Month: January 2022

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is freshman swimmer Luke Roman. On Saturday, Roman was named the 2022 Central Carolina Conference Male Swimmer of the Year. Last Thursday, Roman won two gold medals in the Central Carolina Conference Championships at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. Roman won the 200 yard freestyle wit a time of 1:52.29, edging out Cedar Ridge’s Alexander Hill. Also, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle championship with a time of 5:19.54, a full 32 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor. This Saturday, Roman will compete in the 3A Central Regionals at the Greensboro Coliseum Aquatic Complex. He has qualified for regionals in the 200 yard freestyle, the 500 yard freestyle and the 50 yard freestyle. Roman also qualified for regionals in the 200 yard freestyle relay with teammates Ian Moore, Evan Phillips and Alexander Andre. Roman also will be in the 400 yard freestyle relay with Andre, Phillips and Nick Baczara. This season, Roman was a valuable part of an Orange team that won the Central Carolina Conference championship and finished undefeated in dual meets.

The postseason has arrived in high school swimming and there’s plenty of expectations for Orange men’s and women’s swimming after the Central Carolina Conference championships.

After winning two Central Carolina Conference championships last Thursday at the Orange County Sportsplex, Orange’s Katie Belle Sikes has been ranked the #1 sophomore swimmer in North Carolina by ncprepswimming.com. Sikes is at the top of a list of 25 swimmers that doesn’t differentiate from public and private schools. Of the 25 sophomores ranked, Sikes is one of only two from a 3A school in the entire state (Carrboro’s Maya Lambert is #21). The women’s rankings are broken down by class. Sikes is the only female swimmer from a 3A school ranked #1.

Sikes, who was the 2021 Big 8 Conference Swimmer of the Year, won the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle championships last Thursday. On Saturday, she will compete in the 3A Central Regional championships in the 50 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, the 100 yard butterfly and the 200 yard individual medley. In addition, she qualified for regionals with two relay teams. In the 200 yard medley relay, Sikes will team with Sandra McCouch, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman. The group also qualified in the 400 yard medley relay.

Campbell qualified for 100 yard butterfly in November. Earlier this month, McCouch automatically qualified for the 100 yard breaststroke after finishing first in a dual meet against Northwood, Walter Williams and River Mills Academy.

Last year, Sikes won the 3A Central Regional championship in the 50 yard freestyle. She finished 2nd in the 3A State Championships behind only Charlotte Catholic’s Olivia Rhodes. Sikes’ time of 23.26 seconds earned her All-American consideration. She missed earning the title of All-American by six-hundredths-of-a-second.

The Orange men’s swimming team swept the Central Carolina Conference honors after finishing the season undefeated in dual matches and finishing 1st in the CCC Championship meet on Thursday.

Freshman Luke Roman is the Central Carolina Conference Male Swimmer of the Year. Roman won the 200 yard freestyle championship and the 500 yard freestyle championship on Thursday. A member of the Hillsborough Aquatic Club since he was in elementary school, Roman has qualified for regionals in the 200 yard freestyle, the 500 yard freestyle and the 50 yard freestyle. In the conference championships, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle at 5:19.54, nearly lapping the seven-man field.

Roman also qualified for regionals in the 200 yard freestyle relay, joining teammates Ian Moore, Evan Phillips and Alexander Andre.

Roman also qualified for the 400 yard freestyle relay with Andre, Phillips and Nick Baczara. They earned their regional qualifying time during the first dual meet of the season on November 22 against Cedar Ridge and Eastern Alamance.

This is the second consecutive year that Geib has been named a Conference Coach of the Year. Last spring, he was honored by representatives from the Big 8 Conference. This year, Orange had a well-rounded men’s team that finished the Central Carolina Conference Championships with 571 points, well ahead of runner-up Eastern Alamance (396 points).

Orange won all of its dual matches this year in the initial season of the Central Carolina Conference.

In addition to Roman, Orange had five other male swimmers qualify for the 3A Central Regionals. At the CCC Championships, junior Evan Phillips won the 200 yard individual medley at 2:10.39. Andre, a freshman, finished runner-up and also automatically qualified for regionals at 2:12.40.

