Meet some of the top high school winter sports athletes and teams in the Charlotte region
Meet some of the top winter sports athletes and teams competing in indoor track, swimming and wrestling in The Observer’s annual “Sweet 16” countdown:
1. Charleston Baglio, Central Cabarrus boys’ wrestling: The Vikings’ senior will try to win a third NCHSAA state title this season. He finished 47-2 and won the 126-pound title at the NCHSAA 3A state championships in February.
Baglio, an Appalachian State signee, is 90-4 in his Central Cabarrus wrestling career.
2. Granger Bartee, Providence Day boys’ swimming: Bartee, a junior, will try to repeat as NCISAA 100-meter backstroke champion. Last season, he set an NCISAA state record (48.11) in the event. He was also runner-up in the 100 freestyle at the state finals.
After the school season ended, Bartee was selected to compete in the 2023 USA Swimming National Select Camp.
Bartee, a UNC recruit, holds school records in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events as well as 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly and was part of relay teams that set records in multiple events.
3. Charlotte Catholic girls’ swimming: The Cougars were N.C. 4A state runner-up last season, and have a lot of talent returning. Those swimmers include seniors Lauren Bernardo (LSU signee), Abby Druhan (Penn signee), Logan Leckner and junior Audrey Pardue (Georgetown commit).
Bernardo (100 backstroke, 200 individual medley) and Druhan (100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle) were among the state’s best in their events last season.
The Cougars also have some promising younger swimmers who should provide depth, including sophomores C.J. Bernardo, Kathryn Kern and Caroline Meehan, freshmen Maria Champion, Ellie Druhan and Madi Hertzig and diver Reagan Leckner.
4. Norvy Clontz, Charlotte Latin boys’ swimming: The Hawks’ junior is the defending NCISAA 4A state champion in the 200 and 500 freestyle. He was also part of state championship-winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
This season, Clontz hopes to help lead Latin to a fifth straight team state championship.
Clontz was a member of the USA National Junior Team this year, and he finished seventh in the 400 freestyle at the 2023 World Junior Championship. He earned a gold medal for swimming in the preliminaries of the 800 freestyle relay at the world juniors.
5. Cuthbertson girls’ indoor track: The Cavaliers have won six straight NCHSAA indoor championships and return four Division I college commits.
Seniors Charlotte Bell (Georgetown), Stella Kermes (Virginia), Isabelle Liu (UNC-Wilmington) and Justine Preisano (N.C. State) will be state title contenders in their individual events.
Bell was 4A state runner-up in the 1,000- and 1,600-meter runs at the 4A state indoor championship last year.
Kermes is the defending 1,600 4A indoor state champ, and finished third in the 1,000.
Liu returns after finishing fourth in the state in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump.
Preisano is the defending 4A indoor 1,000 state champion.
6. Mary Bonner Dalton, Myers Park girls’ indoor track: The Mustangs’ senior and Notre Dame recruit is one of the fastest distance runners the nation. She won the 4A cross-country meet this month in a state meet record time (16:54.06). Now, Dalton will try to wiin a third straight state indoor title in the 3,200.
7. Cooper Davis, Cox Mill boys’ wrestling: The Chargers’ senior was 4A state champion at 126 pounds last season. He was the school’s first state champion in the sport.
8. Nina Dominique, Charlotte Christian girls’ indoor track: The Knights’ junior won the NCISAA 300 state championship last season and was runner-up in the 55-meter dash and the 500. She also won the 100 and 200 events during outdoor season.
Over the summer, she won the 100 and 200 events at the Bermuda Challenge, one week after taking the bronze medal in the at the Adidas Outdoor Nationals.
9. Kayda Geyer, Union Academy girls’ swimming: The Cardinals’ sophomore won the 1A/2A state title in the 100 breaststroke.
In June, she also was a United National Championship qualifier in the 200 breaststroke.
10. Zach Makemson, Providence Day boys’ indoor track: The Chargers’ senior returns as one of the best middle and long distance runners in the state, after finishing fourth in the 800 and 1,600 at the NCISAA indoor state championships last season.
Makemson, a Tennessee commit, was also the NCISAA 4A 800 runner-up in the spring outdoor state championship meet.
11. Marvin Ridge boys’ swim team: The Mavericks have been 4A state runners-up for three straight seasons, and believe they have the experience and talent to win it all this year.
Coach Melissa King’s team is led by seniors Troy Keen (Georgetown), Charlie Heisig (Notre Dame) and sophomore Mike Rice.
Heisig (100 backstroke, 200 individual medley), Keen (100 backstroke) and Rice (100 freestyle) should be state contenders in their respective events.
All three swimmers look to defend the school’s 200 medley relay state title. The trio was part of a winning Mavericks team that swam the event in a state meet record time of 1:32.20 last year.
12. Annie Miller, Metrolina Christian girls’ indoor track: The Warriors’ junior ran the best 800 by a sophomore in state history (2:14.03) at the Adidas nationals (runner-up) last winter.
Miller is also the defending NCISAA indoor state champion in the 1,000, and competed on the1,600 relay that finished third in the state.
Miller, coming off a NCISAA 4A runner-up finish in cross-country, is a two-time state champion (1,000 indoor, 800 outdoor) and a 15-time all-state honoree who holds 12 school records at Metrolina Christian.
13. Cameron Stinson, Mallard Creek boys’ wrestling: The Mavericks’ senior was named 2022-23 Charlotte Observer boys athlete of the year last June. He is 141-0 in his career and has won three state titles. Stinson has committed to UNC.
14. Caleigh Suddreth, Lake Norman girls’ wrestling: The Wildcats’ senior looks to cap her Lake Norman High career with a fourth state championship.
Suddreth, the reigning Greater Metro 4A wrestler of the year, was 16-1 last year on her way to 145-pound state championship.
Suddreth, a four-time Lake Norman girls’ team captain and two-time boys’ team captain, is a National Prep All-American. She plans to attend the United States Military Academy and major in defense and strategic studies, according to coach Trever Greene.
15. Gavin Ulrich, Metrolina Christian boys’ wrestling: The Warriors’ sophomore won two NCISAA state titles, at 106 and 113 pounds, as an eighth-grader and a freshman, respectively. Heading into his sophomore season, Ulrich has a career record of 63-5.
16. Tre Wilfong, Charlotte Christian boys’ wrestling: The Knights’ senior looks to add a fourth straight NCISAA state title to his resume after winning titles (160, 165 and 165) during his first three seasons.
Wilfong, a National Prep All-American at 160 pounds, finished sixth at the under-20 world team trials in Canada, and was a silver medalist at the under-17 world team championships, also in Canada. He is an N.C. State signee.
