By CRYSTAL BAITY

East Carolina Aquatics Publicity

 

GREENSBORO — For the third year in a row, East Carolina Aquatics swimmers dominated the men’s relays and set new records, including a national record, at the 2015 N.C. Senior State Championships from Feb. 19-22.

ECA placed second overall out of 39 teams at the meet. ECA’s men took second and the women’s team finished in 10th place.

Zach Darden of Goldsboro, Cameron Anderson of Tarboro, Trey Pofahl of Greenville and Kelly Barnhill of Greenville combined to win the 200-, 400- and 800-freestyle relays. Attila Kiraly of Greenville, Todd Torres of Greenville, Darden and Barnhill won the 200-medley relay and set a new ECA team record with a time of 1:33.83. Kiraly, Torres, Darden and Anderson also took first in the 400-medley relay.

Individual event winners were Anderson in the 200 freestyle (1:40.82) and Kiraly in the 200 individual medley (1:50.08). Anderson, a senior at Tarboro High School, is the state record-holder in the 100 breaststroke (57.56), which he set Feb. 14 during the 1-A/2-A state high school championship meet. It was the eighth high school record set by an ECA swimmer since 2009.

Re-setting his master’s national record was Greenville’s Todd Torres, who finished with a 56.83 in the 100 breaststroke and placed second. Torres, 46, already owned the U.S. record in the event in the men’s 45-49 age group. He set the previous mark of 57.24 in December 2013. Torres competed in the Olympics in 1992 and 1996.

Other finalists included Emerson Barnhill of Greenville, who placed 16th in the 50 free (24.58) and seventh in the 100 free (52.65); Svea Torres of Greenville, 11th in the 100 breast (1:06.59), 20th in the 200 BR (2:26.66), and 18th in the 100 FR (53.04); Cary Pou of Greenville, 22nd in the 100 butterfly (59.29); Kiraly, second in the 100 back; Kelly Barnhill, 12th in the 200 free (1:44.79), 10th in the 100 freestyle (47.44), and seventh in the 50 free (21.69); Pofahl, fourth in the 200 free (1:42.09), 11th in the 100 butterfly (51.84), 17th in the 200 fly (1:56.23), 18th in the 50 free (21.88) and fourth in the 100 free (47.02); Darden, seventh in the 200 free (1:43.82), second in the 100 butterfly (50.65), fourth in the 50 free (21.43) and second in the 100 free (46.34); Anderson, third in the 100 free (46.40) and sixth in the 50 free (21.59); and Patrick Edge of Morehead City, 13th in the 100 fly (52.39), 14th in the 500 free, 24th in the 200 free ( 1:46.77) and 23rd in the 200 fly (2:00.36).

In the women’s 200-free relay, Svea Torres, Pou, Emerson Barnhill and Morgan Despres of Winterville set a new ECA team record and finished sixth with a time of 1:38.38. Pou, Torres, Barnhill and Maddison Baiotto of Swansboro took eighth in the 400-medley relay with a time of 4:02.44. Baiotto, Torres, Pou and Despres combined for ninth place in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:51.18. In the women’s 800 free relay, Torres, Baiotto, Despres and Pou placed 11th with a time of 7:53.90. And Baiotto, Pou, Despres and Barnhill took 12th place in the 400 free relay (3:36.65).

In the men’s 200-medley relay, Kevin Andrews of Washington, Anderson, Edge and Caleb Odeke of Greenville placed 7th with a 1:38.01. Kiraly, Odeke, Andrews and Edge placed 8th in the 400-free relay (3:13.28). Also placing eighth was the 400-medley relay team of Andrews, Brent Hill of Greenville, Pofahl and Barnhill. Kiraly, Odeke, Andrews and Hill teamed up for ninth in the 200 free (1:29.19). Kiraly, Odeke, Andrews and Christian Quinn of Morehead City took 10th in the 800-free relay (7:16.99).

East Carolina Aquatics is a year-round swim team for youth and adults ages 4 and up with more than 450 swimmers at sites in Greenville, Morehead City, Cape Carteret and Washington. For more information, visit www.swimeca.org.