Elliott earns No. 2 in 6A State 50 Free, Relays help Watauga women power to No. 5 team finish

By David Rogers. CARY, N.C. — Almost 60 schools are in the NCHSAA 6A classification for sports. Twenty-five (25) of them earned team points in the 6A State Swimming & Diving Championships Feb. 12-13 hosted by the Triangle Aquatic Center. Thanks to Wataug

a High School’s depth in several individual races, including a No. 2 finish by senior Athena Elliott, and top five finishes in the relays (No. 2, 200-Yard Medley Relay; No. 3, 200-Yard Freestyle Relay; No. 7, 400-Yard Freestyle Relay), the Watauga women’s team turned in a No. 5 team performance behind only highly regarded Charlotte Catholic, East Chapel Hill, Mount Tabor and J H Rose high schools.

SUMMARY OF WATAUGA WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES (in event order)

• 200-Yard Medley Relay (Winning time, 150.12, J H Rose)
  • TIE-No. 2, 1:50.66, Addison Wilson, Tessa Buchanan, Ayla Crawley, Athena Elliott
• 200-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 1:48.00, Isabel Wolk, East Chapel Hill) 
  • No. 10, Chessy Martin, 2:01.40
  • No. 21, Elizabeth Staehli, 2:12.25
  • No. 26, Viviane Vannoy, 2:20.84
  • No. 30, Caitlin Dong, 2:26.88
• 200-Yard Individual Medley (Winning time, 2:03.75, Peyton James, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 13, Ireland Laxton, 2:29.03
• 50-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 23.57, Kathryn Kern, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 2, Athena Elliott, 24.79
  • No. 6, Merritt Powell, 25.47
  • No. 11, Tessa Buchanan, 25.79
  • No. 19, Macie Kent, 26.86
• 100-Yard Butterfly (Winning time, 55.30, Madi Hertzig, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 10, Athena Elliott, 1:00.32
  • No. 13, Ayla Crawley, 1:01.88
  • No. 23, Vivian Vallecillo, 1:09.06
• 100-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 51.66, CJ Bernardo, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 13, Merritt Powell, 57.82
  • No. 27, Amelia Bennett, 1:01.76
• 500-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 4:54.58, Isabel Wolk, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 11, Addison Wilson, 5:27.57
  • No. 12, Chessy Martin, 5:28.80
  • No. 22, Elizabeth Staeheli, 6:09.14
• 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 1:37.64, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 3, 1:40.21, Tessa Buchanan, Merritt Powell, Addison Wilson, Athena Elliott
• 100-Yard Backstroke (Winning time: 56.53, Delaney Schwab, Asheville)
  • No. 8, Addison Wilson, 1:00.58
  • No. 11, Ayla Crawley, 1:02.02
  • No. 20, Macie Kent, 1:09.15
• 100-Yard Breaststroke (Winning time: 1:01.35, Hadleigh Kulas, J H Rose)
  • No. 15, Tessa Buchanan, 1:14.42
• 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 3:31.46, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 7, 3:54.65, Ireland Laxton, Macie Kent, Chessy Martin, Ayla Crawley