By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

Forbush High’s swim team has rewritten about every school record this season.

On Saturday, the Falcons added a conference championship trophy to go with it.

The Forbush boys won the inaugural Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference title after numerous great swims at the Armfield Civic Center, with the Falcon girls finishing a close second to powerhouse Elkin.

Eleven Forbush swimmers have achieved qualifying times for the upcoming 1A/2A West Regional meet, with several having the potential to reach the state meet.

All in all a special season, according to coach Mark Beuter, who took over the program in 2005-06.

“I expected the boys team to be first or second in the standings as long as we avoided false starts and disqualifications,” Beuter said. “We had a flawless meet as far as that went, so that helped us get first.

“For the girls team, I estimated that we would probably finish second behind Elkin, which we did. But our girls swam an outstanding meet and made the final results much closer than I expected.”

The Forbush boys won three individual events and all three relays, compiling 152 team points. Elkin placed second with 92 points, followed by Wilkes Central 55, Starmount 39, West Wilkes 37 and Alleghany 15.

Adam Wise edged Elkin’s Cory Eaton by 0.51 of a second for gold in the 100-yard butterfly. Hunter Carter held off Starmount’s Will Wooten for first place in the 100 breaststroke. Micah West enjoyed a near five-second victory margin in the 100 backstroke, setting a new school record in the process (1:04.78).

Wise was second in the 50 freestyle behind Wilkes Central’s Adam Parker. West finished second in the 200 free behind Louis Allen of West Wilkes. Allen was voted the MVAC’s boys swimmer of the year. KC Winters was third in the 200 free.

Taylor Waddell of Forbush grabbed second in the 200 individual medley, with Bryan Winters earning fourth. Waddell also was third in the 100 fly.

Luke Miller placed third in the 100 free. KC Winters earned third place in the 500 free. Bryan Winters was fourth in the 100 breaststroke. Nick Weidner earned fourth in the 100 back.

West, Carter, Wise and Miller teamed up to win the 200 medley relay by nearly three seconds. Carter, Waddell, West and Wise were more than seven seconds faster than their nearest challenger in the 200 free relay.

Beuter, who was voted the boys coach of the year for the conference, praised his 400 free relay team after its gold medal swim. Weidner, KC Winters, Brian Winters and Miller won that race by more than seven seconds.

“KC Winters had an excellent split, allowing the team to come from behind for a first-place finish,” Beuter said.

The Forbush boys as a whole came on strong as the meet progressed.

“The boys team came out with a best time in the 200 medley relay, but we were a little slower in the individual events to start the meet,” the coach said. “Toward the middle of the meet, they started to pick up some steam and did a great job getting points and personal best times in individual events and, particularly, relays.

“They stayed very motivated the entire meet.”

The Forbush girls did not win an event but had at least one swimmer in the top four of every individual race and placed second in all three relays.

The 200 medley relay team of Jennifer Shore, Linda Hurley, Stephanie Pittman and Taylor Wilhelm set the tone in the opening race with an impressive time.

“Almost all of the individual events and relays that followed were personal best times,“ Beuter said. “Hands down, this was the best meet, collectively, from any girls team I have ever coached.”

Elkin won the girls title with 143 points. Forbush finished with 129 points, followed by Starmount 46, North Wilkes 14, West Wilkes 10, Alleghany 8 and Wilkes Central 7.

Wilhelm finished second in the 200 free behind a two-time state champion from Elkin (senior Lakenn Reynolds). Wilhelm also was second in the 500 freestyle.

Linda Hurley placed second in the 100 butterfly and was third in the 200 IM.

Hurley dropped a whopping eight seconds off her previous best in the fly, a four-lap event, and posted a regional consideration time.

Stephanie Pittman set a new Forbush girls record in the 50 free (28.22), placing second. She also placed third in the 100 free

Rachel Van Hoy was third in the 200 free, with Olivia McCormick coming in fourth. The two finished in those same places in the 20-lap 500 freestyle.

Jennifer Shore placed fourth in the 100 backstroke, while Jordan Foster was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

Forbush’s silver medal 200 freestyle relay team included Jennifer Shore, Katarina Hauser, Hannah Morgan and Katie McLean. Shore, Wilhelm, Hurley and Pittman comprised the runner-up 400 free relay team.

Katarina Hauser swam a personal best en route to sixth place in the 100 backstroke.

Kim Benton scored maximum points for the Starmount girls. The senior standout won the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke events by more than two seconds each.

The Starmount girls placed third in the 200 medley relay (Chelsea Davis, Greyson Brendle, Benton and Angela Reavis) as well as the 200 free relay (Brendle, Benton, Reavis and Davis).

