Chapel Hill High School’s swimming and diving team’s season came to an end February 7, the men’s team getting state runner-up and the women’s team placing eighth.
Sophomore Sam Hoover won the 100-meter breastroke and the 100-meter freestyle.
With a time of 44.62 seconds, Hoover set the state record in the freestyle, beating the record of 44.64 seconds set by Jack Messenger of Broughton High School in 2017.
“I got a standing ovation from the crowd after setting the 100 free record, which was pretty cool,” Hoover said. “I’ve never had one of those before.”
Hoover also had a time of 56.06 seconds in the 100-meter breastroke, barely missing the 3A record of 56.02 seconds.
Sophomore Peter Bretzmann won the 500-meter freestyle, after having taken second place in the 200-meter freestyle earlier in the day.
Each win brought the men’s team eight points higher, bringing them to a final score of 201 that secured their second-place finish.
Junior Clara Tate was the state champion for women’s diving, with junior Cloris Huan placing fourth.
“My favorite part of diving is how rewarding it feels to learn a new dive,” Tate said. “It is really scary because a lot of things can go wrong, but when you overcome the fear and learn the dive successfully, it is an awesome feeling of accomplishment.”
The women’s team ultimately finished with 103 points to secure eighth place out of 40 teams.
Junior Michael Cotton also won the Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award at states.
The Chapel Hill High School men’s and women’s swimming teams also both took first place at the North Carolina 3A Regional Championships February 2, after conference victories January 26.
Individual Chapel Hill High School winners at regionals included freshman Savannah Xu in the women’s 200-meter medley, Bretzmann in the men’s 200-meter medley and men’s 500-meter freestyle and Hoover in the men’s 100-meter freestyle and Men’s 100-meter breaststroke.
Other notable finishers at regionals included freshman Ayden Xu, Cotton, sophomore Michael Volpe and Hoover in the 200-meter freestyle relay and Xu, sophomore Austin Chang, Bretzmann and Hoover in the 400-meter freestyle relay.
Senior Marissa Tocci was one of the team captains for the women’s swimming team.
“I am proud of the perseverance our team displayed throughout the season. Even when we lost races or meets, we still showed good sportsmanship and didn’t give up, which played a big part in our conference and regional victories,” Tocci said.
Tocci has been swimming with fellow senior captains Katrina Nunez and Will Schumacher for four years.
“As a senior, I will definitely miss my teammates the most next year,” Tocci said. “Six a.m. practices are rough, but having friends there to talk to you and motivate you makes everything so much better.”
Nunez echoed the sentiment.
“I didn’t really think about anything I’d miss up until my last meet, when I realized I wouldn’t be swimming for the team ever again,” Nunez said. “I’ll definitely miss the togetherness that being in a cold pool at the crack of dawn brought to my teammates and I.”
