Led by a record-setting performance by Thomas Bilden and a first place by Justin Morrell, Carrboro came in second in the N.C. High School Athletics Association’s 1A-2A state championship swim meet last weekend.

In addition to their individual wins, Bilden and Morrell swam with Will Macmillan and Sam Strosnider to take first in the 400 free relay, winning in 3:13.72. N.C. Science and Math’s runner-up finish of 3:17.20 was good enough for the points to secure the team championship.

Carrboro just missed winning the boys’ title for a fourth straight year, finishing with 237.5 points to N.C. Science and Math’s 281 for first place. Another Carolina-12 school, Durham School of the Arts, finished 14th with its 57 points, while Northwood took 31st with 34 points.

Swimming Saturday at the Triangle Aquatics Center, Carrboro’s Jaguars also finished second in the girls’ competition with 161 points, while Northwood earned a share of fourth place with 148 points. Carolina-12 rival Raleigh Charter easily won the team title with 376 points.

DSA was 23rd in the girls’ meet, followed by N.C. Science and Math in 24th.

Bilden established a 1A/2A mark in the 100 butterfly with his winning time of 51.34 seconds. He also took a second place in the 500 freestyle behind NCSSM’s Jacob Vosburgh.

The Jaguars found themselves in a series of razor-close finishes with their rivals throughout Saturday.

Morrell finished in a dead heat for first place in the 50 free with Tarboro’s Cameron Anderson, both clocked at 21.76 seconds. Morrell later took second behind Anderson in the 100 free.

In the 200 medley relay, Morrell, Bilden, Aidan Marshall and Strosnider finished in 1:38.75, just two-tenths of a second behind winning Lake Norman Charter.

In addition to the winning 400 free relay, Macmillan also took part with Connor Murphy, Tanner Roach and Jake Barnes in Carrboro’s sixth place finish in the 200 free relay. Individually, Macmillan earned a third place in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 back.

Mia Morrell had the best finishes among the Carrboro girls. She took third in the 100 backstroke, fourth in the 100 butterfly and swam on two of Carrboro’s top-three relays.

Morrell, Claire Peterman, Leah Abrams and Katie Spang got second behind Raleigh Charter in the girls’ 200 medley relay. Emily McDaniel’s, Chloe Deshusses, Peterman and Morrell finished third in the 400 free relay. McDaniels, Charlotte Costenoble, Abrams and Spang were third in the 200 free relay.

Other top finishes by the Jaguars included an eighth place for McDaniels in the 200 individual medley.

W.E. Warnock