2025 NCHSAA 3A State Championships
- February 6-7, 2025
- Triangle Aquatic Center — Cary, NC
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Full Results
Girls’ Recap
Last year, the Lake Norman girls won their first 3A State Championships. This year, they defended that title, scoring 360 points and cruising to the title by a 175 point margin. The team’s title defense couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, as Addison Lasarsky, Lily Price, Skye Yampolsky, and Campbelle Cyrus won the 200 medley relay in 1:50.31.
Like the 4A state champion, Myers Park, the Lake Norman girls won the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay titles but no individual titles as they rolled to their title. While the team didn’t earn any individual wins, they still got onto multiple podiums and had a strong showing in the championship finals. For example, the team had three swimmers in the 200 IM final, the most of any school.
Southern Alamance freshman Madisyn Upton won the 200 IM, setting a lifetime best of 2:08.38. It was quite a state championship debut for the freshman, as she added a second individual win in the 100 butterfly. Bowen clocked 56.63 to win by exactly a second.
Concord junior Lily Hermans joined Upton in winning two events. She swept the sprint freestyle events at the 3A Western Regional Championships and did the same last weekend, clocking lifetime bests of 23.85/51.97. For her efforts, she was named Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the Meet.
Central Cabarrus won back-to-back events, including the 200 freestyle relay—a crucial win given they placed 2nd by two points over Carrboro. Then, Abbey Cronin dominated the 100 backstroke. She swam 57.72 for the win, and was the only swimmer in the field to break 1:00 in the championship final.
Croatan senior Madison Bowen won gold in the 200 freestyle (1:52.39), then took 2nd in the 500 freestyle (5:03.44) after a tight race with the winner, Francesca DiGiovanni (5:03.01).
Hadleigh Kulas claimed the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.71.
Girls’ Top 5 Final Standings:
- Lake Norman Charter — 360
- Central Cabarrus — 185
- Carrboro — 183
- Smithfield-Selma — 149
- JH Rose — 130
Boys’ Recap
One year after the Lake Norman girls won their first 3A State Championship, it was the boys’ turn. The program won its first boys’ 3A State Championship with 256.5 points over Carrboro’s 170. The team’s best finish came in the 400 freestyle relay, where Alex Stinson, Carter Hall, Jack Rodgers, and Nell Hart finished second. Lake Norman also earned multiple bronze medals, including Stinson in the 200 freestyle, Hart in the 100 backstroke, and the 200 freestyle relay.
Orange senior Luke Roman earned Most Outstanding Male Swimmer of the Meet honors. He won the 200 freestyle with a lifetime best of 1:41.55, then picked up his second win in the 500 freestyle (4:40.20). Orange went 1-2 in the 500 freestyle, as fellow senior Alexander Andre won silver in 4:44.45.
Roman and Andre closed out their high school careers with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. The pair teamed with Ayden Twiddy and Noah Jones, seniors themselves, to win the race by over two seconds (3:18.18) and confirm their 3rd place finish overall.
Swansboro junior Trevor Hucal swam his second 100 breaststroke lifetime best of the meet to defend his state title. After hitting 57.01 in prelims, Hucal broke through the 57-second barrier in finals, clocking 56.85 for gold. He was on the podium earlier in the meet as well, placing 2nd in the 200 IM with another lifetime best (1:57.12). North Lincoln’s Aiden Deluca dominated the race, swimming 1:53.71 for the title. The school earned another event win in the 100 butterfly, with Jackson Kroh out-touching West Carteret’s Sam Johnson by two-hundredths, 50.54to 50.64.
Other Event Winners:
- 200 medley relay: Forestview — 1:39.91
- 50 freestyle: Ezra Zapler, JH Rose— 21.54
- 100 freestyle: Tellis Bumgarner, Central Cabarrus — 47.72
- 200 freestyle relay: South Point — 1:31.23
- 100 backstroke: Rider Warner, East Lincoln — 51.34
Boys’ Top 5 Final Standings:
- Lake Norman Charter — 256.5
- Carrboro — 170
- Orange — 164
- Croatan — 144
- Forestview — 126
