CARY, NC – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) held the 3A State Swimming & Diving Championships at Triangle Aquatic Center with the Chapel Hill men and Charlotte Catholic women powering their way to the team state championships. The meet was full of speed, as four men’s 3A state meet records fell including an all-classification record while two women’s 3A state meet marks went down.
Women’s Championship Recap – Charlotte Catholic picks up the program’s third straight team title thanks to pair of relay victories
The Charlotte Catholic women raced to victory with wins in two of the three relay events in the 2020 3A State Meet. The Cougars 200 Freestyle Relay of Olivia Rhodes, Hope Borders, Abigail Parks, and Alina Stout outtouched the 3A meet record of 1:34.39 set by Weddington a year ago in the event, as the Cougar quartet brought home gold in 1:34.30. The 400 Freestyle Relay was also victorious, with Stout, Victoria Dichak, Madeline Menkhaus and Parks combining to win in 3:27.08.
Menkhaus and Rhodes also won individual events for Charlotte Catholic. Menkhaus won the 100 Butterfly in a time of 54.42 seconds while Rhodes collected the top spot in the 50 Freestyle in 23.44 seconds. The pair helped lift Charlotte Catholic to a third straight NCHSAA 3A State Championship and the 16th team title in program history.
J.H. Rose’s Madeline Smith turned in a pair of wins, collecting gold in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle. Smith touched in 1:49.38 in the 200 and 50.15 seconds in the 100 to lead the Rampants. She was named the 3A Most Outstanding Swimmer for the women’s meet.
The 200 Medley Relay team from Cuthbertson also broke a 3A state meet record rolling to a time of 1:45.30. Jordan Browning, Alison Thome, Avery Murray and Leah Sandock combined for the Cavaliers to take down the previous record of 1:45.46 established by the Charlotte Catholic relay squad from 2018.
Men’s Championship Recap – Hoover and Chapel Hill swim to program’s seventh team title, stopping Marvin Ridge’s streak at three
Sam Hoover powered the Chapel Hill Tigers to the program’s seventh team state championship all-time and their first since winning the 3A title in 2016. Hoover helped the Tigers end the Marvin Ridge men’s team title streak at three, relegating the Mavericks to second place in the 2020 edition of the State Championships. Hoover was outstanding and named the Most Oustanding Swimmer for the men’s competition as he established a new state record in the 100 Freestyle, touching in 43.10 seconds and stealing back the state record from Tim Connery of Christ the King who raced to 44.18 seconds earlier this week. Hoover also set a new 3A state meet record in the 200 Freestyle, speeding to a time of 1:35.57, and replacing the 1:38.86 time set by Preston Forst from Northern Guilford in 2018.
The Tigers also won a pair of relay races, establishing new 3A state meet records in both victories. Hoover anchored the 200 Freestyle Relay, combining with Ayden Xu, Sebastian Gerz-Escandon, and Michael Volpe to touch in 1:25.23 and trim the mark of 1:26.05 established by Marvin Ridge a year ago. The Tigers then sealed the meet in the 400 Freestyle Relay with Xu, Peter Bretzmann, Austin Chang and Hoover teaming up for a 3:07.79 that knocked down another 3A meet record set by Marvin Ridge 2019 when they swam 3:08.66.
Preston Forst from Northern Guilford set a new 500 Freestyle 3A meet record, racing to the wall in 4:27.29. Forst’s time trimmed the mark of 4:29.30 set by Curtis Wiltsey from Weddington in the 2018 meet. Marvin Ridge saw Boyd Polke swim to a pair of individual event wins, earning gold in the 50 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly. Polke slipped in at 20.80 seconds in the 50 Free, his second career title in the event, and 48.14 seconds in the 100 Butterfly.
North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Sportsmanship Awards
The NCHSAA and North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Company are committed to recognizing and promoting outstanding sportsmanship. We award two Sportsmanship Awards at each State Championship Event to deserving members of championship teams, as selected by their coaches. The 2020 3A Women’s Swimming & Diving Sportsmanship Award winners are Victoria Dichak from Charlotte Catholic and Abby Ormiston from Marvin Ridge. The 2020 3A Men’s Swimming & Diving Sportsmanship Award winners are Peter Bretzmann from Chapel Hill and Brayden Brewer from Marvin Ridge.