Tim Connery Destroys Two State Records at North Carolina Boys 1A/2A Championships

Photo Courtesy: NCHSAA Twitter (@NCHSAA)

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The 2020 North Carolina High School Boys’ State Swimming and Diving 1-2A State Championships took place on Thursday, February 6 at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, N.C.

Christ the King Catholic High School’s Tim Connery stole the show by setting a pair of new North Carolina state records. The future Michigan Wolverine threw down a 44.18 in the 100 free and a 53.65 in the 100 breast to etch his name in the history books. He was the named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer.

Community School of Davidson’s Baylor Nelson lowered his own Class 1A/2A record in the 200 IM with an impressive 1:47.17 while Croatan’s 4×50 free relay broke the class mark with a combined time of 1:27.07. Despite winning only one event, Pine Lake Prep used their impressive depth to secure the team title with 238 points.

Click HERE for full results and team scores.

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Pine Lake Prep – 238
2. Raleigh Charter – 196
3. Lincoln Charter – 184
4. Croatan – 180
5. – NC School of Science & Math – 144

Croatan’s Will Barker (23.05), Jack McCabe (26.82), Matthew McCray (24.23), and Colby Loveless (21.36) combined to win the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:35.46 – less than half a second off the class record and nearly four seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Loveless (21.78), McCabe (22.56), McCray (22.26), and Barker (20.47) also combined in 1:27.07 to set a new Class 1A/2A record in the 4×50 free relay, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:27.17 set by Carrboro in 2012. Barker later added an individual win in the 100 back with a time of 49.03.

Nelson dominated the 200 IM to successfully defend his title, throwing down a time of 1:47.17 to best the field by over eight seconds. His time broke his own Class 1A/2A record of 1:50.59 he set last year. The sophomore then went on to win the 100 fly in 48.76 as the only athlete to crack the 50-second barrier.

Connery, who has verbally committed to Michigan, sprinted to first place in the 100 free with a winning time of 44.18. His time broke Chapel Hill’s Sam Hoover’s state record of 44.62 set in 2019. The junior’s impressive time also set a new Class 1A/2A mark, taking down the 45.12 previously held by Raleigh Charter’s Joe Bonk since 2012.

Connery also added a win in the 100 breast, getting his hands to the wall in an impressive 53.65. His winning time crushed the North Carolina state record of 54.47 set by Will Chan of Hough in 2017 while also lowering the Class 1A/2A mark of 56.51 set by Mount Pleasant’s Danny Dilks in 2016.

Jay Baker of Durham School of the Arts posted an impressive 13-second victory in the 500 freestyle, turning in a time of 4:29.96 for the gold medal while Bradford Prep’s Reid Miller won the 50 free in 20.98. Lake Norman Charter’s Harrison Powe cruised to first in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:40.96 to drop nearly five seconds off his prelims time.

Community School of Davidson’s Campbell Worsley dove to the top spot on the 1-meter board, posting a final score of 490.90. Nathan Adams (47.29), Deaven Holder (48.79), Nathan Thornburg (50.39), and AJ Das (46.59) sealed Pine Lake Prep’s team title by winning the 4×100 free relay in a combined time of 3:13.06 to conclude the meet.

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