Five students win state championships in swimming, track, and wrestling
Five Gaston County Schools students captured North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) individual state championships in indoor track and field and wrestling.
Stuart W. Cramer High School junior Alexis Willis claimed her second consecutive indoor track and field state 3A championship in the girls triple jump with a jump of 39-07.00. In addition, she claimed her first state championship in the girls long jump competition with a jump of 18-00.50. In total, Willis has four individual state championships.
Also in indoor track and field, Camryn Massey of Ashbrook High School placed first in the girls shot put with a throw of 38-05.25. This is Massey’s second state 3A championship. Her first state title was in the discus throw competition in 2021.
In wrestling, three Stuart W. Cramer High School students won individual state championships. Matt Karagias won his first individual state title in the 160-pound weight class.
Stuart W. Cramer’s Charlie Sly won his second individual state championship and was named the most outstanding wrestler in the 3A classification. This year, Sly won in the 132-pound weight class; he won his first state championship last year in the 113-pound weight class. Additionally, ninth grader Bentley Sly, Charlie’s younger brother, won his first individual state championship in the 120-pound weight class.
In addition to the five individual state champions, below is a list of the student-athletes who placed in the recent swimming, indoor track and field, and wrestling state competitions.
Swimming and Diving
100-yard backstroke - boys (Class 3A): Davis Adcock, South Point High School, second place
50-yard freestyle - boys (Class 3A): Davis Adcock, South Point High School, third place
100-yard freestyle - boys (Class 3A): Beckett Tabor, South Point High School, sixth place
200-yard individual medley - boys (Class 3A): Tristan Peyton, Forestview High School, third place
100-yard backstroke - boys (Class 3A): Tristan Peyton, Forestview High School, third place
100-yard backstroke - boys (Class 3A): Graham Kines, Forestview High School, seventh place
200-yard medley relay team - boys (Class 3A): Forestview High School (Graham Kines, Andrew Taylor, Tristan Peyton, and Beckett Tabor), fourth place
400-yard freestyle relay team - boys (Class 3A): Forestview High School (Graham Kines, Andrew Taylor, Tristan Peyton, and Beckett Tabor), sixth place
1-meter dive - boys (Class 1A/2A): Clayton Harper, East Gaston High School, third place
100-yard butterfly - boys (Class 1A/2A): Jake Simpson, East Gaston High School, third place
100-yard backstroke - boys (Class 1A/2A): Jake Simpson, East Gaston High School, fourth place
200-yard individual medley - boys (Class 1A/2A): Patrick Spake, Highland School of Technology, seventh place
Overall Placement - Forestview High School’s boys swim team earned seventh place out of 45 schools.
Indoor Track and Field
55-meter dash (Class 3A): Bryson Lomick, South Point High School, sixth place
300-meter dash (Class 3A): Rachel Tolbert, South Point High School, eighth place
500-meter dash (Class 3A): Rachel Tolbert, South Point High School, sixth place
Wrestling
113-pound weight class (Class 3A): Caleb Haynes, North Gaston High School, third place
120-pound weight class (Class 3A): Trevon Bowers, Forestview High School, fourth place
138-pound weight class (Class 2A): Austin Miller, East Gaston High School, fifth place
152-pound weight class (Class 1A): Chase Miller, Cherryville High School, second place
170-pound weight class (Class 1A): Kam Bolin, Cherryville High School, third place
170-pound weight class (Class 3A): Steven Mairena, North Gaston High School, sixth place
182-pound weight class (Class 3A): Nikolas Ellis, Bessemer City High School, fourth place
285-pound weight class (Class 1A): Caleb Hovis, Cherryville High School, third place
285-pound weight class (Class 2A): Nick McClellan, East Gaston High School, sixth place
