By David Rogers. CARY, N.C. — Several “top 10” individual finishes and strong performances in the relays allowed Watauga’s men’s swimming team to come home with a No. 7 team finish at the NCHSAA 6A State Swimming & Diving Championships on Feb. 13.
A notable Pioneer performance was the No. 7 finish by Lanson Gilbert in a highly competitive 50 Free event, a mere second behind Northwestern Conference rival Logan Kelly (Saint Stephens), the ultimate winner. Among the 31-swimmer field, eight competitors, including Gilbert, went under 22 seconds for the sprint distance and within 1.18 seconds of the No. 1 spot on the podium.
The Saint Stephens athlete, Kelly, was a double winner. He also captured the 100 Free title in 45.71.
Watauga picked up valuable team points by finishing No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in the 200 Freestyle Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. The 200 Free team from Watauga was comprised of Aidan Culpepper, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell and Lanson Gilbert. The 400 Free Relay team included Stacy Eggers, Makdad, Powell and Gilbert.
With almost 60 member schools in the NCHSAA 6A classification and 26 teams scoring points in the state championship meet, Watauga’s No. 7 team result is something special and testimony to the program’s depth.
SUMMARY OF WATAUGA MEN’S PERFORMANCES AT 6A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- 200-Yard Medley Relay (Winning time: 1:33.14, East Chapel Hill)
- TIE-No. 20, 2:01.96, Andrew Larson, Aiden Culpepper, Stacy Eggers, Seoc Fredenburg
- 200-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 1:40.70, Max Halpern, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 19, Stacy Eggers, 2:02.09
- No. 26, Aiden Culpepper, 2:12.02
- 200-Yard Individual Medley (Winning time: 1:50.04, Colton Chaires, East Chapel Hill)
- No Watauga qualifiers
- 50-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 20.72, Logan Kelly, Saint Stephens)
- No. 7, Lanson Gilbert, 21.78
- No. 15, Silas Powell, 23.68
- 100-Yard Butterfly (Winning time: 49.50, Alex Nelson, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 8, Lanson Gilbert, 52.95
- No. 10, Michael Makdad, 53.63
- 100-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 45.71, Logan Kelly, Saint Stephens)
- No. 11, Silas Powell, 51.46
- 500-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 4:26.33, Colton Chaires, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 12, Stacy Eggers, 5:23.87
- 200-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 1:24.15, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 3, 1:31.83, Aidan Culpepper, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell, Lanson Gilbert
- 100-Yard Backstroke (Winning time: 49.79, Chuanqi John Zhang, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 29, Aidan Culpepper, 1:06.30
- 100-Yard Breaststroke (Winning time: 56.94, Oliver Marrujo, Felton Grove)
- No. 11, Michael Makdad, 1:04.70
- 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 3:07.25, East Chapel Hill)
- No. 5, 3:27.10, Stacy Eggers, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell, Lanson Gilbert
