The Seaforth swimming and diving teams will compete at the 1A/2A state championships Thursday at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. And while the Hawks are only in their second season as a program, they have plenty of momentum entering the biggest meet of the season.
Competing at this past weekend’s 1A/3A central regional championships, the Seaforth boys placed first with a score of 208, 11 points better than Cornerstone Charter Academy. The Seaforth girls placed fifth, meanwhile, in a hotly contested meet.
The Hawks didn’t win any individual events, but the team of Ben Lajoie, Evan Hepburn, Jackson Vaughn and Colton Roberts took first in the 400 free relay in a time of 3:30.04.
Seaforth’s boys earned second-place finishes in four different events. Roberts took the runner-up spot in the 200 and 500 frees, while Hepburn finished second in the 100 breast and Lajoie finished second in the 200 intermedley.
“It was so much fun watching them compete,” said Seaforth coach Amanda Peele. “Not only did they perform very well, but I could tell they had a great time. It’s great when you can do both, and they were able to deliver this weekend. It’s been a couple good Saturdays in a row for us. We’re on a roll, and I’m hoping we can carry that into this coming week.”
At last year’s state competition, Seaforth’s boys finished 13th overall, while their top individual finish in an event occurred when Lajoie took sixth in the 500 free. Now, with a year of experience under their belts, Nielson and the rest of the Hawk boys feel like they are ready to make noise at the biggest meet of the season.
“They’re a little older and a little bit more prepared (than they were last year),” Peele said. “They’re ready. Every meet, the stakes get a little bit higher. It’s a bigger venue, there are more people, there is faster competition. And they keep rising to meet the challenge. I know that there are probably some nerves, but these guys are ready to get out there and do their best, and hopefully we’ll be able to bring home some more accolades.”
Outside of Seaforth, one other Chatham County swimmer set to compete at the 1A/2A championships is Chatham Central’s Jesse Eskelund, who qualified for the state meet with an impressive third-place finish in the 100 free at 50.64 seconds. Eskelund was the first swimmer in Chatham Central history to compete at the regional championships, and he will be the first to swim at the state meet, as well.
Fighting for a possible state title at its respective meet is the Northwood girls team, which placed second overall at the 3A central regionals this past weekend.
The Chargers finished third overall at last year’s 3A competition, but they’ll have their work cut out for them this year going up against defending champion Carrboro, which dominated last year’s competition and also placed first at this year’s 3A central girls regionals.
Northwood saw one individual competitor win her event at regionals, as Abby Emrich took first in the 200 free in a time of 1:56.58. Abby’s sister, Lauren, placed second in the 200 breast, while both girls were part of the 400 free relay team that took first place in 3:53.12.
Northwood head coach Rebecca Reed has adjusted well after losing several seniors from last year’s team, and now the Charger girls are ready to fight for what would be their first state title this weekend.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.