Watauga swimmers lower personal and season bests at West Regionals

By David Rogers. WAXHAW, N.C. — Charlotte area high school Marvin Ridge, Providence Senior, Ardrey Kell, and Myers Park may have dominated the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A Western Swimming Regionals at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center on Feb. 4, but swimmers from the Northwestern Conference, including Watauga and South Caldwell, achieved season and personal bests during the competition.

“We had a great Regional meet,” said Watauga head coach David Gragg. “We are just in a difficult region in a tough (4A) classification. I doubt many places in the country have the talent found in the 4A classification throughout North Carolina. For this event, we modified some of our men’s relays to cover some defections after the conference meet. All of our athletes worked really hard to get to this point (among the top 20-30 swimmers in each event from all of Western North Carolina). I am really proud of their accomplishments.”

For Watauga swimmers, there were several season and/or personal best times recorded by the Pioneer natators.

High School Personal Best times by:

• Maggie Cheves (200 IM, 100 Back)
• Lauren Patterson (100 Back. Lowered own school record set at 2023 Conference meet)
• Virginia St. Clair (100 Free)

Season Best Times by:

• 200 Free Relay (Men and Women)
• 400 Free Relay (Women)

Here are the top three finishers in each event, noting the schools they represent and their performance times, as well as any Northwestern Conference competitor’s placing, time, and whether or not it was a season or personal best.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay

1. Myers Park (1:41.66)
2. Ardrey Kell (1:46.63)
3. Charlotte Catholic (1:46.71)

12. Watauga (1:56.17), team comprised of Lola Herring, Lauren Patterson, Athena Elliott, Virginia St. Clair

Men’s 200 Medley Relay

1. Marvin Ridge (1:32.97)
2. Providence Senior (1:33.20)
3. Ardrey Kell (1:34.84)

22. South Caldwell (1:55.12), team comprised of Sawyer Thompson, Skylar Shew, Owen Griffith, Nathan Hall

23. Watauga (1:55.81), team comprised of Ryan Wood, Trathan Gragg, Michael Makdad, Levi Temple

Women’s 200 Freestyle

1. Kaylee McDonald, Marvin Ridge (1:49.42) – SEASON BEST
2. Kara Martinson, Weddington (1:49.56)
3. Makenna Wozny, Providence Senior (1:51.10) – PERSONAL BEST

Men’s 200 Freestyle

1. Jack Haywood, Providence Senior (1:40.97)
2. Ian Mckinney, Marvin Ridge (1:41.81)
3. Evan Prabhu, Providence Senior (1:42.66)

Women’s 200 Individual Medley

1. Grace Rainey, Hough (1:59.84)
2. Avery Klamforth, Myers Park (2:00.05)
3. Sofia Plaza, Myers Park (2:02.76) – SEASON BEST

21. Maggie Cheves, Watauga (2:16.56) – PERSONAL BEST

Men’s 200 Individual Medley

1. Ben Delmar, Providence Senior (1:50.06)
2. Chris Aristondo, South Mecklenburg (1:52.04)
3. Charles Heisig, Marvin Ridge (1:53.16)

Women’s 50 Freestyle

1. Alyssa Claborn, Lake Norman (23.93) – PERSONAL BEST
2. Eliza Wallace, Ardrey Kell (24.14) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Joslyn Bolton, Providence Senior (24.21) – PERSONAL BEST

Men’s 50 Freestyle

1. Christopher Zhang, Ardrey Kell (20.77) – PERSONAL BEST
2. Grayson Ickes, Providence Senior (20.80) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Nate Hohm, East Mecklenburg (20.87) – PERSONAL BEST

Women’s 1M Diving

1. Madeline Bays, Weddington (454.30)
2. Abby Studnek, Myers Park (444.70)
3. Gabriella Panichella, Lake Norman (442.15)

Men’s 1M Diving

1. Dean Treanor, Hough (490.00)
2. Tucker Bryant, Myers Park (307.05)
3. Mason Kramer, Charlotte Catholic (280.65)

Women’s 100 Butterfly

1. Kiley Wilhelm, Myers Park (52.72) – SEASON BEST
2. Molly Donlan, South Mecklenburg (54.53) – SEASON BEST
3. Kayman Neal, Myers Park (55.12) – SEASON BEST
4. Lauren Patterson, Watauga (56.86)

