2024 NCISAA Division III State Champs
- February 12, 2024
- Greensboro, NC
- 25 yards (SCY)
- Meet Central
- Results
The North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) hosted its Division III Swimming State Championships in February, with competitors from the division’s 51 member schools coming together for a day of intense racing.
Girls Recap
The O’Neal School secured their second straight state championship title on the girls’ side, surpassing runner-up Epiphany School by over 60 points.
O’Neal took home the championship title in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays. The medley kicked off the meet in O’Neal’s favor, with the team of Victoria York, Lauren Hobbs, Michaela Stone and Jordin Reed winning in a time of 2:00.41. The same squad came together again to secure a victory in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:46.64.
Despite winning the meet overall, these were the only two races that O’Neal won; the team managed to hold onto their edge through their depth in the races as opposed to having just a few star swimmers.
Junior York contributed several points to O’Neal’s overall success. In addition to her role on the winning relays, she was runner-up in the 100 back in a time of 1:06.23. York also helped O’Neal to a 3rd-place finish in the 400 free relay, where she was joined by teammates Malia Stone, Morgan Lewis and Colette Lovsin to post a time of 4:08.49.
Hobbs was another strong contender for O’Neal, she turned in a 3rd-place finish in the 100 breast (1:13.95) and a 4th-place finish in the 200 IM (2:26.88).
A handful of other swimmers turned in top performances for their schools. Avry Midgette from The Epiphany School racked up 37 points for her team, turning in one individual victory and two runner-up finishes.
Midgette took home the title in the 100 back, touching in a time of 1:03.93 to soundly best York. She also turned in a runner-up finish in the 50 free with a personal best time of 25.15, coming in behind Gaston Day School’s Gabrielle Smith, who threw down a time of 23.37.
Midgette contributed to Epiphany’s 2nd-place finish in the 200 medley relay (2:00.63), where she was joined by teammates Laura Sanborn, Kathryn Geiger and Caroline Goodwin.
Smith, a freshman from Gaston Day School, proved to be a top performer of the meet as she walked away with two individual victories. In addition to the 50 free, she took home the state title in the 100 free, touching 1st by nearly five seconds in a time of 51.35. Smith also aided Gaston Day School to 3rd-place finishes in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays.
Trinity School’s Annabelle Gangloff was another double event winner, sweeping the middle-distance freestyle races. She won the 200 in a personal best time of 2:01.78 and followed it up with a victory in the 500 in a time of 5:26.96, another personal best.
The only other competitor to walk away with two individual victories was University Christian High School sophomore Morgan Ruebusch. She won the 100 fly in a time of 58.22 and took home the championship title in the 200 IM in a personal best time of 2:11.46.
Other Event Winners
- Stella West, a senior from Trinity Academy of Raleigh, won the 100 breast in a time of 1:08.34. West was also the runner-up in the 200 IM, coming in behind Ruebusch in a time of 2:13.99.
- The Epiphany School took home the title in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:58.12. The team of Bennett Sanborn, Goodwin, Geiger and Olivia Osenni joined together to secure the victory by over seven seconds, cruising in ahead of the runner-up team from Trinity School.
Top 10 Girls Team Scores
- The O’Neal School – 295
- Epiphany School – 233
- Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill – 185
- Gaston Day School – 160
- Wayne Country Day School – 129
- University Christian High School – 124
- Rocky Mount Academy – 100
- Carolina Friends School – 82
- St Thomas More Academy – 82
- The Oakwood School – 82
Boys Recap
Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill’s boys team posted a resounding win at the Division III State Championship, racking up 341.5 points to breeze past runner-up Davidson Day School’s 212 points. Trinity’s victory proved an upset from previous years’ results, as it shattered Caldwell Academy’s three-year win streak.
Racking up 40 points for Trinity School was senior Asa Gerend, who swept the sprint freestyle events. He won the 50 free in a time of 21.54, at the time a personal best, and followed it up with a victory in the 100 free with a time of 47.62.
Gerend helped his team to a victory in the 200 medley relay, leading off with a 24.37 split on the backstroke leg, the second fastest in the pool. Teammates Matt Cinque, Scott Lloyd and Jack Larson closed out the race behind him to take home the championship title in a time of 1:41.19, narrowly edging out Davidson’s runner-up time of 1:41.35.
Cinque, Gerend and Lloyd were joined by sophomore Jack Gerend for the 400 free relay, where they took 2nd behind Davidson in a time of 3:20.67.
Cinque was another top scorer for Trinity School. The junior posted 36 points, taking home the state championship title in the 500 free in addition to his relay performances. He won the 500 in a personal best time of 4:40.56, just 0.21 seconds ahead of Owen Nye. Cinque also placed 3rd in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.33.
Nye, a senior from Burlington Christian Academy, turned in a series of strong performances throughout the meet. The Villanova commit took home the state title in the 200 free with a time of 1:43.27.
Nye also contributed to a 7th-place finish in the 200 free relay, where he was joined by teammates Chase Newell, Austin Kinney and Davis Faucette. Nye, Newell and Faucette were later joined by Nathan Garrigan for their 8th-place finish in the 400 free relay, turning in a time of 4:10.18.
One of the top scorers of the meet was Matthew Doty, a junior from Davidson Day School. Racking up 40 points overall, Doty secured two individual victories. He won the 200 IM in a time of 1:54.35, over seven seconds ahead of runner-up Lloyd. He went on to win the 100 back by over a four-second margin, taking home the title in a time of 51.09.
Doty was the anchor on Davidson’s 400 free relay, which won in a time of 3:19.27. Finishing off the race behind teammates Roger Philipp, Alec Loh and Gavin Conroy, Doty threw down a closing split of 46.90, the fastest split in the field by nearly half a second.
That very same relay team had earlier been the runner-up in the 200 medley relay, narrowly taking 2nd in a time of 1:41.35.
Other Event Winners
- Wayne Country Day School senior Jacob Gribbin secured his only victory of the meet in the 100 breast, throwing down a personal best time of 1:05.18 to take the top spot on the podium.
- Eli Edmondson, a junior from Wayne Country Day School, won the 100 fly in a time of 51.27, narrowly edging out teammate Mance Edmondson who touched in a time of 51.56. Edmondson also took 2nd in the 200 free, posting a time of 1:43.36.
- St. Thomas More Academy took home the championship title in the 200 free relay, as the team of Thomas Lee, Michael Harris, Jake McFarland and Trevor Mulligan posted a time of 1:33.25 to secure the victory by nearly 2.5 seconds.
Top 10 Boys Team Scores
- Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill – 341.5
- Davidson Day School – 212
- University Christian High School – 176
- Wayne Country Day School – 176
- The O’Neal School – 172
- St Thomas More Academy – 161
- Westchester Country Day School – 140
- Fayetteville Academy – 98
- Wayne Christian School – 91.5
- Epiphany School – 89
