Charley Carleton wears one of the two gold medals she won at the Class B state swimming championships on Saturday, March 7. Carleton, a Lincoln Academy sophomore, won the 50 and 100 at the state meet. (Courtesy photo)
Charley Carleton swam to two gold medals at the Class B state swimming championships, held at Colby College in Waterville on Saturday, March 7.
A homeschooled student, Carleton swims for Lincoln Academy.
Carleton won the 50 freestyle in 24.50 to break her own school record. She also won the 100 freestyle in 24.50, which ties her own school record in the event.
The championships mark the first time in Lincoln Academy history that a female swimmer has won a state title.
Carleton has burned up the Lady Eagle record board the past two seasons. She has broken seven LA records this season, plus one her freshman year. She owns every single Lincoln Academy record in all eight individual events.
Carleton’s records include the 200 free, 2:03.48; 200 IM, 2:09.44; 50 free, 24.50; 100 butterfly, 1:02.08; 100 free, 53.10; 500 free, 5:36.44; 100 backstroke, 1:04.33; and 100 breast, 1:10.46.
“She has had a phenomenal season this year,” coach Nori Lund said. “Charley had some really great smart swims, coming out on top for the first time for an LA girl. She is a phenomenal competitor that seems to thrive under pressure. She also has the mental factor and has been able to push herself to achieve many of the records she broke without any real other competition in the pool.
According to her coach, Carleton is an extremely driven athlete that seems to have a real love of the sport and competition. She often has at least two practices a day between high school and club.
Lund said her favorite moment watching Carleton compete was her 200 IM performance at the KVAC championship.
“While she is a phenomenal sprinter in the 50 and 100 free, her 200 IM is always a treat,” Lund said. “She gave that race her all and dropped a considerable amount of time.”
Carleton was named Swimmer of the Meet at the KVAC championships after winning the 200 IM and 100 freestyle.
Lund said Carleton has a “very long bright future ahead of her” in the world of swimming if she continues on the path she’s on. Carleton has qualified to compete on the national level for Y swimming with her club team.
“She could easily swim on any college level she chooses,” Lund said.
Carleton started swimming competitively 10 years ago. She swims year-round for the Long Reach Swim Club out of the Bath Area YMCA.
“I love competing in the 200 IM, although I would say the 50 or 100 free are my best events,” Carleton said.
She said she does not emulate a specific athlete, but owes her technique to her coaches, including Lund and her Long Reach coaches Jay Morrisette, Brian Savage, and Emily Hammer.
“They have helped me tremendously,” she said.
Last year, as a freshman, Carleton thought about the possibility of breaking Lincoln Academy records.
“I knew I could do it by the time I graduated, but did not expect to get them all in my sophomore year,” she said. “I feel proud of the hard work I put in to make it happen. The hardest one to set was actually the 50 free, which is one of my best events but it took me until one of the last meets of the season.”
In preparation for meets, Carleton said she always tries to have a good attitude leading up to the event and makes sure she feel excited to race rather than anxious.
Carleton followed in her older sister’s footsteps and started swimming at a young age.
“Early on, age 3 or 4, in swim lessons you could see that Charley could follow directions and do what was asked of her,” her mother Molly Carleton said. “Her natural ability and great coaching led to strong finishes.”
Charley Carleton’s successes include a couple of Long Reach Swim Club and YMCA state records.
“She improved, plateaued, and improved again. The last two years she’s come on strong,” Molly Carleton said. “There is plenty of great swimming in Maine. She has had the opportunity to travel to New York, North Carolina, and Florida for competition. Charley makes it easy, she’s the driving force.”
Other state results
Lincoln Academy girls were presented the Class B South Sportsmanship Award for the second year in a row.
Lincoln Academy girls placed 10th at the state championships out of 19 teams with 90 points, and Wiscasset-Boothbay placed 18th with 11 points.
Lincoln’s Autumn Vencile placed 10th in the 200 IM in 2:30 and in the 100 butterfly in 1:05. Maggie Sawyer took 18th in the 500 free in 6:46 and 19th in the 200 free in 2:31.
Wiscasset-Boothbay’s Allie Smart took 17th in the 500 free in 6:45.
Alex Marshall scored all 11 points for Wiscasset-Boothbay. Marshall dropped two seconds off her personal best time to place 11th in the 100 butterfly in 1:09. She also placed 12th in the 200 IM in 2:40, dropping eight seconds off her personal best in the event.
Lincoln girls placed 10th in two relays, the 200 medley in 2:12 with Sawyer, Carleton, Vencile, and Meghan Arnold swimming a leg; and the 400 free in 4:34 with the same four swimmers.
The Lady Eagles placed 13th in the 200 free relay in 2:25 with Helen Duffy, Gabriela Neves, Sarah Rushton, and Arnold.
Lincoln Academy boys placed 14th in the Class B state swim meet with 28 points.
The Eagles placed 10th in the 400 free relay in 4:18 with Andrew Zimmerman, Holden Nehrboss, Carter Wilson, and Cy Zammuto. They placed 11th in the 200 medley relay in 2:17 with the same four swimmers.
Wilson took 15th in the 50 free in 24.76 and 21st in the 100 free in 56.49.