Men’s 100 Butterfly

1. Troy Keen, Marvin Ridge (49.43)
2. Maksym Nechydyuk, Ardrey Kell (50.25) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Robby Frye, Hough (51.16) – SEASON BEST

Women’s 100 Freestyle

1. McKenna Patrick, Cuthbertson (51.81) – PERSONAL BEST
2. Aubrey Hull, Ardrey Kell (52.54)
3. Joslyn Bolton, Providence Senior (62.69) – PERSONAL BEST

12. Virginia St. Clair, Watauga (55.36) – PERSONAL BEST

Men’s 100 Freestyle

1. Nate Hohm, East Mecklenburg (45.49)
2. Christopher Zhang, Ardrey Kell (45.65) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Connor Solvason, Cox Mill (46.41) – SEASON BEST

Women’s 500 Freestyle

1. Kara Martinson, Weddington (4:53.27)
2. Kaylee McDonald, Marvin Ridge (4:54.29) – SEASON BEST
3. Leila Sleime, Charlotte Catholic (4:59.43) – SEASON BEST

Men’s 500 Freestyle

1. Ian Mckinney, Marvin Ridge (4:31.81) – PERSONAL BEST
2. Santiago Alzate-Celin, Ardrey Kell (4:36.78)
3. Jack Haywood, Providence Senior (4:39.52)

Women’s 200 Free Relay

1. Marvin Ridge (1:36.25)
2. Providence Senior (1:37.39)
3. Myers Park (1:37.40)

13. Watauga (1:43.58), team comprised of Lauren Patterson, Athena Elliott, Maggie Cheves, Virginia St. Clair

Men’s 200 Free Relay

1. Ardrey Kell (1:25.71)
2. Providence Senior (1:26.28)
3. Marvin Ridge (1:27.72)

20. South Caldwell (1:39.14), team comprised of Owen Griffith, Skylar Shew, Nathan Hall, Avery Annas

22. Watauga (1:40.48), team comprised of Michael Makdad, Levi Temple, Paul Gamiel, Ryan Wood

Women’s 100 Backstroke 

1. Kiley Wilhelm, Myers Park (53.90) – SEASON BEST
2. Alyssa Claborn, Lake Norman (54.71) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Molly Donlan, South Mecklenburg (54.93)

8. Lauren Patterson, Watauga (57.08) – SEASON BEST

22. Maggie Cheves, Watauga (1:00.76)

Men’s 100 Backstroke

1. Chris Aristondo, South Mecklenburg (50.47) – PERSONAL BEST
2. Maksym Nechydyuk, Ardrey Kell (51.47) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Charles Heisig, Marvin Ridge (51.80)

Women’s 100 Breaststroke

1. Grace Rainey, Hough (1:00.35)
2. Avery Klamforth, Myers Park (1:01.63)
3. Sofia Plaza, Myers Park (1:03.69) – SEASON BEST

Men’s 100 Breaststroke

1. Ben Delmar, Providence Senior (55.78)
2. Cameron Bucci, Myers Park (57.34) – PERSONAL BEST
3. Hayden Stallings, Providence Senior (57.57)

21. Avery Annas, South Caldwell (1:05.91)

Women’s 400 Free Relay

1. Myers Park (3:28.46)
2. Marvin Ridge (3:31.14)
3. Charlotte Catholic (3:32.42)

14. Watauga (3:54.46), team comprised of Maggie Cheves, Lola Herring, Athena Elliott, Virginia St. Clair

Men’s 400 Free Relay

1. Marvin Ridge (3:07.98)
2. Providence Senior (3:10.06)
3. Myers Park (3:11.42)

20. South Caldwell (3:47.02), team comprised of Owen Griffith, Skyler Shew, Sawyer Thompson, Avery Annas

23. Watauga (3:49.84), team comprised of Ryan Wood, Trathan Gragg, Paul Gamiel, Michael Makdad