Philiips also qualified for the 100 yard breaststroke after winning the conference title when he touched the wall at 1:06.85, nearly eight seconds ahead of the nearest competitor.

Orange senior Ian Moore claimed the conference championship at the 100 yard backstroke at 1:00.59, which also automatically qualified for regionals. Moore won the 100 yard backstroke in the season-opening dual meet in November.

The 3A Central Regionals will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Saturday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman swimmer Sophia Stinnett. Last Thursday, Stinnett claimed the Central Carolina Conference championship in the 200 yard freestyle, finishing first at 2:05.28 during the Central Carolina Conference Championships at the Orange County Sportsplex. Stinnett has been swimming at the SportsPlex since she was five years old. It’s more than just a sport to her, it’s part of her life. She trains two hours a day each day. Earlier this month, Stinnett teamed with Olivia Aitkin, Quinn McCrimmon and Abbygale Pearce to set a new school record in the 400 yard freestyle relay at 4:14.69. They also automatically qualified for the 3A Central Regionals, which will take place this Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. In addition, Stinnett qualified for regionals in the 100 yard freestyle. On January 6, she finished second during a dual meet with Orange, Northwood and Walter Williams with a time of 57.18 seconds. Stinnett helped the Cedar Ridge women’s team finish 3rd in the Central Carolina Championships with 308 points on Thursday night.

The combination of COVID-19 shutdowns, winter weather and exams have led to an unusually quiet January for local high school basketball teams.

After winning three games over three days in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Showcase on December 26-28, the Orange women’s basketball team was supposed to return to action on January 4.

Due to various COVID problems and two consecutive weekends of snow, the Lady Panthers didn’t play a game for 29 days. They finally returned to the floor on January 25, when they traveled to Burlington to face Walter Williams.

“We’ve had so many days off,” said Orange women’s basketball coach B.J. Condron. “We’ve had three practices in three weeks. That’s where having a veteran team that has a little more basketball IQ comes into play. Because this team has experience.”

The wait was even longer for Cedar Ridge women’s team. After the Red Wolves traveled to Northwood on December 17, the women’s team didn’t play again for 39 days–where they faced Northwood again on Tuesday in Hillsborough.

All of the distractions have led the Orange-Cedar Ridge doubleheaders between the men’s and women’s teams to be delayed three times. The crosstown rivals were supposed to play again on Friday night, but one inch of snow forced the doubleheaders to be postponed again.

This week, Orange and Cedar Ridge will go from barely at all to playing many games in a short amount of time.

Orange will have four doubleheaders in a span of five days. Starting Tuesday, Orange will travel to Person. The following night, they host Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough. On Friday, the Panthers host Northwood, then will travel to Western Alamance the following day.

Cedar Ridge’s conference slate is so full, they had to cancel a scheduled nonconfernece home game with Northern Durham that was originally slated for Monday. Instead, the Red Wolves will travel to Eastern Alamance on Tuesday, travel to Person on Wednesday, then host Western Alamance on Friday.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will finally meet on the final week of the regular season. The Red Wolves will travel to Orange on Wednesday, February 9. Orange will make a return trip to Cedar Ridge on Saturday, February 12, with the women’s game slated for 11:30AM and the men’s game scheduled for 1 PM.

The Central Carolina men’s and women’s tournaments are still scheduled for February 14-18.

Of the four Hillsborough teams in the Central Carolina Conference, the Orange women’s team appears to be the only one set to make the 3A State Playoffs. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s RPI rankings currently have the Lady Panthers ranked #10 in the 3A East Region.

Anyone who paid attention to volleyball’s RPI ratings last fall understand the depth of Central Carolina Conference women’s sports. While the makeup of the teams may be different, the depth is very much the same. Of the nine teams ahead of Orange in the current RPI rankings, there are two teams from the All-American Conference (Terry Sanford #1, E.E. Smith #4); one team from the Quad County Conference (Southern Wayne #3), two teams from the Big East (Rocky Mount #5, South Central #8), one team from the Northeastern Coastal (First Flight #9)…and three teams from the Central Carolina (Northwood #2, Williams #6, Eastern Alamance #7).

