Charlotte Catholic’s Julia Menkhaus ended her high school with 10 state swimming championships. She won six individual championships and four relays.
She said it was a perfect ending to her career to lead her team to a N.C. 3A state championship Feb. 8 in Cary. Menkhaus, who won state individual championships in two events, was named meet MVP.
Menkhaus won individual state championships in both the 100 butterfly (53.84) and 100 backstroke (53.70) in 3A state meet record times. She has now the three straight state titles in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke (both 2016 and 2017, 4A state titles in both events).
Menkhaus also led the Cougars’ 200 medley relay (with Juliet Miechkowski, Madeline Menkhaus, her younger sister, and Alina Stout) to a state title. Those Cougars set a 3A state record (1:45.46). Menkhaus also led the Cougars to a 400 freestyle relay title (with Victoria Dichak, Madeline Menkhaus and Olwyn Bartis).
Menkhaus also won the 3A state championship’s "Sportsmanship Award."
"In my last high school meet, I obviously wanted to go out with bang and do something special," said Menkhaus, who admitted she felt sick before, during and after the state meet. "…I put all of the energy and all of the effort that I had into this meet. To have the support of our team and parents behind us, really helped.
…You got to enjoy the moment, and I did. But then, I went home and slept for a long time (still didn’t feel well.)."
Menkhaus enjoyed celebrating with her entire team including Charlotte Catholic coach, Tim Berens, but says it was "very special," to swim on the same to team with her younger sister, Madeline (for the first time this season) and to win a state championship together.
Menkhaus, who trains daily with her SwimMAC Carolinas’ club team, will next swim at Virginia.
While Menkhaus is proud of everything she has accomplished for Charlotte Catholic and SwimMAC Carolinas, she is never satisfied, always thinking about swimming faster.
"What I love about swimming is you can always go faster, there’s always something small you can do to get better," Menkhaus said. "I love the mystery of trying to figure out what I need to get to that next level. There’s always that next record to break."
Berens said that type of drive helped make Menkhaus the champions she became.
"I don’t think she ever lost a race in my three years of coaching her," Berens said. "…She super competitive, she doesn’t like to lose and always wants to go faster, break that next record."
Menkhaus is focused on taking things one step at a time in her swimming career, she can’t help but think about the future.
She has already competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials, swimming personal bests in both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Menkhaus hopes to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Trials.
But she tries not to get too far ahead of herself.
"Of course, I’ve daydreamed about swimming in the Olympics," Menkhaus said. "But I try not to put too much energy in goals so far away. I try to focus on the steps it’s going to take to get there."
Basketball: Charlotte Latin star reaches 1,000
Charlotte Latin junior Kathryn Vandiver scored her 1,000th career point Feb. 9 in a home game with Concord Cannon’s School.
Vandiver has played for the Latin varsity since ninth grade. She made the CISAA all-conference team as a sophomore and is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game this season.
▪ Butler High’s Gerrale Gates recorded his first triple-double earlier this week in a Southwestern 4A tournament win over Hickory Ridge. The New Orleans signee finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
Football: Sun Valley’s Sam Howell to play in Hawaiian all-star game
Indian Trail Sun Valley quarterback Sam Howell will play in the 2019 Polynesian Bowl. The game will be held Jan. 19 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.
The game will feature 100 high school seniors, the majority of which will be on Polynesian ancestry. Game ambassadors include Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster and Seattle Seahawks DE Michael Bennett.
▪ Mooresville High has named Thad Wells as its new football coach. Wells will replace Marty Paxton
Mooresville High School has announced that Thad Wells will be the next Varsity Football Coach and Physical Education teacher, replacing Marty Paxton.
Paxton was 12-12 in two seasons.
Wells, a Richlands, VA, native, was previously head coach at Blacksburg (VA) High. He led the team to a 2016 Virginia state championship.
▪ Former Mooresville defensive coordinator Jonathan Oliphant is the new head football coach at Lake Norman. Oliphant replaces Rob McNeely, who had coached at the school since 2010.
▪ Harding High, which won the N.C. 4A state championship in December, is reforming its Booster Club. The club meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Harding media center. The next meeting is March 7. The club has a Facebook page and for information, contact Matt Morrow at matt.morrow6164@gmail.com
Misc/TV
A national broadcasting company has struck a deal with more than 1,100 college and high schools nationwide to stream more than 14,000 live events per year.
