Woolard takes ninth to lead area swimmers

Published 12:27 pm Friday, February 10, 2023

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Washington High School freshman Aubrey Woolard’s ninth place finish in the 50-yard freestyle was the best among county swimmers at the 1A/2A state swim meet Thursday night in Cary.

The top 24 swimmers from around the state competed in each event as the Triangle Aquatic Center, while the top eight finishers in the preliminary heats qualified for the final in each event.

Woolard went down and back in 25.85 seconds in the prelim, but missed qualifying for the final by five/100th of a second.

She bounced back to win the consolation final in a personal record time of 25.52, which would have placed her fifth overall if she had qualified for the final.

“I was disappointed that I came so close to the final without making it, but I’m happy with a personal record in the second race,” Woolard said. “It was fun to see Abby (Lewis) and Elena (Hill) compete for the first time as seniors and it was a good experience overall. I know what to expect for next year and will keep working to get stronger so I can go faster.”

Woolard was part of the 200 freestyle relay with Lewis, Hill and Lydia Smith that finished 21stand was 15th in the 100 butterfly (1:05.04)

Southside senior Delta Cole was 11th in the 100 freestyle in 57.6 seconds and 13th in the 50 freestyle (26.1).

Her brother, junior Ty Cole, was 24th in the 100 freestyle (57.28) and 24th in the 100 backstroke (1:03:34.

The Washington boys relay team of seniors John Hinchey and Austin Waters, junior Cayden Pake and freshman Evan Makepeace were 14th in the 200 medley (1:50.29), 16th in the 400 freestyle (3:47.65) and 17th in the 200 freestyle (1:41.27)

Lincoln Charter won the 2A girls state title, while Community School of Davidson won the boys event.