From two Tri-County Early College athletes’ performance at the state meet to the upcoming summer swim league, local swim coach Frank Bachteler wrapped up one season and is ready for the next.
Fern Crayton swam in two events at the 1/2/3A swim state championship on Feb. 14 in Cary.
She came in 22nd in the 200-yard freestyle and 20th in the 500-yard freestyle.
Sophia Evans also swam in the meet, coming in 30th in the 200-yard freestyle event.
Bachteler said he was amazing that Crayton and Evans dropped time at the state meet after various things happened at the end of the season.
The Regional meet was canceled due to winter weather, so Bachteler said that threw off their tapering in training.
He also said they had an excellent attitude and were encouraging of each other at the state meet.
In the fall, Crayton won the 1A women’s state championship in cross-country. She then immediately began swim season.
“Fern came from cross-country into swimming and never had a break, so it took her a while to actually get in swimming shape. Her legs, I don’t think every fully recovered…We worked on the kick…we must have worked it because she dropped 20 plus seconds in the 500 [yard freestyle] at the state meet,” Bachteler said.
He added that she also dropped about six seconds in her 200-yard freestyle time as well.
Bachteler said that Evans missed practice time due to travel and illness, but that she still did well at the state meet.
One of his takeaways from the season as a whole was that meets are now charging entry fees to cover costs of things such as officials.
He added that it’s tough to pay for team expenses such as uniforms and practice time at the Murphy Health & Fitness pool.
Speaking on who stood out to him during the season, Bachteler said Elias Diaz-Menchu stood out for the boys.
He said that Diaz-Menchu was a good, encouraging leader all season and looks forward to having him back on the team next season.
He added that they had a few new swimmers this season and that they had good seasons as well.
For the girls, he said that it will be a challenge next season to have girls relays with multiple girls graduating. They will get a few swimmers from the Cherokee County Aquatic Club team to help supplement those relay teams.
As well as qualifying for state and dropping times, one of Bachteler’s goals for the season was to have Crayton break the 500-yard freestyle record in the county. Crayton came close, but did not break the record this season.
Bachteler said some of his favorite moments from the season include Crayton’s time drop in the 500-yard freestyle at the state meet, as well as the new boys’ performances all season.
He added that the boys encouraging one another was a great thing to see.
Looking ahead to the next swim season, the Cherokee County Aquatic Club’s season will be begin in the summer. Sign-ups will be in early April and practice will begin shortly after that.
Meets will begin in early June on Thursday nights, with some meets on Saturdays.
They will host a meet in Murphy, but the date of the meet is to be determined.
Details: For more information on CCAC or swimming in Cherokee County, email Coach Frank at coachfrankbach@aol.com.