CBS Interactive and Sidearm Sports will allow schools to offer sports online via the SportsLive app on Roku, iOS and Android as well as school websites. The deal will allow schools to raise ad revenue from the streams.
“Sidearm’s leading platform development and hosting services complement our strengths in video and advertising, and this partnership allows us to better serve the digital needs of an expanded roster of schools,” said Jeff Gerttula, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Sports Digital, in a statement. “Together, we offer unparalleled expertise in collegiate digital operations, and we look forward to joining forces to provide the highest quality solutions for each of these athletic programs.”
Soccer: Uniform rule changes
The National Federation of State High School Athletic Association rules will have high school teams reverse home and away uniforms this fall. The home team will now wear dark jerseys and socks. The visitors will wear white jersey and solid white socks.
“This change allows home teams to wear their school-color jerseys at home,” said Theresia Wynns, director of sports and officials and liaison to the Soccer Rules Committee. “It also could provide the opportunity to use an alternative color uniform for special events.”
The Soccer Rules Committee also approved a change that would permit a player to participate while wearing a head covering, if the player meets certain criteria and if the applicable state association approved the request.
JAY EDWARDS ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Lilly Higgs, Hough Swimming: The University of North Carolina signee helped the Hough girls’ swim team to their third straight N.C. 4A state swimming championship Feb. 10 in Cary.
Higgs set an all-class record to win the 4A state championship in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.57). She also anchored the 400 freestyle relay (with Heidi Lowe, Amaya Hanley and Kensley Merritt) to a 4A state title, which clinched the three-peat for her team.
Higgs also finished fourth at the state meet in both the 200 individual medley and 200 medley relay.
Emme Nelson, Community School of Davidson Swimming: The Community School of Davidson sophomore earned the 1A/2A state championship meet’s most outstanding swimmer honors Feb. 9 at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.
Nelson won both the 100 breaststroke (1:02.28) and 200 individual medley (2:02.01) state championships for the second straight year. Nelson swam 1A/2A state meet record times in both events this year.
Sarah Latour, Cuthbertson Track: The Cuthbertson senior and N.C. State signee earned the 3A state championship’s most valuable player (MVP) honors as she helped Coach Dustin Allen and company to their second straight N.C. 3A indoor state championship Feb. 10 at the JDL Track in Winston-Salem.
Latour won the 3,200-meters in dominant fashion with a personal-best 11:03.16. She beat the field by 11 seconds and clinched Cuthbertson’s team state title in the process.
Latour also finished as 3A state runner-up in the 1600 (5:02:43, school and personal record) and 1000-meter run (3:00.63).
Latour has six 3A championships in her Cuthbertson career, including four individual titles and two relay (championships).
Jirah Sidberry, Rocky River Track: The Rocky River junior won 4A state, individual championships in both the long jump and the triple jump, Feb. 10 at the JDL in Winston-Salem.
Sidberry jumped a personal-best 39-08 to win the triple jump title, which was also the No. 3 jump in the state and No. 8 in the country this indoor season.
She also jumped an indoor-best 18-8.50 to win the long jump state crown.
Sidberry helped her Rocky River team to 4A state runner-up finish at the same event, just four points behind champion, Southeast Raleigh.
Janiya Downs, South Rowan Basketball: The South Rowan junior had a monster week, averaging 20.5 points and 16.5 rebounds in two victories over Central Davidson and Salisbury.
Downs first had a triple-double, 19 points, 14 rebounds and 10 steals in a 52-43 triumph at Central Davidson, Feb. 6.
Three nights later, Downs had 22 points and 19 rebounds in a 61-57 win over rival Salisbury, with Charlotte 49ers’ basketball coaches in attendance, according to South Rowan coach, John Davis, II.
Downs, who averages 20.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, has 20 double-doubles, 2 triple-doubles and one quadruple-double for the Hornets (17-7, 14-4 in the Central Carolinas’ Conference) this season.
Downs is being recruited by multiple teams, including the Charlotte 49ers, Appalachian State, Campbell, Duke, James Madison, Marshall, Michigan State, Western Kentucky and West Virginia, according to Coach Davis.
Boys’ Athletes of the Week
Gerrale Gates, Butler Basketball: The University of New Orleans signee had a senior night to remember scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking eight shots to lead Butler to a 68-45 victory over East Mecklenburg, Feb. 9. Gates also scored his 1,000th-career points in the same game.
