DMHS to send six swimmers to NCHSAA finals

What began as 43 area swimmers competing at two regional swimming meets this weekend has been narrowed down to less than 10, and all will be coming from McMichael High School. The school’s swimming teams will have six participants at Thursday’s North Carolina High School Association 3-A Swimming and Diving Championships.

However, four of the six will be making their first-ever appearance in the finals.

Seniors Trevor Chaney and Hunter Watkins competed last season in Cary, and McMichael is hoping that their experience will be a factor along with that of Elliot Casey, a two-time state swimming champion at McMichael and an assistant coach with the team.

“A lot of the swimmers were eager this year because they’ve never had this type of knowledge presented to them,” said Casey, who won a state title as a sophomore and a senior. “These kids have worked hard all season.”

Joining Chaney and Watkins at the Triangle Aquatics Center will be senior Frankie Chaney, junior Nick Price, sophomore Casey Blackard and freshman Danny Lacayo. Blackard is the lone representative from the Lady Phoenix squad, which finished 19th at the 3-A Eastern Regional Saturday in Goldsboro. The boys’ team finished 14th.

Blackard, who will swim the 50-yard freestyle, finished 12th at regionals with a finals time of 27.89.

Trevor Chaney will swim the boys’ 50-yard freestyle following his seventh-place finish at regionals. Chaney posted a finals time of 23.69.

Chaney will also compete in both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. The 200 relay team consists of Trevor Chaney, Frankie Chaney, Price and Watkins while the 400 relay team includes Trevor Chaney, Frankie Chaney, Watkins and Lacayo.

“I think they all performed well at regionals and they all have a chance,” added Casey.

The boys’ 200 freestyle relay team finished 11th at regionals with a time of 1:40.89 and the boys’ 400 freestyle relay team placed ninth with a finals’ time of 3:45.94.

The All American Swim Supply-NCHSAA 2012 State Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled for February 9-11, with different classifications on each day. The championships will kick off on Thursday with the 3-A event, followed on Friday by the 1-A/2-A championships, and then conclude on Saturday with the 4-A competition, all at the Triangle Aquatic Center.

Swimming will commence each day with preliminaries starting after the coaches’ meeting, which is scheduled to end at around 8:45 a.m. Finals are slated to begin at 5 p.m. each day.

Cardinal Gibbons has earned the last two 3-A men’s state titles and won the Eastern Regional, while Charlotte Catholic took top honors in the Western event.

Charlotte Catholic won its sixth consecutive 3-A women’s state title in 2011 and took the 3-A Western Regional again, while Chapel Hill is set to challenge for state honors after taking its own Central Regional championship.