“It definitely helps when you have teams like Northwood and Williams and Eastern Alamance,” Condron said. “It really helps to have them on our schedule because they’re juggernauts right now.”

Despite the long layoff, the Orange women showed they’re ready to compete against the CCC’s best upon its return to action. On Tuesday, Williams held on to beat Orange 44-41 in Burlington. The game was tied in the final minute before the Bulldogs’ forced three turnovers in the final minute, which led to the game-winning points.

On Friday, Orange played its first home game since December 17 and defeated Person 74-61. The Lady Panthers rushed out to a 12-0 lead and never trailed, even though the Rockets cut the deficit down to one point midway through the second quarter. Orange senior Aaliyah Harris led the Lady Panthers with 23 points.

Even more promising was junior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who missed nearly a month of action of a lower leg injury in November. Jordan-Cornell had consecutive double-doubles against Williams and Person. Against the Bulldogs, she amassed 12 points and ten rebounds. On Friday against Person, she had 18 points, ten rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.

“The post-to-post passes that Erin makes and when she catches it and faces up to the basket, it definitely helps us,” Condron said. “She’s a scoring threat and opposing teams have to respect that and collapse on her when she has the ball.”

Braden Homsey: Former Orange wrestler Braden Homsey captured the 197-pound championship at the Pete Wilson-Wheaton Invitational in Whealton, Illinois for the Division III Ferrum College wrestling team on Saturday. In the championship match, Homsey handily disposed of Danny Lingen of the University of Chicago 18-5. To open the tournament, Homsey scored an 15-0 technical fall over Reid McNeill of Concardia University of Wisconsin. In the second round, Homsey defeated Warren Gentile of Mount Union 10-3. Homsey outscored Nathanie Armstrong of Mount St. Joseph 13-10 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Homsey pinned Wheaton Univeristy’s Jackson Punzel in 7:00. Homsey is now 17-1 in his senior season. Ferrum finished fourth in the team standings with 87 points. Homsey leads Ferrum in wins.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond men’s basketball team defeated Rhode Island 70-63 at Ryan Center in Kingston, RI on Tuesday. Crabtree came off the bench to play seven minutes. He scored one point off 1-of-2 shooting from the free throw line. Crabtree also grabbed two rebounds. On Saturday, VCU defeated Richmond 64-62 at the Robins Center in the battle of Richmond. Crabtree did not play. Richmond is 13-8 overall, 4-4 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team continues to roll along. The Flyers have now won seven in a row. On Wednesday, the Flyers edged Central Carolina Community College 80-79 in Sanford. In a wild game, the Flyers trailed by double-digits in both halves, but fought back to take an 80-72 lead with a minute remaining. McMullin came off the bench to score 13 points in 18 minutes. He shot 4-of-8 from the field and drained his only 3-point attempt. McMullin also had four rebounds, all offensive. On Friday, Sandhills defeated the Montreat College junior varsity squad 113-59. McMullin led the Flyers with 21 points, though he played 16 minutes. He shot 8-of-11 from the field. McMullin also had four rebounds. The Flyers, who are ranked #14 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III poll, will face Oxford College at Emory University in Atlanta later today (Sunday).

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State men’s indoor track & field team competed in the Bob Pollock Meet in Clemson, SC on Friday and Saturday. Davis finished sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 15.27 meters. On Friday, Davis competed in the long jump. His best leap was 7.01 meters, good enough for a 17th place finish. N.C. State will continue its season on Friday in the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem.

Dylan Boyer: The spring sports season will start next week with the opening of men’s lacrosse season. The Division II Queen’s University lacrosse team will start its season against Lees-McCrae at the Queen’s Sports Complex in Charlotte on Friday night. Last season, Boyer played in ten games for the Royals, starting one. Boyer scored five goals and recorded four assists. Boyer played for Orange coach Chandler Zirkle and was a member of the 2018 Panther team that advanced to the second round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Queen’s was selected to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, garnering 85 points. Lenoir-Rhyne was picked to finish first with Wingate selected second. Queens is #17 in the Nike-USA Lacrosse Division II Preseason poll.

