By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Freshman Madisyn Upton of Southern Alamance and junior Eamon Hipps of Western Alamance were among top finishers in Saturday’s Central 3-A Conference swimming and diving championships.
They each won two events in the rescheduled meet at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough.
For the girls, Upton won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 17.87 seconds. She claimed the 100 butterfly in 59.14 with a winning margin of nearly seven seconds.
Western’s Michaela Bently won the two-entrant 1-meter diving competition with a score of 391.95.
The Williams 200 relay of Reagan Wieting, Ale Gonzalez Palacios, Buffy Stokes, and Sophia Shideler won in 2:00.55, with Southern Alamance the runner-up in 2:03.93 with Autumn Barber, Annabelle Hazelwood, Sydney Williams, and Upton.
Shideler placed second in the 500 freestyle in 28.53 and was the 100 freestyle runner-up in 1:02.81 Gonzalez Palacios took second in the 100 backstroke (1:23.94).
Western’s Kensley Gasaway was second in the 100 backstroke (1:08.33) and third in the 500 freestyle (5:47.58). Teammate Elizabeth Merlette was the 200 freestyle runner-up in 2:08.63 and third in the 200 IM in 2:35.42.
Cedar Ridge won the girls’ team title, followed by Orange, Western Alamance, Southern Alamance, Williams and Eastern Alamance.
In boys’ competition, Hipps was the 50 freestyle champion in 22.64. He captured the 100 freestyle in 50.53.
Liam Miller of Williams claimed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.26), just 0.35 seconds out of first place.
Western’s Daniel Doss had third places in the 200 IM (2:20.42) and 500 freestyle (5:40.31). Eastern’s Grant Mayle was third in the 200 freestyle (2:10.17).
The boys’ team champion was Orange, followed by Cedar Ridge, Western Alamance, Southern Alamance, Williams, and Eastern Alamance.
Mid-Carolina Conference
Southeast Alamance was the second-place team finisher in the boys’ and girls’ divisions in the conference championships. Seaforth won nearly every event, but the Stallions compiled points along the way among the four girls’ teams and six boys’ teams to become the runners-up.
On the boys’ side, Southeast’s Ben Alonso was second in the 200 freestyle (2:13.18) and Adam Faircloth was second in the 500 freestyle (8:14.05).
The 200 freestyle relay of Alonso, Jack Wells, Camden Wilkins, and Faircloth was second in 1:52.78. The 400 freestyle relay also placed second with Wilkins, Ayden Brown, Faircloth, and Tyler Jones in 5:19.69.
For the girls, Addison Yarbrough placed second in the 100 butterfly (1:17.30) and 100 breaststroke (1:22.97), while Ashelee McPhatter (32.21) and Alanna Cromartie (32.49) were second and third in the 50 freestyle.
Southeast’s 200 freestyle relay of Cromartie, Madison Wilson, Elise Westbrook, and Ryan Powers was the runner-up in 2:14.068.
