Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

Going down in history among the finest swimmers in Davie annals seems to be the destiny for Zach Hirata and Skylar Zuleger.
Both achieved conference titles in the CPC championship meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Jan. 22.
Hirata, a superb sophomore for the Davie boys, repeated as league champion in the 200 yard free with a time of 1:46.37. The top two in each event made all-conference, and both Davie stars made the team in two events, including Hirata’s runner-up effort in the 100 back, where he broke his own school record with a time of 52.73.
“Even though I was able to have some successful swims, I know I can improve on them and have even better results, and I’m excited I have the opportunity to do that at regionals,” Hirata said. “I’m excited for what’s to come next for this team as well as for myself.”
On the girls’ side, Zuleger claimed first in the 100 breast, her 1:03.02 time not only breaking her own school record but also setting a meet record. In the 50 free, she went 25.06 to finish second.
And this is only the beginning for Zuleger, who is an elite freshman.
“This was my first conference championship meet, so it was a new experience for me and supper fun to compete and have a good time with my teammates,” Zuleger said. “I was happy with how my events went and I look forward to more competitions like that to come.”
“We knew that the other teams were going to be cognizant of which events Zach and Sky may be swimming and try to make it difficult for them to win,” coach Tak Hirata said. “Even though they’re just a freshman and sophomore, they handled the pressure like veterans.”
How special was Zuleger’s performance in the 100 breast? She became the first Davie female to win a CPC title in 12 years (Bailey Folmar was first in the 200 at 1:56 in 2012-13).
Hirata and three teammates placed third in two relays. Xaiden Groff, Logan Zuleger and Josh McBride were a part of the 200 medley relay that turned in a time of 1:43.17, and the same foursome went 3:30.91 in the 400 free relay.
“I felt like everyone on the team swam very well and I’m super proud of them,” Z. Hirata said.
“I told the group that this was definitely by far their best meet, and I’m glad that they were able to put it together at the conference championship when it counted the most,” Tak Hirata said.
The team’s centerpieces barely missed program records in other events. In the 200 free, Hirata was .6 seconds from the Davie record (Nick Sinopoli 1:45.73 in 2015). In the 50 free, S. Zuleger was 0.02 from the school record (Jamie Stancliff 25.04 in 2006).
“Being a young team, we always worry about how they handle their nerves, but they managed it very well,” Tak Hirata said. “I just told them to trust their training and let it fly. They swam and cheered as a team and continued to drop personal best times swim after swim. Relay splits were the best they’ve swam all season long. Being able to watch them stay focused, perform so well and support each other with lots of smiles was not only exciting but made us very proud of this team and how far they’ve come this year.”
Notes: The Davie boys finished fourth out of five teams. The scoring: Reagan 400, Mt. Tabor 271, West Forsyth 200, Davie 151, Reynolds 90. … The girls were fifth out of six. The scoring: Reagan 375, Reynolds 296, Tabor 200, West 182, Davie 116, East 63. … Z. Hirata is now a four-time all-CPC swimmer. Last year he was first in the 200 free at 1:49.14 and second in the back at 54.07.