After the 2021 North Carolina School Athletic Association Dual Team Wrestling Tournament wasn’t contested, the Orange wrestling team will host a portion of the event’s return.

The NCHSAA released the bracket for the 32-team 3A State Dual Team Tournament on Friday afternoon. Orange, the champions of the Central Carolina Conference, received a #2 seed and will face CCC rival Northwood in the opening round.

The first and second rounds will be contested on Monday night. Joining Orange and Northwood in the quadrant will be Wilson Fike, the champions of the Quad County Conference. On Monday night on the adjacent mat from the Orange/Northwood match, the Demons will face Southern Nash, the lone 3A representative from the 3A/2A Big East Conference.

The winner of Orange/Northwood will face the winner of Fike/Southern Nash immediately after the first round ends on Monday night.

The winner of that match advances to the regional semifinals, which will be held on Wednesday night at a location to be determined.

This will be the second meeting between Orange and Northwood this year. On January 10, the Panthers defeated the Chargers 43-24 in Pittsboro. At the time, both teams were undefeated in CCC action. Orange jumped out to a 24-0 lead behind four consecutive pins from Kale Womble (at 113 pounds), Braden Crawford (120), Dillon Heffernan (126), and Jared Hutchings (132).

Northwood fought back to even the match with five straight wins, including pins from Ian Morrison (152) and Ethan Kuball. Orange’s strength this season has been in the heavier weight classes and it was no different against Northwood. The Panthers ended the night with four straight wins, starting with senior Brendon Worsham scoring a 10-1 major decision at 182 pounds. Last June, Worsham qualified for the 3A State Championships after finishing 2nd in the Mideast Regionals.

At 195 pounds, Acoya Isley scored a pin to put Orange ahead 34-24. Elijah Acosta, who leads the team in wins and pins this season, sewed up the match and essentially the conference championship with a 7-3 decision over Jake Dunning. Heavyweight Hugo Vazquez ended the night with a pinfall win in 29 seconds.

This year marks Orange’s 18th conference championship in 19 years. However, by program standards, it has been a lengthy wait for a victory in the state tournament. Orange won the final Big 8 Conference Championship last year, but the NCHSAA canceled the dual tournament due to the pandemic. In 2020, Chapel Hill stunned Orange on the final night of the regular season to win the Big 8 Championship, ending the Panthers’ run of 16 consecutive conference championships. Orange still qualified for the 3A State Dual Tournament, but lost to Union Pines in the opening round.

Orange, which won the 2017 and 2018 Eastern Regional Championship, last won a match in the state dual tournament when they defeated Morehead in 2019 in the opening round in Hillsborough. The Panthers lost to Cape Fear in the second round.

The team that emerges from the Orange quadrant will advance to the state quarterfinals. The top seed on the 3A East Region is Union Pines, who defeated Orange on November 23 in the Orange Thanksgiving Duals.

The Panthers, coached by Orange graduate Spenser Poteat, won the conference championship despite eight new starters in 14 weight classes. In addition to a perfect 5-0 record in the CCC, Orange won the Jim King/Orange Invitational in December and the Quentin Crosby Invitational earlier this month.

Fike wrapped up the Quad County Championship after beating Hunt 54-18 on January 19. Fike’s Deshaun Avent won the Quad County Tournament 220-pound division after beating Dallas Bailey of C.B. Avcock 5-2. Fike’s Justin Bullock claimed the tournament’s 195-pound title after pinning Buster Williams of Hunt in 2:54.

After winning the 3A Central Regional Championship as a freshman and finishing 2nd in the state, Orange sophomore Katie Belle Sikes had high expectations for her sophomore season. On Thursday night, she came away with two gold medals in the Central Carolina Conference Swimming Championships at the Orange County SportsPlex. In the 50 yard freestyle, Sikes finished first with a time of 24.77 seconds. In the 100 yard freestyle, Sikes claimed the conference title by touching the wall at 53.97 seconds. In addition, Sikes has qualified for the 3A Central Regionals in two relay events. She teamed with Sandra McCouch, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman to finish second in the 200 yard medley relay. In the 400 yard freestyle relay, Sikes, McCouch, Campbell and Wileman finished 3rd at 4:09.01. Sikes will compete in the 3A Central Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center next Saturday. If she finishes high enough in any of the four events she has qualified for, she will advance to the 3A State Championships in Cary.