Brendle also was sixth in the 100 breaststroke.

On the boys side, Wooten’s silver medal performance in the 100 breaststroke was Starmount’s top swim. Wooten also placed fifth in the 200 free. Allen Mendenhall earned fourth in the 200 free.

Wooten, Mendenhall, Bradley Davis and Zac McCullagh teamed up for a third-place swim in the 400 free relay. The foursome placed fourth in the 200 free relay.

Oz Prim, who coaches both Starmount and Elkin, was voted the conference’s girls coach of the year. Lakenn Reynolds, who won two gold medals and was part of two championship relays, was voted the conference’s girls swimmer of the year.

“Oz Prim has some great boys and girls programs at Starmount and Elkin and I figured those would be our biggest challenges, which they were,” Beuter said, recapping the conference meet. “We all practice in the same pool together, and many swim on summer league together, so it is great that a lot of these swimmers are both friends and competitors.“

The next step for many will be the 1A/2A West Regional in Huntersville on Feb. 5. The state championships will be the following Saturday in Cary.

Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference
Swim Championships • Saturday • at Pilot Mountain

GIRLS

Team Scores: Elkin 143, Forbush 129, Starmount 46, North Wilkes 14, West Wilkes 10, Alleghany 8, Wilkes Central 7

200 Medley Relay

1. Elkin (Lakenn Reynolds, Samantha Dimmette, Sarah Singleton, Sierra Collins), 1:59.44; 2. Forbush (Jennifer Shore, Linda Hurley, Stephanie Pittman, Taylor Wilhelm), 2:20.40; 3. Starmount (Chelsea Davis, Greyson Brendle, Kim Benton, Angela Reavis), 2:33.54.

200 Freestyle

1. Lakenn Reynolds (Elkin), 2:04.73; 2. Taylor Wilhelm (Forbush), 2:45.97; 3. Rachel VanHoy (Forbush), 2:58.43; 4. Olivia McCormick (Forbush), 3:21.34.

200 Individual Medley

1. Sarah Singleton (Elkin), 2:17.34; 2. Laken Beaver (Elkin), 2:46.12; 3. Linda Hurley (Forbush), 2:48.02

50 Freestyle

1. Kim Benton (Starmount), 26.16; 2. Stephanie Pittman (Forbush), 28.22; 3. Samantha Dimmette (Elkin), 29.57; 4. Ashley Rankin (West Wilkes), 30.22; 5. Josie Varela (Alleghany), 30.37; 6. Katie McLean (Forbush), 30.86, 7. Hannah Morgan (Forbush), 31.44; 8. Rachel Parsons (Wilkes Central), 31.46.

100 Butterfly

1. Sarah Singleton (Elkin), 1:00.45; 2. Linda Hurley (Forbush), 1:17.36.

100 Freestyle

1. Lakenn Reynolds (Elkin), 55.10; 2. Olivia Shumate (North Wilkes), 1:01.11; 3. Stephanie Pittman (Forbush), 1:01.96; 4. Ashley Rankin (West Wilkes), 1:07.64; 5. Josie Varela (Alleghany), 1:07.80; 6. Katie McLean (Forbush), 1:10.67; 7. Rachel Parsons (Wilkes Central), 1:11.83; 8. Hannah Barron (Elkin), 1:12.80.

500 Freestyle

1. Sierra Collins (Elkin), 6:11.34; 2. Taylor Wilhelm (Forbush), 7:36.78; 3. Rachel VanHoy (Forbush), 7:39.67; 4. Olivia McCormick (Forbush), 8:57.59.

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Elkin (Laken Beaver, Diana McCulloch, Samantha Dimmette, Sarah Singleton), 1:58.77; 2. Forbush (Jennifer Shore, Katarina Hauser, Hannah Morgan, Katie McLean), 2:08.51; 3. Starmount (Greyson Brendle, Kim Benton, Angela Reavis, Chelsea Davis), 2:22.96.

100 Backstroke

1. Kim Benton (Starmount), 1:05.97; 2. Olivia Shumate (North Wilkes), 1:08.38; 3. Sierra Collins (Elkin), 1:12.49; 4. Jennifer Shore (Forbush), 1:25.26; 5. Laney Browder (Wilkes Central), 1:26.16; 6. Katarina Hauser (Forbush), 1:28.86.

100 Breaststroke

1. Samantha Dimmette (Elkin), 1:20.74; 2. Laken Beaver (Elkin), 1:24.29; 3. Hannah Barron (Elkin), 1:29.37; 4. Jordan Foster (Forbush), 1:47.52; 5. Nikki Santiago (Forbush), 1:49.92; 6. Greyson Brendle (Starmount), 1:55.02.

