South Brunswick sweeps NCHSAA 5A state championship
Cover photo courtesy of HighSchoolOT’s Evan Moestra
A pair of state championship banners are coming back to Brunswick County.
South Brunswick swept Friday’s NCHSAA 5A Swimming & Diving State Championship in dominant fashion by breaking six county records. The boys finished with a score of 254 to earn a 52-point win over Concord, while the girls had a score of 232, which was 62 points ahead of Atkins.
Prior to Friday, the only other team state champions in school history were baseball (1988), boys golf (1992), and softball (2024).
“If anybody was going to do it, it was going to be this group of kids,” said coach Mackenzie LeFevre, who graduated from South Brunswick in 2012. “It was unbelievable.”
It was the culmination of all the hard work the swimmers have put in during the offseason. The program has made incredible strides in a short period of time. Just five years ago, the girls didn’t score and the boys managed only 38 points to finish 18th at the 3A State Championship.
“There were a lot of tough days that made today stand out,” senior Evan Sevast said. “We had great energy coming into this meet and we were all really focused to do our best.”
Leading the way for the girls was sophomore Peyton Stegman, who earned three first-place finishes. She became Brunswick County’s first swimming state champion by touching the wall in 1:55.99 in the 200 freestyle. It shattered her previous county record of 1:58.37 set at the Carolina Coast Conference Championship.
“It was amazing to soak it all in,” Stegman said. “All my hard work, and the coaching from Mrs. LeFevre and other people, really paid off and it showed in that moment.”
Peyton Stegman [Tim Hower/Coastal Preps]
In the meet-ending 400 relay, Stegman entered the pool nearly with a nearly two-second deficit. She closed in 53.81 to give South Brunswick a time of 3:50.12, which was .03 seconds better than Cedar Ridge. Joining her were AJ Jackson (57.28 split), Kennedy Gordon (1:01.32), and Opal Boehmer (57.51).
“I saw that they were ahead of us, so I knew I just had to put my head down and finish,” Stegman said. “I couldn’t see because my goggles filled with water, so it was crazy when I took them off and looked at the board and saw we won.”
The 200 relay team led from start-to-finish thanks to sub 27-second splits from all four members – Jackson (26.34), Boehmer (26.02), Phoebe Cumbee (26.98), and Stegman (24.96).
Boehmer secured a runner-up finish in the 100 backstroke by touching the wall in 1:04.64. She was 10th in the 200 freestyle (2:10.64).
South Brunswick scored 21 points in the 50 freestyle. Jackson was ninth (26.32), Genevieve Osborne placed 10th (26.65), and Cumbee finished 12th (27.32).
Jackson touched the wall third in the 100 freestyle (56.69), while Gordon was seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.41) and 10th in the 100 butterfly (1:07.36).
The Cougars opened strong as the 200 medley relay team of Osborne (31.22 split in the backstroke), Gordon (33.73 in the breaststroke), Abigail Long (31.29 in the butterfly), and Cumbee (26.81 in the freestyle) placed seventh in 2:03.05.
In the boys competition, South Brunswick easily took first place in the 200 freestyle relay (1:29.98) by more than four seconds. The team consisted of Oliver Boehmer (22.37 split), Michael Best (22.65), Jakob Boehmer (22.45), and Evan Sevast (22.51).
“It was a very special moment, especially with those three since we’ve all trained together,” Sevast said. “That was my last race, so when I touched the wall and saw we won it made my entire high school career worth it.”
The same four swimmers finished second in the 200 medley relay with a county-record time of 1:39.70.
Sevast shined in his final high school meet by placing third in both the 100 butterfly (53.13) and 200 freestyle (1:50.07).
Evan Sevast [Tim Hower/Coastal Preps]
Oliver Boehmer set a pair of county records in his individual events. He was second in the 50 freestyle (21.97) and third in the 100 backstroke (55.66).
Jakob Boehmer was the runner-up in the 100 (49.35) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.14).
South Brunswick also got a pair of top-10 performances from Peyton Adkisson (sixth in the 200 IM in 2:13.67 and ninth in the 100 butterfly in 58.06) as well as Stephen Keena (ninth in the 200 freestyle in 2:02.48 and ninth in the 500 freestyle in 5:33.44).
Individual results
BOYS
200 medley relay
2. Michael Best, Jakob Boehmer, Evan Sevast, and Oliver Boehmer: 1:39.70 (Brunswick County record)
200 freestyle
3. Evan Sevast: 1:50.07
9. Stephen Keena: 2:02.48
200 IM
3. Michael Best: 2:02.08
6. Peyton Adkisson: 2:13.67
50 freestyle
2. Oliver Boehmer: 21.97 (Brunswick County record)
100 butterfly
3. Evan Sevast: 53.13
9. Peyton Adkisson: 58.06
100 freestyle
2. Jakob Boehmer: 49.35
500 freestyle
2. Michael Best: 4:50.87 (Brunswick County record)
9. Stephen Keena: 5:33.44
200 freestyle relay
1. Oliver Boehmer, Michael Best, Jakob Boehmer, and Evan Sevast: 1:29.98
100 backstroke
3. Oliver Boehmer: 55.66 (Brunswick County record)
100 breaststroke
4. Jakob Boehmer: 1:02.14
400 freestyle relay
12. Stephen Keena, Mason Sypole, Garrett Moseley, and Peyton Adkisson: 3:55.32
GIRLS
200 medley relay
7. Genevieve Osborne, Kennedy Gordon, Abigail Long, and Phoebe Cumbee: 2:03.05
200 freestyle
1. Peyton Stegman: 1:55.99 (Brunswick County record)
10. Opal Boehmer: 2:10.64
200 IM
14. Abigail Long: 2:38.88
19. Caroline Morris: 2:43.56
50 freestyle
9. AJ Jackson: 26.32
10. Genevieve Osborne: 26.65
12. Phoebe Cumbee: 27.32
100 butterfly
10. Kennedy Gordon: 1:07.36
100 freestyle
3. AJ Jackson: 56.69
16. Phoebe Cumbee: 1:01.52
19. Genevieve Osborne: 1:02.10
500 freestyle
2. Peyton Stegman: 5:26.85
23. Bella Best: 6:35.32
28. Chloe Key: 6:45.98
200 freestyle relay
1. AJ Jackson, Opal Boehmer, Phoebe Cumbee, and Peyton Stegman: 1:44.30
100 backstroke
2. Opal Boehmer: 1:04.64
10. Abigail Long: 1:10.19
32. Bella Best: 1:19.91
100 breaststroke
7. Kennedy Gordon: 1:15.41
22. Caroline Morris: 1:21.86
400 freestyle relay
1. AJ Jackson, Kennedy Gordon, Opal Boehmer, and Peyton Stegman: 3:50.12 (Brunswick County record)
