2023 NCHSAA 1A/2A State Swimming & Diving meet recap (Feb. 8-9)
Newton-Conover’s Ruebusch garners runner-up finish in Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle and 3rd place mark in 100 Yard Butterfly
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 Out- standing 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. (2/8/2023 to 2/9/2023)
Host: Cumberland County Schools
Below are the results for lone Catawba County athlete Morgan Ruebusch of Newton-Conover:
WOMEN 200 YARD FREESTYLE
Name School Finals TimePrelim Time Points
Championship Final
1. Thomas Jefferson Classical Aca FR Taia Schneider 1:56.29 201:57.961
1:56.29 (29.14)1:27.15 (30.12)57.03 (29.54)27.49
*2. Newton-ConoverMorgan Ruebusch 1:57.33 171:58.282
1:57.33 (29.84)1:27.49 (30.41)57.08 (29.93)27.15
3.Lincoln Charter SR Grace Wilson 1:57.37 161:58.013
1:57.37
(30.02)1:27.35 (30.26)57.09 (29.68)27.41
4. Raleigh Charter FR Allyson Deans 1:58.08 152:00.864
1:58.08 (29.89)1:28.19 (30.68)57.51 (30.13)27.38
5. Surry Central SO Mallory Cave 1:59.30 142:00.125 1:59.30 (31.11)1:28.19
(30.84)57.35 (29.69)27.66
6. Mountain Heritage JR Lily Fender 1:59.57 132:01.526
1:59.57 (30.23)1:29.34 (31.16)58.18 (30.30)27.88
7. Union Academy SR Mia Matthews 2:02.62 12
8. Lincoln Charter Brooklyn DeCann 2:02.79
WOMEN 100 YARD BUTTERFLY
Name School Finals TimePrelim Time Points
Championship Final
1. Eno River Academy JR Mary Shanahan 54.67 2054.641
54.67 (29.46)25.21
2. Elkin Morgan Wiles 57.86 1758.872
57.86 (31.01)26.85
*3. Newton-ConoverMorgan Ruebusch 57.87 1659.783 (BROKE SCHOOL RECORD)
57.87 (30.90)26.97
4. Seaforth FR Sydney Burleigh 59.23 1559.364
59.23 (31.52)27.71
2023 1A/2A STATE NCHSAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
5. North Surry SR Kara Bryant 1:00.11 1459.805 1:00.11 (31.92)28.19
6. Lincoln Charter SO Norah Chamblee 1:00.92 131:01.056
1:00.92 (32.76)28.16
7. Shelby SR Libby Canipe 1:01.70 121:01.177
1:01.70 (32.75)28.95
8. Pine Lake Prep Sydney Haun 1:02.35 11
1:02.35 (33.21) 29.14
WOMEN - TEAM RANKINGS - THROUGH EVENT 24
(TOP 20 ONLY)
1. Lincoln Charter 250
2. Elkin 209
3. Community School of Davidson 193
4. Pine Lake Prep 174
5. Union Academy 173
6. Raleigh Charter 161
7. Christ the King 117
8. Seaforth 107
9. Bishop McGuinness 81
10. East Surry 67
11. Mountain Heritage 55
12. Brevard 52
13. Thomas Jefferson Classical Aca 49
14. Shelby 45
15. Cornerstone Charter Academy 42
16. Eno River Academy 40
17. Mountain Island Charter 39
18. Burns 36
19. Langtree Charter Academy 35
*20. Newton-Conover 33*