Owen High boys and girls swim team competes at state for first time in 'at least 15 years' say coaching staff
The Owen High boys and girls swim team competed for the first time in roughly 15 years at the state championship Feb. 9-12.
Coach Beth Dalton Rathbone said she wasn't sure if the entire team had ever made it to the NCHSAA state championship, but it had been at least 15 years since all the boys and all the girls made it to the competition.
"It went amazing," Dalton Rathbone said.
With preliminary competition in the morning and finals in the afternoon, only the top 16 swimmers and relays were eligible for the finals. Owen had five relays and three individual swimmers in the championship, with three relays and one individual making it to the final.
Dalton Rathbone said just to get to the state championship, the relays and individual swimmers fell into the top 24 in the state.
"A couple of my relays fell in 15th and my individual girl fell in eighth," she said.
Chloe Little competed individually in 100-meter breaststroke in the final, one of three seniors on the team, along with Olivia Hale and Dennis Luchinin.
Dalton Rathbone said 86 teams competed in the championship and her swimmers fell into the following ranks:
Relays
- Girls 200 meter medley relay finished in 16th place.
- Boys 200 meter medley relay finished in 15th place.
- Girls 200 meter freestyle relay finished in 18th place.
- Girls 400 meter freestyle relay finished in 15th place.
- Boys 400 meter freestyle relay finished in 23rd place.
Individuals
- Chloe Little, 100 meter breaststroke, finished in 8th place.
- Elsa Quam, 100 meter breaststroke finished in 23rd place.
- Stephen Henson, 200 meter individual medley, finished in 23rd place.
The boys medley and freestyle relays were made up of Logan Dash, Riley Johnson, Stephen Henson and Dennis Luchinin.
The girls medley relay consisted of Olivia Hale, Chloe Little, Grace Vale and Isabella White. The girls 200 freestyle relay consisted of Abby Carter, Hale, Little and White, and the girls 400 freestyle relay was made up of Hale, Little, Elsa Quam and White.
Ezra Maille covers the town of Black Mountain, Montreat and the Swannanoa Valley. Reach him at 828-230-3324 or emaille@blackmountainnews.com. Please support local journalism with access to more breaking news by subscribing.