Record-setting state champs: Meet The Charlotte Observer’s boys’ prep team of the year

This year’s N.C. Independent Schools’ state swimming championships might have been the fastest in history.

There were 22 races held and 14 finished with new boys’ or girls’ meet records.

And the boys’ swimmers from Charlotte Latin — who shattered four of those meet records — won the championship by 194 points.

Today, those dominant Hawks earn the distinction as The Charlotte Observer’s boys’ high school team of the 2023-24 school year.

This is the third year the media outlet has named year-ending awards to the top athletes, coaches and teams in its circulation area.

“I think our team this year was a reflection of the many years of strong teams we’ve had at Latin,” said second-year coach Michael Chadwick, a former collegiate All-American at Missouri. “It was about encouraging and fulfilling strong values, and what it means to be a strong swimmer.”

Chadwick credits longtime Hawks’ swim coach Patty Waldron with establishing a culture that he said he simply built on.

Chadwick said it helped to have strong athletes like Observer boys’ swimmer of the year Novy Clontz on his team. Clontz is a top-five recruit nationally who will swim at the University of California in Berkeley.

At the state meet, Clontz broke a 20-year-old state record in the 200 freestyle and swam on state record-setting 200 medley (with Zachary Spicer, Aidan Hill and James Harper) and 400 free relay teams (with Harper, Wiley Spinner and Hill).

Hill also set a six-year-old meet record in the 100 butterfly and won the 100 backstroke.

Chadwick admits he thought his team could be good. He just wasn’t sure it could be as good as any NCISAA boys’ team that had come before it.

“You can never really be sure,” he said, “but I think given some talent we had on our team, and how it stacked up, it really was impressive to watch. I was anticipating a really good (state) meet because of how I watched these swimmers the last couple years. They are pretty gifted people.”

Chadwick said he’ll graduate a lot of talent from this year’s team, but is looking forward to next season.

“I think the Latin legacy continues,” he said, “no matter what.”