There’s “Back 2 Back” and “Three-Peat”, but what moniker is used when you’ve won ELEVEN Conference Championships in a row OR even SIX?  I call it CA Swimming!

Heading into today’s Championship meet, the Chargers were the favorites to repeat at the TISAC Swimming Championships held at the Triangle Aquatic Center, but not without competition.  The Lady Saints and the Ravens boys team were both equipped to give CA all they could handle with a slew of talented swimmers; Arens, Crouse, Ringenbach, Hardy, Russell…  And, that held true through the first three events.  The boys team fell behind Ravenscroft 45-43 while the girls held a marginal lead.  That’s when the opened door was SLAMMED Shut!  Izzy Barnette, Elena Zayas, and Jordan Smith stepped on the blocks for the 50 Free; Result…..A Charger sweep and a 12 point swing in points.  There was no looking back!  The girls would go on to win 6 of the 8 remaining events en route to a 191-111 win over their closest opponent.

A similar fate held for the boys.  To coin a term, the Ravens and the rest of the TISAC was “Alexanderized.”  Nate simply took over the next two events.  He won the 50 Free – along with a fantastic 2^nd place finish by Cy Reading — and the 100 Butterfly with little brother Evan finishing as close as you can (0:57.54 to 0:57.55) for a second-place finish.  The points piled and the Ravens plumage had been plucked.

Scoring to 8 places, both CA teams scored the maximum number of allotted individuals (3) in EVERY EVENT!  In 15 of the 16 individual events, CA had at least one person medal (1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place), 12 Different swimmers earned All-Conference and Isabella Barnette was Co-“Swimmer of the Meet” along with Abby Arens.  To boot, there were oodles of Personal Best Times achieved, Jasmine Ye and Anna Cheng earned their first state cuts of the year (Breaststroke), while Owen Taffar (IM), Alex Rousseau (100 Free), Jacob Farris (100 Free) and Christian Herrera (Fly) added to their repertoire of State qualifying events.  Did I mention, SEVEN different Middle School Swimmers chipped in points with their swims: Sydney Martin, Katilyn Martin, Addy Neira, William Hook, Cade Reading, Andy Lim, and Alex Moore!

After being congratulated by a good man, Bill Newman, after the meet, my response was “it never gets old!”  How could it?  Watching the team work hard all season long and then come together to achieve a common goal while shouting cheers of encouragement so their peers pick up an extra point or achieve a personal best, it’s what team sports are about.  Coach Sanchez, Coach Pullen, Coach Lauffer, Coach Nye, Coach Kevin Chen and I are so proud of you!  Rest Easy Chargers, you’ve earned it.  Tonight you go to sleep a Champion!

Final Scores:

Boys

Cary Academy (177)

Ravenscroft  (146)

Durham Academy  (81)

Wake Christian  (41)

NRCA  (37)

Girls:

Cary Academy  (191)

Saint Mary’s  (111)

NRCA  (93)

Durham Academy  (55)

Ravenscroft  (26)

Wake Christian  (24)

By Director of Athletics, Kevin Jones

At the NCISAA State Championship cross country meet, the varsity girls cross country team took second place, while Kenny Eheman ’21 finished as an All-State runner, leading the boys to a 4th place finish, overall. Go Chargers!

At the TISAC girls golf tournament, on Tuesday, October 15, Erin Singleton ’20 was named TISAC Player of the Year (meaning she had the lowest overall average in the TISAC for the entire season), and earned the Medalist Trophy (best 18 hole score for the tournament) as CA’s varsity girls golf team took second place.

During a beautiful day at Croasdaile Country Club in Durham, the Chargers beat out NRCA & The Ravens for second place, but couldn’t quite get DA. Both Singleton and Cate Pitterle ’20 were named to the the All-Conference Team.

The varsity girls golf team next plays at the NCISSA tournament, at the Country Club of Whispering Pines, October 20-22.

The final scores:

DA – 254
CA – 262
NRCA – 263
Ravens – 263
St. Mary’s – 338