.33. Nelson entered the pool with a full second deficit and powered to a more than three second margin of victory over second place Raleigh Charter who touched in 3:20.96.
There was one other double individual event State Champion, Reid Miller from Bradford Prep who claimed victory in the two fastest events of the meet, the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle. Miller touched in 20.67 seconds in the 50 Free and posted a winning time of 45.18 seconds in the 100.
Elkin swimmers had a particularly strong showing in the 100 Breaststroke as the Bucking Elks took the top two spots on the podium in the event. Jack Zamudio touched in 56.21 to best his teammate Marshall Wells who finished second in 58.26 seconds. The two also swam the final two legs of the Bucking Elks’ winning 200 Free Relay following strong swims from Troy Snow and Thomas McComb to win the event in 1:29.40.
Lincoln Charter’s women claimed their first team State Championship thanks to a 200 Freestyle victory from Grace Wilson who churned to a 1:57.03 win. She also led off for the second place 400 Free Relay team, combining with Brooklyn DeCann, Gianna D’Amato, and Jade Chamblee to touch in 3:46.94 and solidify the team title over Pine Lake Prep.
Eno River Academy standout Mary Shanahan won a pair of events on her way to being named the 1A/2A Women’s Meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer. Shanahan won the 100 Butterfly in 55.22 seconds and knocked out her other win in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 55.73.
The Elkin Relay teams managed to sweep all three relays in the meet. Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, and Sophie Welborn all swam in each of the three relays and climbed to the top of the podium in all three events. The Bucking Elks touched in 1:50.90 in the 200 Medley Relay before posting winning times of 1:41.39 and 3:43.34 in the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays.
Ede Kosik from Voyager Academy also posted a pair of wins in the meet. The Viking senior rolled to victory in the 100 Freestyle, laying down a time of 51.11 seconds on the way to her first podium of the night. Then in the next event, the 500 Freestyle, Kosik pulled away for a win in 5:05.61.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting and recognizing outstanding sportsmanship and the Association has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship who have demonstrated the ideals of sportsmanship throughout the season with the NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards. The Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2022 1A/2A Women’s State Championship were Scarlett Duncan from Lincoln Charter and Olivia Lasarsky from Pine Lake Prep. The Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2022 1A/2A Men’s State Championship were Owen Ragsdale from Raleigh Charter and Austin Hartsell from Community School of Davidson.
