Three State Records, Three 4A Records Fall at NCHSAA 4A State Championship

2024 NCHSAA 4A Swimming and Diving State Championship

• Date: Saturday, February 10
• Location: Cary, NC
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Full Meet Results 

Myers Park women took their 3rd consecutive 4A state title in Cary, NC on Saturday evening, while Marvin Ridge men took their first 4A title, dominating the field by 100 points. While the win is Marvin Ridge’s first title in 4A, they did four-peat at the 3A level from 2014 through 2017.

There are three classifications for swimming & diving in North Carolina public schools. Class 2A is the state’s smallest schools, Class 3A is the medium sized schools, and Class 4A are the biggest schools.

Team Scores

Women’s Top-5 Team Scores:

1. Myers Park (259)
2. Green Hope (239.5)
3. Marvin Ridge (192.5)
4. Charlotte Catholic (177)
5. Ardrey Kell (145)

Men’s Top-5 Team Scores:

1. Marvin Ridge (255)
2. Cardinal Gibbons (155)
3. Ardrey Kell (152)
4. Leesville Road (135)
5. WG Enloe (122)

Women’s Meet Recap

Eliza Wallace, only a sophomore for Ardrey Kell, demolished the 100 breast state record on Saturday night. Her new best time of 59.67 took down the previous mark of 1:00.12 set by Grace Rainey from Hough last year. Rainey, a three time state champion, is currently a freshman for the Florida Gators.

Earlier in the meet, Wallace swam a blazing 27.2 50 breast split on the winning 200 medley relay with teammate Aubrey Hull leading with an impressive 24.95, Charlotte Eckert splitting a 25.85 on the fly leg, and Olivia White anchoring in a 24.25. Other notable splits from the field came from Myers Park Senior Kayman Neal with a 24.99 fly split and Tanith Mueller, a junior from Apex, with a 24.97 50 fly.

Mere Whelehan, a junior at Green Hope and a Tennessee Commit, was named most outstanding swimmer of the meet by winning both the 100 and 200 freestyles. Her time of 1:46.85 in the 200 was just four tenths shy of a new state record and her 49.88 100 free, just 6 tenths short.

Whelehan’s younger sister, Sloane Whelehan, won the 50 free with a 23.23 and took 3rd in the 200 free with a quick 1:49.11. Only a freshman for Green Hope, she also posted two fiercely competitive relay splits for the winning 200 and 400 free relays. 

On the 200 relay, S. Whelehan led off in a 23.16, followed by teammates M. Whelehan who split a 23.30, Kyley Lloyd who split a 24.52 and Andie Quisumbing who anchored in a 23.42. Marvin Ridge’s Kaylee McDonald, a Harvard commit, had one of the quickest splits in the field, with a 23.06 (flying start), Senior Audrey Wolk of East Chapel Hill also posted a speedy 23.08 in the morning and a 23.11 at night (both flying starts).

On the winning 400 free relay, S. Whelehan followed sister M. Whelehan’s 50.41 leadoff with a quick 50.51 split, and teammates Mia Jeltema and Quisumbing finished with a 52.38 and 51.61, respectively. Other fast splits from the field came from Wallace with a quick 49.80 (flying start), and an impressive 50.83 lead off split from McDonald.

But even with Green Hope’s strong showing on the free relays and in the sprint free events, they still came up short to Myers Park, who was too deep in other events. 

The Myers Park Mustangs were runner-ups in all three relays and saw two women make finals in every event, sans the 100 free. In most events, there was at least one swimmer in an A final, and in two instances, there were two Mustangs in the A final.

Mustangs Avery Klamforth and Sofia Plaza went 1-2 in the 200 IM and 2-3 in the 100 breast.  Klamforth, a sophomore, and Plaza, a senior commit to Florida, both posted new best times in the IM, 1:57.61 and 1:59.04, respectively.

Other Highlights:

• Another standout freshman was Nikki Nixon of Cardinal Gibbons, who dominated the 100 fly A final, posting a quick 53.40 and winning by well over a second. She was also runner-up in the 50 free by only 5 hundredths, with a 23.28.
• Hull, a Vanderbilt commit and senior for Ardrey Kell, won the 100 back by over a second. Her time of 53.26 was just one hundredth short of her best time from regionals the week before.

