By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Deep Watauga High School Swimming rosters responded to a mid-holiday test on Dec. 18 with several key performances, in a four-way meet involving South Caldwell, Draughn and Avery County as well as the host Pioneers.
“Tonight was a really good test for our teams. South Caldwell is always well coached and, years ago, we swam against Draughn in some tough meets,” said Watauga head coach David Gragg. “I personally have a connection to their current coaches. Stephanie (Idol) Mull was a former teammate of mine at Watauga, and Bret Watson was the former director and my boss at the Swim Complex (old pool in Boone before the WCRC).”
Gragg had special praise for the work of the Pioneer swimmers.
“I was pleased with the way we performed,” he said. “A lot of the year-round swimmers had a big meet this past weekend which took something out of them but it will help toward the end of the season. I see them training every day with the Watauga Swim Team before our high school practice. I enjoy seeing that hard work pay off at these meets.
“We are about five weeks away from the conference meet,” Gragg added. “We have some things to work on to be prepared but the next few weeks will help us get there.”
TEAM SCORES – MEN
- South Caldwell 89, Watauga 71
- Watauga 83, Draughn 47
- South Caldwell 106, Draughn 47
- Watauga 95, Avery County 13
- South Caldwell 123, Avery County 13
- Draughn 78, Avery County 12
TEAM SCORES – WOMEN
- Watauga 111, South Caldwell 58
- Watauga 118, Draughn 48
- South Caldwell 98.5, Draughn 67.5
- Watauga 133, Avery County 5
- South Caldwell 132, Avery County 7
- Draughn 114, Avery County 6
KEY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES – MEN
- 200 Medley Relay
- South Caldwell: No. 1 (Owen Griffith, Mason Hubbard, Max Clark, Nathan Hall)
- Watauga: No. 2 (Michael Makdad, Trathan Gragg, Lanson Gilbert, Silas Powell)
- 200 Freestyle Relay
- Watauga: No. 1 (Thomas Moss, Jonah Zerucha, Trathan Gragg, Stacy Eggers)
- South Caldwell: No. 2 (Harriss Inman, Danny Yaxparamo, Ethan Haas, Mason Hubbard)
- 400 Freestyle Relay
- Watauga: No. 1 (Stacy Eggers, Lanson Gilbert, Silas Powell, Michael Makdad)
- South Caldwell: No. 2 (Nathan Hall, Brendan Rothwell, Max Clark, Owen Griffith)
- SC – Max Clark: 200 IM (No. 1); 100 Back (No. 1)
- SC – Owen Griffith: 50 Free (No. 1); 500 Free (No. 1)
- WAT – Silas Powell: 50 Free (No. 2); 100 Free (No. 1)
- WAT – Michael Makdad: 100 Butterfly (No. 1); 100 Breast (No. 2)
- SC – Harriss Inman: 200 Free (No. 1)
- WAT – Lanson Gilbert: 100 Free (No. 2); 100 Back (No. 2)
- DRA – Tate Jensen: 100 Free (No. 3); 100 Breast (No. 1)
- DRA – William Abernathy: 500 Free (No. 2)
- WAT – Stacy Eggers: 200 Free (No. 2); 500 Free (No. 3)
KEY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES – WOMEN
- 200 Medley Relay
- Watauga: No. 1 (Addie Wilson, Maggie Cheves, Athena Elliott, Tessa Buchanan)
- South Caldwell: No. 2 (Peyton Felts, Kyra Westerfield, Hannah Wasson, Chloe Bolick)
- 200 Free Relay
- Watauga: No. 1 (Chessy Martin, Tessa Buchanan, Addie Wilson, Athena Elliott)
- South Caldwell: No. 2 (Chloe Bolick, Lily Bentley, Hannah Wasson, Peyton Felts)
- Watauga: No. 3 (Viviane Vannoy, Kaitlyn Meyer, Amelia Bennett, Ireland Laxton)
- 400 Free Relay
- Watauga: No. 1 (Ireland Laxton, Chessy Martin, Lola Herring, Maggie Cheves)
- Draughn: No. 2 (Macy Auton, Ava Aldridge, Allyson Auton, Saylor Watson)
- Watauga: No. 3 (Iyla Freed, Grace Scanlin, Amelia Bennett, Annabelle Stewart)
- WAT – Maggie Cheves: 200 Free (No. 1); 100 Back (No. 1)
- WAT – Addie Wilson: 200 IM (No. 1); 100 Breast (No. 1)
- WAT – Athena Elliott: 50 Free (No. 1); 100 Butterfly (No. 1)
- SC – Chloe Bolick: 100 Free (No. 1)
- DRA – Saylor Watson: 500 Free (No. 1)
- WAT – Tessa Buchanan: 50 Free (No. 2); 100 Breast (No. 2)
- SC – Hannah Wasson: 200 Free (No. 2); 100 Butterfly (No. 2)
- SC – Peyton Felts: 200 IM (No. 2)
- WAT – Viviane Vannoy: 200 IM (No. 3)
- DRA – Allyson Auton: 100 Free (No. 2)
- WAT – Ireland Laxton: 500 Free (No. 2)
- WAT – Lola Herring: 50 Free (No. 3); 100 Back (No. 2)
- WAT – Grace Lesesne: 100 Free (No. 3)
- WAT – Chessy Martin: 200 Free (No. 3)
