2023 NCHSAA Swimming and Diving 3A State Championships
- February 10-11, 2023
- Triangle Aquatic Center, Cary, North Carolina
- Short Course Yards (25 Yards)
- Full Results
For the second straight year, Carrboro swept the 3A Swimming and Diving State Championships, coming away with the top team score for both the girls and boys meets.
Girl’s Meet Recap
The girls meet kicked off with a close race between Central Cabarrus and Orange in the 200 medley relay. At the 150 mark, Orange sat over three seconds back before Katie Belle Sikes split 21.80 on the anchor leg to bring them just over a tenth off of gold. The Central Cabarrus team of Abbey Cronin, Bellum Vine, Lyla Johns, and Audrey Wolff pulled off the win by .15, touching in 1:53.11.
While her efforts weren’t enough to help her team to victory in the relay, Sikes picked up a pair of individual titles, and state records, later in the meet. In the 50 free, Sikes claimed first for the second straight year by nearly three seconds, lowering the 3A and overall state records with her time of 22.17. That makes her the fastest performer in state history by nearly three-tenths of a second. She followed that swim by becoming the first 3A swimmer to dip below 50.0 in the 100 free, finishing in 49.45. That time puts her just two-tenths off the overall state record that was set by Teresa Ivan in 2021. Sikes is already committed to the University of Georgia for next year where she will be set to be a huge addition to the program’s sprint freestyle group.
In the 200 free, Northwood sophomore Abigail Emrich hit a lifetime best on her way to winning the state title. Emrich was the only athlete below 1:52 in the event, touching in 1:51.97.
Carrboro picked up it’s first win of the meet in the 200 IM with junior Maya Lambert claiming gold. Lambert took the top spot by over three seconds in the race, touching at 2:04.16. She added a second state title later in the meet as she finished with the fastest time in the 100 fly (55.88).
In a small field, Madi Varnum came away with the top score on the 1-meter board, winning the event for Lake Norman Charter with a score of 450.40.
The 500 free went to freshman Kathryn Cinson of Fred T. Foard who took the event in 5:05.29.
After falling just short in the medley relay to start the meet, Orange came out on top in the 200 free relay. Sikes once again anchored, with Riley White, Piper White, and Ainsley Rasinske joining her as the team finished in 1:41.04.
Abbey Cronin, who was a part of Central Cabarrus’s winning 200 medley relay to start the meet, took the top spot in the 100 back. The only swimmer under 59.0 in the race, Cronin, a sophomore, finished in 58.28.
The final individual of the day went to Jenna Koh of Ledford. After finishing second a year ago as a junior, Koh finished out her high school career by taking gold in the 100 breast with a time of 1:07.25.
Central Cabarrus closed out the meet by winning the 400 free relay in 3:41.90
Team Scores (Top 5)
- Carrboro – 196
- Central Cabarrus – 179
- Lake Norman Charter – 168
- Orange – 154
- Northwood – 133
Boys Meet Recap
Nortwest Cabarrus kicked off the boys meet by running away with the 200 medley relay. The squad of Harrison Ranier, Justin Gould, Lane Bradshaw, and Jacob Rinker combined to finish in 1:36.75.
Picking up two individual state titles for Carrboro was junior Andrew Commins. In his first event, the 200 free, he led the field by over three seconds, touching at 1:38.24. He was just as dominant in the 500 free, with his time of 4:31.06 leading the field by over fifteen seconds. His teammate, junior Matt Strada, took 2nd in that event with a time of 4:47.70.
The 200 IM saw another 1-2 finish, this time from Northwest Cabarrus teammates Harrison Ranier and Lane Bradshaw. It was Ranier who ultimately came away with the state title, touching at 1:51.66. As a junior last season, Ranier, who’s committed to swim at Auburn University this fall, was the state champion in the 200 free.
The 50 free saw one of the biggest swims of the meet, with Lucca Battaglini of the Durham School of the Arts setting the overall state record during both prelims and finals. After touching in 19.76 in his first swim, he dropped another three-tenths of a second in finals to set the state record at 19.47.
That time puts him just .27 off of the national high school record set by Aiden Hayes in 2021.
Battaglini added another record later in the meet in the 100 fly, becoming the first high school swimmer in the state to finish under 47.0, touching in 46.94 in finals. Battaglini was ranked as the fifth best recruit in SwimSwam’s rankings for the class of 2024 and is committed to swim at Cal in the fall of 2024. A junior, he was the two-time defending 3A State Champion in both races.
Lake Norman Charter picked up points in the diving event as Hayden Schroeder, a junior, set the 3A state record with a final score of 554.20.
Joining Battaglini and Commins as a multiple-event winner on the day was Carrboro senior Will Thompson. Thompson kicked off his day by leading the field in the 100 free, touching in 44.94 for gold. He followed that performance with a record-setting swim in the 100 back, breaking the 3A record previously held by Noah Henderson with a time of 48.22. Thompson, who was named to the “Best of the Rest” in the Way Too Early list of top recruits in the class of 2023, is set to join UVA this fall.
Croatan High School picked up its first win of the meet in the 200 free relay, holding off a Carrboro relay that featured sub-21.0 splits from both Commins and Thompson. The Croatan team of Matej Roth, Nathan Michaelowicz, Paul Padgett, and Ryan Simcic pulled off the win in a time of 1:27.76.
After finishing as the runner-up in the 200 IM earlier in the day, Lane Bradshaw came out on top in the 100 breast. Bradshaw was the only swimmer to finish under a minute in the race, touching in 59.02. He was slightly faster during prelims, finishing in 58.66. Bradshaw is committed to Loyola University-Maryland for this fall.
The final race off the meet came down to a battle between Carrboro and Coratan, with Carrboro coming out on top in the 400 free relay. Commins and Thompson were joined by Matt Strada and Sam McCallion to take home gold in 3:13.96.
Team Scores (Top 5)
- Carrboro – 231
- Lake Norman Charter – 192
- Northwest Cabarrus – 177
- Croatan – 166
- West Carteret – 137