Cedar Ridge freshmen Matthew Czar wasn’t sure what to expect in his first Central Carolina Conference championship meet on Thursday night at the Orange County SportsPlex, but it went exceedingly well. Czar won three gold medals. In the 50 yard freestyle, Czar finished first at 24.15 seconds, narrowly edging his Cedar Ridge teammate Nikhil Agans by eight-hundredths-of-a-second. In the 100 yard freestyle, Czar finished well ahead of the pack with a time of 56.60 seconds, three seconds better than runner-up Tigre Hipps of Walter Williams. Czar also claimed the gold medal in the 200 yard freestyle relay, where he teamed with Agans, Jason Pattinson and Alexander Hill at 1:40.21. Czar has qualified for the 3A Central Regionals in three events. Though he is a freshman, Czar has grown up swimming at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, but because of the pandemic, he hasn’t competed there since 2020. Next Saturday, Czar and some of his teammates will return to Greensboro for the regionals.

An Orange men’s swimming team filled with underclassmen up and down its roster has already proven what endless hours in the pools at the Orange County SportsPlex can turn into if they work hard enough.

It leads to an undefeated season and a conference title.

On Thursday night, the Panthers claimed the Central Carolina Conference men’s swimming championship at the Orange County SportsPlex. Orange, behind seven first-place finishes in eleven events, came away with 571 points. Eastern Alamance finished second at 396 points.

Cedar Ridge freshman Matthew Czar won two individual gold medals, which pushed the Red Wolves into a 3rd place team finish with 294 points.

Of Orange’s five individual conference champions, only one was from a senior. Two came from freshman Luke Roman, who nearly lapped the field in causing to the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:19.54, a full 32 seconds ahead of runner-up and teammate Greyson Brummer.

“I would say the 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle are my best events,” Roman said. “I was pretty nervous and I think you always go into that when you have something in the first try. I just was able to put in the hard work and get all the medals.”

Roman, who has qualified for two individual events for next weekend’s 3A Central Regionals, narrowly held off Cedar Ridge’s Alexander Hill to win the 200 yard freestyle. Roman touched the wall at 1:52.29, while Hill finished at 1:52.83.

Roman also earned two goal medals in relay races. In the 200 yard medley relay, Roman teamed with Ian Moore, freshman Alex Andre and Evan Phillips to finish first at 1:49.80, which qualified the team for the Central Regionals next Saturday. In the 400 yard freestyle relay, Roman, Nick Baczara, Andre and Phillips finished first at 3:49.95, again automatically qualifying for regionals.

Czar, who grew up swimming at the SportsPlex with the Hillsborough Aquatic Club, finished first in the 50 yard freestyle at 24:15. Cedar Ridge’s Nikhil Agans narrowly came in second at 24.23 seconds, while Orange’s Andrew Weeks finished third. Czar and Agans both automatically qualified for regionals.

Czar also claimed the 100 yard freestyle at 56.60 seconds, a new personal best. Tigue Hipps of Walter Williams finished a distance second at 59.99. Cedar RIdge’s Jason Pattison came in third at 1:00.31.

“I came in with a very strong mindset,” Czar said. “I was determined to get the three gold medals and it worked for me. I surpassed my expectations for this year. I was going in as a freshman not even sure if I would even place. I was thinking I’d finish second or third.”

Orange’s Ian Moore not only qualified for regionals, but he captured the conference championship in the 100 yard backstroke at 1:00.59. Weeks earned the bronze medal at 1:05.16.

Orange junior Evan Phillips breezed to the championship of the 100 yard breaststroke at a time of 1:06.85. It was a full seven seconds ahead of Eastern Alamance’s Ethan Brouwer. Orange’s Baczara finished third.

