County swimmers fare well in regular-season finale

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 28, 2015 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

rcoggins@newsargus.com

It might have been a "last-chance" meet to qualify for the eastern regionals, but Tuesday's regular-season finale at the B.G. Darden Natatorium seemed more like a championship battle.

Especially among the Wayne County athletes. Competitors from the four schools combined to record top-four finishes in 23 contested events during the nine-team meet that lasted 3-plus hours.

Rosewood's boys placed second overall with 87 points behind the tandem of Dalton Ira and Kodey Silknitter. Ira placed second in the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 5.19 seconds) and second in the 100 backstroke (1:10.58).

Silknitter posted first-place times in the 200 individual medley (IM) in 2:16.76 and touched wall in 1:08.29 in the 100 breaststroke. He swam the anchor leg on the Eagles' 400 free relay, which claimed first in 4:00.78. Ira, Wes Chandler and Zach Sumner also comprised the relay.

Ira and Silknitter qualified for the 1-A/2-A regionals earlier this season along with East Carolina signee Zach Darden. The senior sprinter swam the 50 free in a meet-best time of 22 seconds and returned later in the evening to win the 100 butterfly in 52.56 seconds.

Aycock's foursome of Zech Chastain, Colton Marley, Charlie Robertson and Chaz Hooks placed second behind D.H. Conley in the 200 medley relay. Just four days ago, the Aycock quartet emerged as the 2015 Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference champions in the same event.

Hooks, Cody Freels, Robertson and Chastain placed second in the 200 free relay.

Chastain won the 500 free.

Southern Wayne's Austin Edgecomb took the 100 free in 56.61 and helped the Saints finish fifth overall with 57 points.

On the girls' side, Wayne Country Day's Payton Meadows claimed the 1-meter diving competition with 141 points. Goldsboro's Anna Prezbindowski secured the grueling, 20-lap 500-meter freestyle with a time of 7:15.22.

Eastern Wayne's foursome of Sophie Zou, Faith Boyette, Brianna Applegarth and Tricia Malcolm touched the wall first in the 200 free relay. Madison Tallarida (100 back), Boyette (200 free) and Malcolm (50 free) helped the Warriors -- who placed second in the 200 medley relay and fourth in the 400 relay -- compile a second-place score of 96 points.

Aycock's Abby Sauls, a regional qualifier, grabbed second in the 200 IM.