All-Lake Norman News swim team

Traditional power North Mecklenburg faced a tough challenge with Lake Norman, the 3A state champion last year, moving into the I-Meck 4A conference.

But the Vikings were still strong and won both the boys' and girls' I-Meck championship to make it 24 conference titles in a row.

The boys finished the season second in the state while the Lady Vikings wrapped up the season by finishing ninth, tying rivals Hopewell. The Hopewell boys finished 28th at the state meet.

The Wildcat boys finished third at states in their first year of 4A competition, while the girls finished fourth.

At the 1A/2A state meet, Lake Norman Charter's boys and girls both finished an impressive third while East Lincoln's teams finished seventh.

Boys' team

Boys Swimmer of the Year: JT Stilley, N. Meck.

JT Stilley is one of the best swimmers in the state. He's been an All-Conference selection all four years of high school.

The senior learned to swim when he was 6 and started swimming competitively at age 10. Stilley's grown a lot in the past four years and has earned a scholarship to swim at UNC Chapel Hill next year.

Stilley finished second in both the 200- and 500-meter freestyles at the 4A state meet. In both races, he swam automatic All-American times. He was also a part of the 200 free relay that finished second in the state.

Boys Coach of the Year: Tim Queen, N. Meck.

After leading his Vikings to last year's 4A state championship, Tim Queen proved again that he's an outstanding coach.

Queen, who won five state swimming championships at Shelby before moving to North Mecklenburg five season ago, was able to lead his team to a second-place finish at states despite losing several all-conference swimmers from last year's championship team.

Queen was also able to keep North Mecklenburg's conference-winning streak alive, which was made more difficult this season with the addition of Lake Norman, who they defeated 517-452 in the I-Meck championship.

50 Freestyle: Grayson Spittel, Lake Norman Charter. Finished fourth in the 1A/2A state meet with a time of 23.18.

100 Freestyle: Nick Capets, N. Meck. Senior was eighth at 4A state meet.

200 Freestyle: JT Stilley, N. Meck. All-conference senior finished second with an automatic All-American time of 1:40.15.

500 Freestyle: JT Stilley, N. Meck. Had another All-American time, finishing second in this race.

100 Breaststroke: Jake Matysek, N. Meck. Senior wrapped up strong season by finishing fourth in the state meet

100 Backstroke: Tyler Hill, Lake Norman. Junior was third in states with an automatic All-American time of 51.22.

100 Butterfly: Peter Brumm, Lake Norman Charter. Won the event at the 1A/2A state championships.

200 IM: Logan Heck, Lake Norman. Heck, only a sophomore, finished 4th in state while also taking second in the 100 butterfly.

200 Free Relay: North Meck (Nick Capets, Jake Matysek, Tyler Fleming, J.T. Stilley). Second in the state with a time of 1:27.15

200 Medley Relay: North Meck (Sean Corcoran, Tyler Fleming, Jake Matysek, Nick Capets). Finished fourth in states

400 Free Relay: Lake Norman (Tyler Hill, Reed Wheeler, Michael Blinn and Logan Heck). Won state title while earning an automatic All-American time.

1-meter diving: Kevin Judd, Hopewell. Top area finisher, scoring 79.40 at I-Meck championship.

Girls' team

Girls Swimmer of the Year: Emily Conway, Hopewell.

Senior Emily Conway has been in a pool nearly her entire life and has become an elite high school swimmer. After being named I-Meck conference swimmer of the year, Conway won the 100-butterfly race in the conference meet and placed second at the 4A state meet.

At states, Conway earned All-American consideration by recording a time of 57.09. There she also placed ninth in the 200 individual medley and was part of the third-place 200-yard freestyle relay team.

Last year, Conway was a member of the Titans' 4A state championship 200-yard medley relay team.

She plans to attend the University of Louisville on a swimming scholarship in the fall.

Girls Coach of the Year: Karen Steger, Lake Norman.

Karen Steger led her lady Wildcats to a fourth-place finish at the state meet in the school's first year in 4A competition.

Last season, the Wildcats also place fourth place at states but against 3A competition.

At the first I-Meck conference championship, Lake Norman finished second despite winning seven swimming events and the one-meter diving competition. They lost to North Mecklenburg by a slim 526-513 margin.

50 Freestyle: Haley Powell, Lake Norman. Earned All-American consideration by finishing second at 4A state meet.

100 Freestyle: Heather Isetts, Lake Norman. Third-best at states while also finishing eighth in 200-yard freestyle.

200 Freestyle: Molly Sanborn, N. Meck. Sophomore finished 15th at states, swimming a 1:57.54.

500 Freestyle: Morgan Holbrook, Lake Norman. Freshman swam a 5:05.71 to finish sixth in state finals.

100 Breaststroke: Abby Joiner, Lake Norman Charter. Finished third at 1A/2A state meet.

100 Backstroke: Ali Kitchens, Hopewell. Finished sixth in state meet with a time of 1:00.35.

100 Butterfly: Emily Conway, Hopewell. I-Meck swimmer of the year won at conference meet and finished second at states.

200 IM: Amanda Rubel, Hopewell. With a 2:06.99, the senior earned All-American consideration while finishing fourth in the state.

200 Free Relay: Hopewell (Emily Conway, Emma Rubel, Mary O'Doherty, Amanda Rubel). Finished third at 4A state meet.

200 Medley Relay: North Meck (Linsay Cooper, Payton Schrum, Katie O'Brien, Kaitlyn Poff). Finished fifth with a time of 1:50.63.

400 Free Relay: North Meck (Linsay Cooper, Payton Schrum, Molly Sanborn, Kaitlyn Poff). Finished second in the state while earning All-American consideration.

1-meter diving: Morgan Evans, North Meck. Scored a 102.00, finishing seventh at regionals.