It is Orange’s first conference championship in men’s swimming in at least nine years, and likely longer. They never claimed the Big 8 Championship, where the Panthers called home from 2012-2021.

Orange junior Evan Phillips won the 200 yard individual medley at 2:10.39, holding off freshman teammate Alex Andre, who touched the wall at 2:12.40.

It’s the third conference championship this year for Orange in the Central Carolina Conference. The men’s cross country team claimed the conference title at Northwood High in October, while the wrestling team officially clinched the league title on Tuesday after a win over Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough.

The Central Regional Championships will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center next Saturday.

In a year that was anything but ordinary, Orange’s Katie Belle Sikes came away with a silver medal in the 50 yard freestyle at the 3A State Championships last winter.

That silver, paired with the 3A Central Regional championship she claimed in the midst of the pandemic, was a lot for a freshman in 2021. Yet through the summer and into her sophomore year, Sikes has had returning to the state championships and walking away with a goal foremost in her mind.

On Thursday night, Sikes prepared for the upcoming run to the regionals by claiming two 1st place finishes at the Central Carolina Conference Swimming championships at the Orange County SportsPlex. Sikes claimed the gold medal in the 50 yard freestyle, where she edged Northwood seniorJulia Earnshaw by nine-hundredths-of-a-second. Sikes claimed the 100 yard freestyle at a much more comfortable time of 53.97 seconds, with Earnshaw finishing second at 55.64 seconds.

“I was hoping to win a few of my events,” Sikes said. “I’ll take what I can get so I’ll take what I can get.”

Last year because of the pandemic, Sikes competed mainly in empty pools racing only against the clock. This year, with loosened restrictions, Sikes has found herself in a more typical setting with competitors surrounding her in adjacent lanes.

“Last year was an easy start into high school swimming. It wasn’t overwhelming,” Sikes said. “This year has been so much fun to get to swim against everyone else and all of these different teams. We got to grow as a team in general.”

In addition, Sikes medaled in two relay events. She claimed silver in the 200 yard medley relay, teaming with Sandra McCouch, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman. Northwood’s team of Mia Corrado, Lauren Emrich, Abigail Emrich and Earnshaw finished 1st. The Cedar Ridge team of Olivia Aitkin, Abbygale Pearce, Quinn McCrimmon and freshman Sophia Stinnett came in third at 2:09.41.

Earlier this month, Aitkin, Stinnett, McCrimmon and Pearce set the school record in the 200 yard freestyle relay at 1:55.00 in their final dual meet. On Thursday night, the team broke the school record again at 1:54.15. They finished second in a close race to the wall behind the Northwood team of Gwen Hoeg, Anna Beck, Bianca Perez and Holly Thesing, who had a time of 1:53.38.

Stinnett was one of several Cedar Ridge freshman to come away with gold medals in their first conference championship meet. Stinnett, who qualified for regionals in November in her first dual meet, won the championship of the 200 yard freestyle at 2:05.28, a new personal best. It was a full 14 seconds under the automatic qualifying time of 2:19.49.

Stinnett also earned a silver medal in the 500 yard freestyle, finishing at 5:34.28. Northwood’s Corrado, with a time of 5:16.58, came in first.

Cedar Ridge finished third in the women’s standings with 308 points. Orange came in fourth at 245 points. Northwood claimed the conference championship with 563 points, while Eastern Alamance finished 2nd at 363 points.

Northwood’s Corrado earned four gold medals on the night. She won the 100 yard backstroke and the 500 yard freestyle. She also finished first in two relay races: the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Orange senior Sandra McCouch, who is in her first year in Hillsborough after moving from Philadelphia last summer, finished 3rd in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:30.56. McCouch also finished third in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:17.95. Two weeks ago, McCouch qualified for regionals in the breaststroke.

Sikes, McCouch, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman finished third in the 400 yard freestyle relay at 4:09.21. The group automatically qualified for regionals. Northwood’s Hoeg, Abigail Emrich, Corrado and Earnshaw won the conference title at 3:45.32.

Quinn McCrimmon of Cedar Ridge finished 3rd in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:06.70. She automatically qualified for regionals, which will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Aquatic Complex on February 5.