For the second straight year, Raleigh Charter’s boys swimming & diving team has won the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A/2A state championship.

The Phoenix finished Saturday’s competition at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary with 257 points, well ahead of second-place N.C. Science & Math, which finished with 183.5 points.

Raleigh Charter took first place in five events, including two relay events.

Kyle Su, Alex Lee, Roger Zhang, and Leon Zhang won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:36.53. Su, Leon Zhang, Thomas Healey, and Jake Walker teamed up to win the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:16.73.

Leon Zhang took home gold in two individual races. He won the 200-yard freestyle race with a time of 1:42.05 and the 100-yard fly with a time of 50.83 seconds, where he beat Mountain Island Charter’s Beck Armstrong by just 0.06 seconds.

Raleigh Charter also got a first-place finish from Lee in the 500-yard freestyle. Lee finished with a time of 4:42.62.

The Phoenix nearly got a sixth gold meal in the 100-yard backstroke. Armstrong won the race ahead of Su by just 0.01 seconds. Armstrong took the gold medal for Mountain Island Charter with a time of 52.04 seconds. Su finished with a time of 52.05 seconds.

N.C. Science & Math’s best finish came from Matt Czar in the 50-yard freestyle where he finished second. Czar posted a time of 21.59 seconds, just 0.07 seconds behind Franklin Academy’s Andrew Cook.

The Unicorns also had third-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relays.

Leon Zhang and Cook were named co-Most Outstanding Swimmers of the state championship meet. In addition to winning the 50-yard freestyle, Cook took gold in the 100-yard freestyle. He was also on the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay team and the fourth-place 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Seaforth, Bradford Prep, and Christ the King rounded out the top five in the team standings.

Saturday’s championship was the second straight for the Raleigh Charter boys swimming & diving team and the third overall in program history. The first championship for the Phoenix came in 2018.

Prior to each state championship event, the NCHSAA recognizes atheltes who show good sportsmanship during the course of the season. The Sportsmanship Award winners for the 1A/2A boys swimming state championship were Tommy Healy of Raleigh Charter and Skyler Qu of N.C. Science & Math.

Individual Results

200-Yard Medley Relay

1. Raleigh Charter (Kyle Su, Alex Lee, Roger Zhang, Leon Zhang) – 1:36.53

2. Seaforth (Jackson Vaughn, Evan Hepburn, Benjamin Lajoie, Colton Roberts) – 1:38.60

3. Bradford Prep (Truman Lee, Wilson Felder, Ian Watson, Cameron Darling) – 1:40.60

4. Christ the King (Jacob Pote, Alex Ragan, Cooper Clair, Keaton Weatherly) – 1:42.02

200-Yard Free

1. Leon Zhang (Raleigh Charter) – 1:42.05

2. Carter Johnson (East Gaston) – 1:44.77

3. Colton Roberts (Seaforth) – 1:45.15

4. Joshua Poche (Brevard) – 1:45.83

200-Yard IM

1. Asher Allebach (Pine Lake Prep) – 1:53.24

2. Miles Gragg (Shelby) – 1:56.19

3. Calvin Schaper (Research Triangle) – 1:56.90

4. Shane Keough (Franklin Academy) – 1:57.43

50-Yard Free

1. Andrew Cook (Franklin Academy) – 21.52

2. Matt Czar (N.C. Science & Math) – 21.59

3. Jacob Pote (Christ the King) – 21.84

4. Jesse Eskelund (Chatham Central) – 21.92

100-Yard Fly

1. Leon Zhang (Raleigh Charter) – 50.83

2. Beck Armstrong (Mountain Island Charter) – 50.89

3. Matthew Tripsa (Corvian Community) – 51.48

4. Jackson Hartsell (Community School of Davidson) – 52.51

100-Yard Free

1. Andrew Cook (Franklin Academy) – 46.72

2. Evan Hepburn (Seaforth) – 47.78

3. Jacob Pote (Christ the King) – 47.82

4. Jesse Eskelund (Chatham Central) – 48.40

500-Yard Free

1. Alex Lee (Raleigh Charter) – 4:42.62

2. Steven Wyatt (Cherryville) – 4:45.26

3. Colton Roberts (Seaforth) – 4:48.67

4. Asher Allebach (Pine Lake Prep) – 4:49.10

200-Yard Free Relay

1. Bradford Prep (Truman Lee, Ian Watson, Cameron Darling, Wilson Felder) – 1:29.32

2. Franklin Academy (Shane Keough, Ryan Britton, Karan Singh, Andrew Cook) – 1:30.66

3. N.C. Science & Math (Skyler Qu, Grant Willis, Evan Pfeifer, Matt Czar) – 1:32.10

4. Community School of Davidson (Jackson Hartsell, Chase Bedson, Jonas Young, Lucas Dalton) – 1:32.81

100-Yard Back

1. Beck Armstrong (Mountain Island Charter) – 52.04

2. Kyle Su (Raleigh Charter) – 52.05

3. Truman Lee (Bradford Prep) – 53.87

4. Luke Malta (N.C. Science & Math) – 53.94

100-Yard Breast

1. Evan Hepburn (Seaforth) – 56.17

2. Calvin Schaper (Research Triangle) – 56.66

3. Carter Johnson (East Gaston) – 57.60

4. Alex Lee (Raleigh Charter) – 57.83

400-Yard Free Relay

1. Raleigh Charter (Kyle Su, Thomas Healey, Jake Walker, Leon Zhang) – 3:16.73

2. Seaforth (Benjamin Lajoie, Colton Roberts, Jackson Vaughn, Evan Hepburn) – 3:16.86

3. N.C. Science & Math (Matt Czar, Skyler Qu, Grant Willis, Luke Malta) – 3:21.21

4. Franklin Academy (Shane Keough, Ryan Britton, Karan Singh, Andrew Cook) – 3:21.83

1-Meter Diving

1. Evan Myers (Eno River Academy) – 355.05

2. Garrett Urash (Shelby) – 342.65

3. Brady McSorley (Christ the King) – 234.01

4. Wyatt Smith (East Gaston) – 205.25

Team Scores

1. Raleigh Charter – 257

2. N.C. Science & Math – 183.5

3. Seaforth – 169

T4. Bradford Prep – 146

T4. Christ the King – 146

6. Franklin Academy – 136

7. Pine Lake Prep – 121

8. Mountain Island Charter – 112

9. East Gaston – 105

10. Community School of Davidson – 90