Lily Terwilliger CFNN Reporter

With spirits free, we honor thee, our Cape Fear Men’s Swim team.

The Colts competed for the conference title last Tuesday. It was a grueling and suspenseful meet as they fought to come out on top. The Colts won by 6 points, beating Terry Sanford and securing the number one spot in the conference and a whole lot of gold. 

“I am thrilled the boys won conference,” said Head Coach Amey Shook. “It all came together this year. They have some very realistic shots at making states. They have put in the work all season. Diving in a pool at 5:30 am daily is not easy. Everyone is so fast at regionals. They can’t make mistakes. They have to focus on the last lap, dive into the wall and quit breathing so much. If they do that, we will see several state qualifiers on this team.”

To start off the meet the Colts finished 2nd to Pine Forest in the 200 Yard Medley Relay with a PR (personal record) of 1:59.56. Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi started with backstroke, Hudson McFayden with breaststroke, Seth Thomas with butterfly, and Ethan Smith anchored in freestyle. The Colts medaled and will be competing in this event at regionals to qualify for states.

The next event was the 200 Yard Freestyle where Jackson Autry and Jake Gronowski competed. Autry medaled and secured 2nd place with a PR of 2:24.67, where he will go on to compete in at regionals. Gronowski finished in 6th place with a PR of 2:32.40 about 10 seconds faster than his previous time.

In the 200 Yard, IM Seth Thomas and Hudson McFayden raced their competitors to finish in 4th and 6th place respectively. Thomas swam a 2:43.47, only 4 seconds behind South View. McFayden cut off a second of his PR swimming a 2:53.94. They will both be going on to regionals to compete in this event.

In the 50 Yard Freestyle, Nick Shook and Ethan Smith were successful securing a 2nd and 3rd place win. Shook had a PR with a time of 25.06 about .60 seconds faster. Smith came in about .30 seconds after finishing with a time of 25.35. They both won a medal and will be competing at regionals in this event.

In the 100 Yard Freestyle Nick Shook secured a 1st place win with a PR of 59.21. He will go on to compete at regionals in this event. Spencer Perez also competed finishing in 5th place with a time of 1:07.66.

In the 100 Yard Butterfly Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi and Ethan Smith both PR and won medals. Estrada-Zerhoudi won 1st place with a PR of 1:03.38 about 2 seconds faster than his previous time, beating his competitor Tristan Smith from Terry Sanford by .33 seconds. Smith finished 3rd with a PR of 1:07.54, about a second faster than his previous time. They will both be competing at regionals in this event.

In the 500 Yard Freestyle, Jackson Autry finished in 2nd place, winning a medal with a time of 7:20.57. 

In the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay Hudson McFayden, Seth Thomas, Mark Burks, and Nick Shook competed respectively finishing in 3rd place, winning a medal with a time of 1:48.61. The Colts will be going on to regionals to compete for a spot at states.

In the 100 Yard Backstroke Jed Coon finished 5th place with a PR of 1:20.86 about 5 seconds faster than his previous time. Coon will be going on to regionals to compete in this event. Jackson Autry and Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi will also be going on to compete in regionals for this event.

In the 100 Yard Breaststroke Hudson McFayden and Seth Thomas competed, securing 1st and 4th place respectively. McFayden won 1st place, securing a medal with a time of 1:18.20, beating Terry Sanford swimmer Jackson White by .45 seconds. Thomas finished in 4th with a time of 1:20.16. They will both be going on to regionals to compete in this event.

In the last event, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, Ethan Smith, Jackson Autry, Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi, and Nick Shook competed respectively finishing in 2nd place. They secured medals with a PR of 4:02.21. The Colts will be competing in this event at regionals to qualify for a spot at states.

Coach Amey Shook also received boys’ Coach of the Year. 

“Mrs. Shook is the reason why I swim,” said senior Mark Burks. “She is the reason why we all swim. She is the reason that we wake up before 5:00 am. She is the reason we won conference.”

The Colts continue their epic season at  4 p.m. at the Greensboro Aquatic Center where the Colts will be competing at regionals for the chance to qualify for states.