SWIMMING: Rosewood boys punch ticket to regionals in 200 free relay

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 25, 2017 9:57 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

Save your best for last.

And boy, did they ever.

Rosewood had teetered on the regional-qualifying fence for the boys' 200 free relay all season. They finally got the job done in a sweltering B.G. Darden Natatorium on Tuesday evening.

The foursome of Dalton Ira, Justin Brogden, Damon Merritt and anchor leg Jack Lyon touched the wall in 1 minute, 42.57 seconds -- .42 seconds below the standard set by the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

The quartet's previous-best time was 1:45.18.

"I am very proud of these kids tonight," RHS head coach Natalie Ira said. "They have worked hard all season and are seeing that hard work pay off. We have quite a few times this year that are competitive with other swimmers in our division (Classes 1-A/2-A) and I'm excited to see how we perform at regionals and states."

Lyon also emerged victorious in the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 freestyle. The Eagles' 400 free relay of Jonah Clark, Aaron Jarvis, Luke Evans and Owen Blevins captured first in 5:17.06.

The Eagles won the team portion with 354 points.

Charles B. Aycock senior and regional qualifier Zech Chastain won the 50 free and 100 back, and swam the opening leg on the Golden Falcons' 200 medley relay. He was joined by Ellis Smith, Mitchell Castorena and Russell.

The foursome is headed to the regionals.

"Zech went undefeated all season and that was a challenge when swimming against some really fast kids," CBA head coach Linda Chastain said. "Zech is a very talented and humble swimmer, and will do great things. Closing out the season, we had a handful of kids get consideration times for regionals and two explosive boys relays qualify automatically for the seventh year in a row.

"We had real strong leadership in our seniors and they are going to be sorely missed."

Eastern Wayne received first-place finishes from Ken Weeks (100 butterfly) and Josh Gross (100 breaststroke). The teammates have posted regional consideration times in each event.

Wayne Country Day's Zan Pittman secured first in the 200 free and 500 free.

"With states right around the corner, our swimmers are racing with great confidence and poise," WCDS head coach Lance Thornton said. "They are ready for the championships."

On the girls' side, Goldsboro's 400 free relay came within a tantalizing .51 seconds of qualifying for the eastern 1-A/2-A regional. The quartet of Navia Dixit, Megan Huston, Anna Prezbindowski and Anna Breck finished in 4:34.50. The regional mark is 4:33.99.

The same foursome won the 200 medley relay.

Breck logged a regional-qualifying time of 2:28.99 in the 200 IM.

Huston won the 200 free, while Prezbindowski grabbed first in the 100 fly.

Eastern Wayne freshman Jazmin Jones seized first in the 100 free and 100 back, and handled anchor-leg duties on the Warriors' 200 free relay. She was joined by Madison Tallarida, Emma Diemecke and Paige Childers. Their time -- 2:03.76.

The Warriors filed the best team score with 283 points -- 32 ahead of C.B. Aycock.

Wayne Christian's Anna Rendall claimed the 50 free and 500 free. Rendall has qualified for the season-ending N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Classes 1-A/2-A state championship meet.

"So very proud of my kids tonight and the whole season," WCS head coach Scott Johnson said. "We are all seventh- and eighth-graders, and two ninth-graders and have massively improved from the start of the season."

Here are the team and individual scores:

BOYS

TEAM SCORES

Rosewood 354, C.B. Aycock 288, Wayne Country Day 162, Eastern Wayne 155, Goldsboro 116, Wayne Christian 63, Southern Wayne 3.

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

200 medley relay -- C.B. Aycock (Zech Chastain, Ellis Smith, Mitchell Castorena, Brandon Russell), 1:58.53. 200 free -- Zan Pittman (WCDS), 1:56.99. 200 IM -- Jack Lyon (R), 2:14.35. 50 free -- Chastain (CBA), 22.55. 100 fly -- Ken Weeks (EW), 1:06.28. 100 free -- Lyon (R), 53.42. 500 free -- Pittman (WCDS), 5:17.8. 200 free relay -- Rosewood (Dalton Ira, Justin Brogden, Damon Merritt, Lyon), 1:42.57. 100 back -- Chastain (CBA), 55.44. 100 breaststroke -- Josh  Gross (EW), 1:18.16. 400 free relay -- Rosewood (Jonah Clark, Aaron Jarvis, Luke Evans, Owen Blevins), 5:17.06.

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GIRLS

TEAM SCORES

Eastern Wayne 283, C.B. Aycock 251, Goldsboro 245, Rosewood 210, Wayne Christian 139, Southern Wayne 86, Wayne Country Day 64.

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

200 medley relay -- Goldsboro (Anna Breck, Anna Prezbindowski, Megan Huston, Navia Dixit), 2 minutes, 22.23 seconds. 200 free -- Huston (G), 2:33.98. 200 IM -- Breck (G), 2:28.89. 50 free -- Anna Rendall (WC), 30.15. 100 fly -- Prezbindowski (G), 1:20.19. 100 free -- Jazmin Jones (EW), 1:00.07. 500 free -- Rendall (WC), 6:37.08. 200 free relay -- Eastern Wayne (Madison Tallarida, Emma Diemecke, Paige Childers, Jones), 2:03.76. 100 back -- Jones (EW), 1:07.26. 100 breaststroke -- Breck (G), 1:20.19. 400 free relay -- Goldsboro (Dixit, Huston, Prezbindowski, Breck), 4:34.5.