Swimming season concludes at state championship meet

Local high school swimmers took part in both the NCHSAA 1A/2A and 3A state championship meets at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary on Feb. 7 and 8, respectively.

At the 1A/2A meet, two Burke County entrants earned finishes of 11th place or better in individual events, and three Draughn athletes established new program records.

The highest local finish at state belonged to NCSSM-Morganton’s Ava Gruber, who placed 10th in the girls 100 butterfly (1:03.48) in addition to swimming in the 100 backstroke and as part of the 400 freestyle relay at the meet.

For Draughn, senior Tate Jensen placed 11th in the boys 100 breaststroke (1:03.54) in a new DHS record time. Additional all-time Wildcats’ records fell as freshman Saylor Watson swam 2:12.18 in the girls 200 free to place 20th and sophomore Lilah Johnson hit the wall at 1:14.67 to place 20th in the girls 100 breast.

Watson also was 16th in the 500 free and teamed with Johnson, Macy Auton, and Ava Aldridge for 19th in the 200 free relay, shaving nearly a full second off their qualifying time.

Jensen, William Abernathy, Abdiel Gonzalez, and Griffin Stephens took 20th in the 200 medley relay; Watson, Johnson, Auton, and Addy Lowman were 21st in the 400 free relay; and Abernathy was 22nd and 23rd, respectively, in the 500 free and 200 individual medley.

NCSSM-M’s Krishay Annadi, Logan Reich, Anil Chintapalli, and Henry Chen finished 14th in the boys 200 medley relay (1:52.73), and Chen, Carden Neel, Sam Day, and Paul Gamiel were 16th in the 400 free relay (3:44.50).

At the 3A meet the following day, Freedom’s Nathaniel Carswell, Sean Causby, Brayden Cullen, and Nicholas Chiota swam at state in all three boys relays. They placed 15th in the 200 free (1:37.48), 18th in the 200 medley, and 20th in the 400 free.

WRESTLING

Basinger wins twice at girls regionals

Draughn’s Mackinzie Basinger was the lone county wrestler to win two matches at the second annual NCHSAA West Regional girls individual tournament hosted by North Henderson on Feb. 7-8.

Basinger won her opening-round match via second-period pin (3:59) over Enka’s Kyndall Rector in the 235-pound class before falling via first-period pin in the championship quarterfinals.

She then bounced back for a 40-second pinfall win over Elkin’s Kaitlin Bobbitt before a loss via second-period pin in the third round of the consolation bracket ended her season two matches short of competing for a berth into this weekend’s state tournament.

Basinger, who last winter was within a match of state, caps the season with a 19-7 record.

Four other local grapplers also competed in the event, with Freedom’s two entrants gaining one win apiece.

At 132, the Patriots’ Josephine Moore opened with a pin of Asheville’s Sofia Medina in the second period (2:51) before losing a 12-2 major decision followed by a second-period pin. And at 165, Andrea Cisneros bounced back from a loss by third-period pin to pin East Henderson’s Emma Snyder (2:52) before being eliminated via a 5-2 decision.

Draughn’s Elondra Retana (100) and Brileigh Gladden (185) both lost back-to-back matches and were eliminated early.

The local girls season is now over, with boys regionals set for this weekend and state set for next weekend (Feb. 20-22) in Greensboro.

INDOOR TRACK

Cavaliers’ duo gets in final tuneup

Two East Burke boys athletes got in one last tuneup prior to state as they participated in the 2025 Charlotte City Championship hosted by Cuthbertson on Feb. 8.

The Cavaliers’ Kendale Cook finished sixth in the 55-meter hurdles (8.48), while teammate Ossie Burkeen also reached the finals in the event and finished just behind Cook in seventh (8.50). Burkeen also finished 25th in the long jump (17’11¼”).

Next up for qualifying athletes are the NCHSAA state championships, with the 1A/2A meet late Friday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, and the 3A meet today (Feb. 15) at 9 a.m. at the same site.