Men’s Meet Recap

It was a fight for second on Saturday night, as Marvin Ridge couldn’t be touched on their way to their 5th state championship (1st 4A title). The Mustangs posted swimmers in every event at finals, many times qualifying multiple swimmers in the A final. 

Of particular note were their performances in the 200 relays, where they took down state records in both. The medley relay team of Charles Heisig, Jordan Willis, Troy Keen, and Mike Rice beat the field by over 1.5 seconds. Their new record of 1:30.52 took down their same relay’s previous record from last year, a 1:32.20. 

Below is a split comparison of this year’s new record vs last year’s record:

The fastest splits in the field, though, came from Hoggard Senior Cole Witmer with a scorching 22.60 50 back in the morning (22.61 at night), Sophomore Albert Smelzer of Page with an equally impressive 22.64 50 back, and Senior Sean Setzer of Ashley with a flying 24.82 breast split.

In the 200 free relay, that same Marvin Ridge medley relay quartet, subbing in Gavin McCarter for Willis, beat the competition by a much smaller margin, just .26, and took down a 10 year old record in the process. Their new time of 1:23.25 beat out the previous record of 1:23.66 set by J.H. Rose in 2014. That relay was composed of Eyan Eagle, Kelly Barnhill, J.T. Casey, and Phil Perdue. 

Below are the new relay record’s splits:

Other notable splits were Brown Commit Christopher Zhang of Ardrey Kell with a 19.75 and Smelzer with a 19.71 (both flying starts). 

The fastest split in the field though came from Setzer, a UNC commit, with a lead-off time of 19.80. That time, along with his individual 50 free new best time of 19.75 were both under the 4A record held by Wells Walker. A current NC State freshman, Walker set the record with a 20.19 at last year’s state meet.

Not only was Setzer the first 4A swimmer in history to break 20 seconds in the 50 free, but he was also the first to crack 44 seconds, his 43.99 taking down Walker’s old record of 44.57. 

Setzer was named most outstanding swimmer of the meet, but trailing close behind him was Leesville Road’s Matt Marsteiner, an NC State commit who secured double wins in the 500 free and 100 fly. His 500 free time of 4:21.91 was within 1.5 seconds of the 4A mark and his new best time of 47.67 in the 100 fly was about 6 tenths shy.

Marsteiner also saw gold in the 400 free relay, with teammate Axel Mori leading off in a 46.77, Eli Nelson splitting 48.38, and Davis Jackson a 46.43. Marsteiner finished with an impressive 45.06, catching the Cardinal Gibbons anchor and winning by only 11 hundreths.

The most impressive splits in the field came from Nate Hohm, a senior for East Mecklenburg and UNC Commit, with a flying start time of 44.16 in the morning and a 44.51 at night. 

The last record of the night was set by Middle Creek’s Grayson Nye, a senior and Tennesse commit, who won the 100 breast by nearly a second, his 53.88 just shy of a best time. This time took down the previous 4A record set by him in 2023, a 54.13.

Other Highlights:

• Heritage senior and UNC commit James Bennison secured first place in the 200 free, winning by one tenth with a 1:38.68. Bennison was just four hundreths short of gold in the 100 back, posting a new best time of 47.97. 
• Witmer, an Alabama commit, took gold in the 100 back with a new best time of 47.93. 
• Heisig, a senior and Notre Dame commit, picked up more points for Marvin Ridge in the 200 IM, winning with a 1:47.88.

Last Year’s Team Scores:

2023 Women’s Top-5 Team Scores:

1. Myers Park (290)
2. Charlotte Catholic (188.5)
3. Green Hope (173)
4. Needham Broughton (153.5)
5. Apex Friendship (142)

2023 Men’s Top-5 Team Scores:

1. Providence (203)
2. Marvin Ridge (192)
3. Needham Broughton (168)
4. Leesville Road (135)
5. Green Hope (129)