Chapel Hill’s Gina Kim and Benjamin Griffin, as well as Kendrick Vinar of Hillsborough, have been named to the 2012 N.C. All-State Golf Teams by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association and the Carolinas Golf Association.

Kim, still in middle school, was a winner in 2012 on both the Women’s Carolinas Golf Association Juniors Tour and the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Tour.

Griffin, a former NCHSAA state champion ffor East Chapel Hill Highj School, has been a dominant force on the TYGA tour, the Winternational Series and a consistent performer in big matches in Pinehurst.

The girls’ all-state first team is led by Sarah Bae of Cary, the 2012 N.C. Junior Player of the Year. Bae, a high school senior, won the NCHSAA 4A State Championship along with six other tournaments.

Also named to the first team are: Kim; Victoria Allred of Pfafftown; Hannah Craver of Winston-Salem; Allyson Markiewicz and Madison Moosa of Charlotte; Cecily Overbey of High Point; Lucia Polo of Greensboro; Tara Simmons of Goldsboro and Ashlii Thompson of Brown Summit.

The boys’ first team is led by Carter Jenkins of Raleigh, the 2012 N.C. Junior Player of the Year, plus: Will Blalock, Will Long and Victor Wiggins, all three from Gastonia; Joshua Martin of Pinehurst; Tanner Owen of High Point; Ben Schlottman of Advance; Zach Seabolt of Raleigh; Griffin and Vinar.

The all-state winners will be honored at the N.C. Junior Golf Night Awards Banquet on Jan. 26 at Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines.

Griffin, Register win Team Shootout

Fresh from making the all-state team, golfer Ben Griffin of Chapel Hill has had a good start to 2013. He won one tournament just a couple of weeks after finishing second in one of the South’s biggest events for juniors.

Griffin paired with Burlington’s Will Register to win the Tar Heel Junior Team Shootout by five strokes Jan. 5-6 in Southern Pines. Griffin and Register combined for rounds of 66-67 for a total of 133, leading by three after the first round and pulling away on the second day at Mid-Pines Resort.

In December, Griffin finished second behind two-time champion Joshua Martin of Pinehurst in the Donald Ross Junior Championship at Pinehurst No. 1.

Griffin and Martin are the only two North Carolina golfers invited to the 2013 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club, located outside Augusta, Ga. The invitational on April 24-28 is rated by Golfweek as the No. 1 golf tournament for juniors.

McCrory returns to collegiate action

Duke junior Nick McCrory was named the ACC Male Diver of the Week after his performance in the Tennessee Diving Invitational, where he finished second in the 1-meter and third in the 3-meter.

The native of Chapel Hill posted NCAA Zone qualifying marks in both events in his first collegiate competition since March of 2011. The Duke junior had taken a year off from NCAA competition to compete in the London Olympic Games, where he earned a bronze medal.

Tigers split wrestling duals at CHHS

Chapel Hill wrestling continued its ambitious schedule against tough non-conference opponents with a series of duals last weekend in the CHHS gym, coming out 2-2 for the day after securing wins against Wilson Hunt and Gray’s Creek. Two of the Piedmont’s top programs claimed wins against the Tigers: Lee County won 40-31 and Wake Forest-Rolesville won 50-22.

Against Gray’s Creek, CHHS trailed early but then won three of the last five matches on pins by I`Money Rushing (120 pounds), Camden Bergey (138) and Eliot Martin (145) to pull out a 42-39 victory.

Chapel Hill did better against Wilson Hunt in a 54-21 win after taking the first seven matches. Zachary Allen, (106) ,Tommy Morrison (126), Martin (145) and Arthur Colson (220) all won by pins. Erik Jens (132), Bergey (138), Leonard Evans (113), Rushing (120) and Robert Price won by forfeit.

Arthur Colson (220) continued to dominate his opposition by finishing 4-0 Saturday.

Camden Bergey went 3-0 with two pins at 138 and “wrestled up” for an impressive pin of WF-R’s Timothy Fisher in the 145 weight class.

Price (285) went 3-0, including a pin of Lee Senior’s Ethan Lucas in 2:28.

Eliot Martin went 2-0 at 145 with two pins, and Money Rushing finished 3-1.

Ethan Martin was 2-2 at 170, both wins coming on pins.

Joe Carter and Leonard Evans (113) both went 2-2. Carter won one match at 145 and another at 152.

Sportsplex hosts Duke Aquatics

The Orange County SportsPlex will host more than 800 swimmers this weekend for the Duke Aquatics Invitational. Swimmers age 6 to 18-years-old will participate in multiple events. The Sportsplex’s own Hillsborough Aquatics Club will also be participating.

The Sportsplex swim season runs through the winter, with other meets planned for February and March. For more information about the swim meets or aquatics programs at the Sportsplex, call 919-644-0339.