FROM STAFF REPORTS

sports@newstopic.net

Hibriten senior Kyle Hites won one event and finished second in another during the NCHSAA 3A Western regional swim meet, held Sunday at the Huntersville Aquatic and Fitness Center.

In all, Panthers swimmers qualified in nine events for this week's NCHSAA 3A state championships, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 12, at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the state meet.

Hites, who won two state titles and was named MVP of last year's 1A-2A state championships, won the boys 100-yard breaststroke and finished second in the 200 individual medley at the Western regional, which was backed up a day because of inclement weather.

Hites took the 100 breaststroke title in 1 minute, 1.43 seconds, just 0.33 seconds ahead of Weddington's Joseph Guthman. Ironically, it was Guthman who won the 200 IM title in 1:59.68, beating Hites by 1.65 seconds.

Hites also qualified for the state meet in two relay events -- the 200 medley relay, where Hibriten finished seventh in the regional, and the 200 freestyle relay, where the Panthers finished fifth. Travis Toliver, Mitch Vapniarek and Jake Washburn will join Hites in the 200 medley relay, while Washburn, Toliver and Gray Beane will compete with Hites in the 400 freestyle relay.

Hibriten's boys finished seventh in the team standings -- won by Charlotte Catholic -- with 133 points, while the Panthers girls finished 21st with 13 points. Catholic also won the girls team title with 504 points.

Other Hibriten swimmers qualifying for the state meet in individual events were Beane in the boys 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Vapniarek in the boys 100 butterfly.

The Panthers will also compete in the girls 200 freestyle relay and the boys 400 freestyle relay. Swimming in the girls 200 freestyle relay for Hibriten will be Elizabeth Gantt, Morgan McCuen, Sam Vonnegut and Julie Bottoms. Washburn, Toliver, Vapniarek and Beane will compete in the boys 400 freestyle relay.

Complete results in Scoreboard.

Spartans fail to qualify for 4A state meet

While coming close in several events, South Caldwell's swim team failed to have any of its swimmers qualify for the state championships during Sunday's NCHSAA 4A Western regional, held at the Huntersville Aquatics and Fitness Center.

The Spartans boys finished 11th in the team standings with 50 points, while South's girls came in 15th with 20 points. Charlotte's Providence High won both team titles.

The top eight finishers in each event advanced to this week's state 4A finals, scheduled for Thursday at the Triangle Aquatics Center in Cary.

South Caldwell's boys 200-yard medley relay team --composed of Johnny Lok, Nathan Diehl, Devin Abernathy and Michael Santos -- came the closest to making it to the state finals, finishing 10th in 1:48.37, just 3.04 seconds behind eighth-place finisher Charlotte Myers Park.

Lok also posted a pair of 11th-place finishes in individual events, the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

The best showing by South's girls team came in relay events, with the Spartans coming in 12th in both the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.