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Elkin (Sierra Collins, Laken Beaver, Hannah Barron, Lakenn Reynolds), 4:27.03; 2. Forbush (Jennifer Shore, Taylor Wilhelm, Linda Hurley, Stephanie Pittman), 4:32.80.

BOYS

Team Scores: Forbush 152, Elkin 92, Wilkes Central 55, Starmount 39, West Wilkes 37, Alleghany 15

200 Medley Relay

1. Forbush (Micah West, Hunter Carter, Adam Wise, Luke Miller), 1:54.93; 2. Elkin (Charlie Neaves, Ashton Gant, Cory Eaton, Coley McCulloch), 1:57.89; 3. Wilkes Central (Gunnar Hunsberger, Devan Clark, Adam Parker, Dalton Johnson), 2:09.53.

200 Freestyle

1. Louis Allen (West Wilkes), 1:59.75; 2. Micah West (Forbush), 2:16.04; 3. KC Winters (Forbush), 2:20.96; 4. Allen Mendenhall (Starmount), 2:45.07; 5. Will Wooten (Starmount), 2:52.11

200 Individual Medley

1. Cory Eaton (Elkin), 2:12.88; 2. Taylor Waddell (Forbush), 2:28.81; 3. Ashton Gant (Elkin), 2:38.05; 4. Bryan Winters (Forbush), 2:41.27; 5. Gunnar Hunsberger (Wilkes Central), 2:45.25.

50 Freestyle

1. Adam Parker (Wilkes Central), 23.90; 2. Adam Wise (Forbush), 24.35; 3. Ben Krause (West Wilkes), 24.40; 4. Coley McCulloch (Elkin), 25.16; 5. Charlie Neaves (Elkin), 25.41, 6. Hunter Carter (Forbush), 25.45; 7. Devan Clark (Wilkes Central), 26.01; 8. Luke Miller (Forbush), 26.10.

100 Butterfly

1. Adam Wise (Forbush), 1:00.22; 2. Cory Eaton (Elkin), 1:00.73; 3. Taylor Waddell (Forbush), 1:02.41.

100 Freestyle

1. Ben Krause (West Wilkes), 55.81; 2. Adam Parker (Wilkes Central), 58.98; 3. Luke Miller (Forbush), 59.26; 4. Coley McCulloch (Elkin), 1:01.28; 5. Akiko Kawagoye (Alleghany), 1:02.57; 6. Ray Arnold (Elkin), 1:04.61; 7. Nick Weidner (Forbush), 1:07.90; 8. Justin Caudill (Alleghany), 1:08.55.

500 Freestyle

1. Louis Allen (West Wilkes), 5:23.20; 2. Devan Clark (Wilkes Central), 6:12.60; 3. KC Winters (Forbush), 6:25.66.

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Forbush (Hunter Carter, Taylor Waddell, Micah West, Adam Wise), 1:42.01; 2. Wilkes Central (Gunnar Hunsberger, Devan Clark, Dalton Johnson, Adam Parker), 1:49.86; 3. Elkin (Ashton Gant, Ray Arnold, Aidan McRitchie, Coley McCulloch), 1:54.48; 4. Starmount (Allen Mendenhall, Zac McCullagh, Will Wooten, Bradley Davis), 2:13.23.

100 Backstroke

1. Micah West (Forbush), 1:04.78; 2. Charlie Neaves (Elkin), 1:09.73; 3. Andrew Camp (Alleghany), 1:13.74; 4. Nick Weidner (Forbush), 1:24.90; 5. Randall McNeill (West Wilkes), 1:30.90

100 Breaststroke

1. Hunter Carter (Forbush), 1:16.83; 2. Will Wooten (Starmount), 1:17.95; 3. Ashton Gant (Elkin), 1:18.10; 4. Bryan Winters (Forbush), 1:19.06; 5. Akiko Kawagoye (Alleghany), 1:20.00; 6. Cody Evans (Forbush), 1:22.04; 7. Mark Fitzner (Forbush), 1:27.64; 8. Bradley Davis (Starmount), 1:48.66.

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Forbush (Nick Weidner, KC Winters, Brian Winters, Luke Miller), 4:13.01; 2. Elkin (Cory Eaton, Aidan McRitchie, Ray Arnold, Charlie Neaves), 4:20.54; 3. Starmount (Will Wooten, Allen Mendenhall, Bradley Davis, Zac McCullagh), 5:31.90.