The 6-foot-6, 240-pound forward also had a solid effort in a 62-51 win over Garinger, Feb. 6, with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
Gates is part of a Butler senior class -- with Jalen Gibson, D.J. Little, Bashir Muhammad and Justin Wallace -- that has won 97 games (and counting) for Bulldogs’ coach, Myron Lowery, in the last four years.
David Kasanganay, Ardrey Kell Basketball: The Ardrey Kell senior became the Knights’ boys’ third all-time leading scorer (trailing on Steven Santa Ana and Justin Cheek) with 894 points.
Kasanganay, who will attend and play basketball for the Naval Academy next season, is also eighth in school history in both rebounds (266) and assists (145).
He is on pace to break the single-season record for three-point percentage (now 42 percent) as he is shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc to date.
Kasanganay’s had 22 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 79-65 win over Jay M. Robinson, Feb. 8, in his best effort last week. He is averaging 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest for the Ardrey Kell (19-5, 9-3) this season.
Eric Hudson, Jr., West Mecklenburg Wrestling: The West Mecklenburg junior won the 4A West Regional title (195 pounds) for the third straight season.
Hudson, Jr., who is 37-1 this season, was named the 4A West Regional meet’s most outstanding wrestler at the event, Feb. 10 at Hough.
Now, Hudson, Jr., turns his focus to competing for a 4A state, individual championship, Feb. 15-17, at Greensboro Coliseum.
Hudson, Jr. can also notch his 100th career victory in the process at states.
Boyd Poelke, Marvin Ridge Swimming: The Marvin Ridge sophomore helped lead the Mavericks’ boys’ to their second straight 3A state championship Feb. 8, at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.
Poelke won the 50 freestyle, while also helping both the 200 freestyle relay (with Nicholas Piscitelli, Josh Stablein and Charles Rothenberger) and 400 freestyle relay (with Rothenberger, Stablein and Matthew Shen) to 3A state crowns.
Both relays broke 3A state record times (1:26.08 in 200 relay and 3:10.82 in 400 relay) in the process.
Colson Zucker, South Iredell Swimming: The Duke University signee finished his South Iredell swimming career in style, winning 3A state championships in both the 200 individual medley (1:49.02) and 100 breaststroke (56.02) in 3A state record times.
Zucker won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke for the second straight season, breaking his own 3A state records in both events. Feb. 8.
Emerson Douds, Weddington Track: The Warriors’ junior helped lead the Weddington boys’ indoor track team to a 3A state championship (team) at the JDL Track in Winston-Salem, Feb. 10.
Douds won the 3A state individual title in the 300-meter dash, finishing in the 3A state, school and personal record 34.52 seconds.
Douds was also on two of the three Weddington relays that raced to state titles including the 4 X 200-meter relay (with Doug Dracon, Mark Conner and Denison Livingston) and 4 X 400-meter relay (with Dracon, Livingston and Kyle Durham). The 4 X 200, 4 X 400 and 4 X 800-meter relays (Jackson O’Hara, Durham, Jake Toomer and Will Mazur) also set 3A state records in their respective title runs.
Douds also ran a personal-best 6.57 in the 55-meter dash, to finish 5th in the event at the state indoor meet.
Will Egan/Sam Mahoney, Charlotte Latin Swimming: The Charlotte Latin senior duo led the Hawks’ to their seventh straight CISAA conference championship at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center Feb. 5.
Egan won the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke, while helping both the 200 freestyle relay (with Mahoney, Stephen Kim, and Jackson Davis) and 400 freestyle relay (with same quartet) to CISAA titles.
Mahoney won the 200 and 500 freestyle CISAA conference championships to help Latin Coach Patty Waldron and his team to another dominant performance, besting the field by 112 points.
Waldron and the Charlotte Latin boys’ swim team go for their sixth straight, NCISAA 3A state championship, Feb. 19, at Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Want to nominate an athlete?: Athletes of the week highlights high school athletes with outstanding performances. Information published today includes statistics through Feb. 11. The goal is to recognize all athletes in all sports, both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players. If you want to suggest someone to be included in the Athletes of the week column, send email to Jay Edwards at edwardswork23@gmail.com. Please include the athletes’ name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.