Leesville Road girls runner-up, Athens Drive boys third in NCHSAA 4A swimming championships

Middle Creek senior Julia Poole, Broughton senior Jack Messenger and Leesville Road junior Grace Countie all doubled in style with state records.

Poole and Messenger also brought home their respective meet MVP awards, while Athens Drive junior Zach Brown contributed his own double with fast times.

And so many others throughout the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A State swimming finals kept the Time Warner Cable cameraman guiding a poolside camera on a track hustling to keep pace Friday at Triangle Aquatic Center.

Poole set a pair of state records while she defended her 200-yard individual medley for the third straight year and won her second 100 breaststroke. Both state records were set in the morning prelims before she came back in the evening finals with similar winning times.

She broke her own 200 IM state record with a prelims mark of 1 minute, 58.77 seconds; she won the finals in 1:58.96. Her 100 breast prelims record was 1:01.78; she won the final in 1:01.98.

“I’m really happy – I wasn’t expecting the records,” said the N.C. State-bound Poole. “I’m glad to end my high school career with two state records. The 200 IM record means a little more because it was my third (state title).”

Messenger won the 50 free (20.53) and defended his title in the 100 free (44.64) while setting a state record.

Countie broke the state record in the 50 free and completed her first state double in the 100 free. Her 50 time of 22.60 broke her 2016 state record of 20.75. She won the 4A East Regional last week in 22.59, but only marks in state prelims or finals officially count for state records. Her winning 100 time of 44.98 was three-tenths of a second off the state record.

In addition to Brown winning the 200 IM (1:48.94) and 100 butterfly (48.78), another boys state champ was Holly Springs senior Andrew Capobianco in diving (547.40 points).

Other girls gold medalists were Apex junior Ana Pozder in the 500 free (4:48.48), and Sanderson sophomore Kenna Haney the 200 free (1:47.29).

In the team competition, the Leesville Road girls (245) finished a close second to Hough High (270) of Cornelius, just north of Charlotte.

Athens Drive’s boys placed third (153) behind South Mecklenburg (279) and Hough (208).

MORE GIRLS MEDALS

The top four finishers in each event were awarded medals.

In the girls’ meet, two Green Hope seniors claimed two medals. Samantha Medlin was fourth in the 200 free (1:50.51) and third in the 100 free (51.37) and Kate Moore was second in the 200 IM (2:00.71) and third in the 100 backstroke (54.59).

Medlin also contributed to a fourth in the 200 free relay (1:36.94) and a third in the 400 free relay (3:29.23). Her 200 free relay teammates were Regan Lawrence, junior Rebecca Ssengonzi and sophomore Lauren Medlin. Joining her on the 400 free relay were Lawrence, Moore and junior Hannah Kota.

Other medalists were Millbrook senior Jordan Kohut, fourth in the 50 free (23.77); East Chapel Hill junior Alyssa Wang, third in diving (415.40 points); and Jordan junior Sadie Schumann, fourth in 100 free (51.50).

MORE BOYS MEDALS

In the boys’ meet, D.H. Conley senior Bradley Downs and Riverside’s Josh Rigsbee both placed in two events. Downs took home a pair of fourths in the 200 free (1:41.24) and 100 free (46.53) and Rigsbee two fourths in the 200 IM (1:51.96) and 100 breast (57.3).

Other medalists were Cary senior Garrett Troxler, third in the 100 butterfly (49.41); Cary senior Rhys Kawaguchi, second in the 500 free (4:32.43); and Green Hope senior John Healy, second in 100 backstroke (50.39).

Healy also was part of Green Hope’s fourth in the 200 medley relay (1:34.86) with junior Connor Dalbo, freshman Jesse Ssengonzi and sophomore Mitch Curlee.

Millbrook placed third in the 200 free relay (1:26.88) with junior Josh Legge, junior Thomas Wright, Davis Payne and junior Hunter Pigg.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 12:35 AM with the headline "Leesville Road girls runner-up, Athens Drive boys third in NCHSAA 4A swimming championships."