Historic Swim Season Comes to an End; Great Performance at States

Lily Terwilliger Swim Reporter

The Colts competed at the 3A State NCHSAA Championships in Cary. Individual qualifiers included Amelia Shook, Lily Terwilliger, Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi. The girl’s relays consisted of Amelia Shook, Lily Terwilliger, Gracie McInroy, and Hannah Williams. The boy’s relays consisted of Ethan Smith, Seth Thomas, Nick Shook, and Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi. The Colts had a successful meet with PR’s and school records broken.

First up in the girls 200 Yard Medley Relay Lily Terwilliger swam backstroke, Hannah Williams swam breaststroke, Amelia Shook swam butterfly, and Gracie McInroy swam freestyle. The Colts finished 22nd in the state with a time of 2:09.12.

“Swimming at states was bittersweet. It shows how hard each of us worked to get there and to think that was my last swim meet of high school is crazy,” says senior Gracie McInroy. “I could not have done it without my teammates and coach Shook.”

Next up, individual qualifier Lily Terwilliger swam the 200 Yard IM. Terwilliger finished 23rd in the state with a time of 2:46.71. “To have been able to individually qualify in this event really shows how successful my senior season ended up to be,” says captain Lily Terwilliger. “I could not have done it without Mrs. Shook and I am going to miss my coach and team!”

Next race was swam by individual qualifier Amelia Shook in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Shook had a PR about .10 seconds faster than previous races. Shook finished 18th in the state with a time of 1:02.21.

In the 100 Yard Backstroke individual qualifier Amelia Shook finished 17th in the state with a time of 1:02.62. “I am so happy that I was finally able to qualify for states individually. My hard work has paid off with getting the best times and records,” says captain Amelia Shook. “Next year I hope to break more records and get more PRs. I am hoping to go into the season with a good knee as well.”

Last up in the girls 400 Yard Freestyle Amelia Shook, Lily Terwilliger, Hannah Williams, and Gracie McInroy competed to break their school record. The girls finished 23rd in the state, beating their school record by 2 seconds with a time of 4:16.51.

“Swimming at states was an amazing experience,” said new swimmer Hannah Williams. “We all did great and I’m so thankful for our team and for Mrs. Shook. I could not have made it this far without her, I am so excited for next year!”

Unfortunately while the boys qualified in the 400 Yard Freestyle they were unable to compete due to an earlier disqualification from Vini Estrada-Zerhoudi in the 100 Yard Butterfly. However the Colts did not let this diminish their excitement over their state qualification. As the boys like to say, “Swim like a cheetah.”

Freshman Nick Shook enjoyed this season and learned a lot but he has already started looking to the future.

“While it is unfortunate we did not get to swim, it was a great experience and I am looking forward to next season,” said Shook. “I am looking to individually qualify for states next year and hope the team can step up and defend our conference champs title.”

Ethan Smith despite only spending one season as a Colt has made lifelong friends and memories.

“Being a new student and swimmer on the team, I was really happy that everyone was accepting towards me. I felt like the swim team was one of the best sports teams I have ever been a part of,” said Key West swimmer Ethan Smith. “Winning conference and going to regionals and states felt great, but being able to hangout and see everyone after we leave the pool deck is a win of its own.”

Seth Thomas enjoyed his time as captain and will cherish those memories forever.

“This was by far the best swim season I’ve ever had. I honestly could not be more proud to have been a captain for the best swim team around,” said captain Seth Thomas. “My last year of swimming would not have been what it was without my team and I was more than happy to lead them to be state qualifiers.”

Coach Amey Shook could not have been prouder of her team.

“North Carolina states is one of the fastest high school swim meets in the nation,” said Shook. “The girls rose to the challenge and had many best times. The boys made a costly mistake and that mistake prevented them from participating in the meet. Unfortunately there is a rule that if you do not show up you are disqualified from the whole race which is set in place to prevent cheating. For smaller teams like us that are just starting to make it to the state meet it becomes a more costly mistake. However, we had our best season by far. Although we are graduating some of our top and most versatile swimmers I have confidence that without mono we will be able to step it up next year. Hopefully we can learn the sickness lesson as well.”