Five of the swimmers and divers who helped set 10 records in 12 events during the 2006 N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A swimming and diving championships are pursuing berths in the London Olympics during this week's U.S. Olympic Trials.
Ricky Berens of South Mecklenburg High, Eugene Godsoe of Southeast Guilford and Charlie Houchin of Enloe High helped set eight of the state records in 2006. They are joined in this week's qualifying by Chip Peterson of West Carteret, who set state 3A records in the 200 and 500 freestyles that same year.
Houchin swam the 200 on Monday night while Nick McCrory, who set the NCHSAA diving record in 2006 and later broke his own mark during his junior season, qualified for the Olympics in teh synchronized diving and the 10-meter platform diving last weekend.
Vickie Peoples, the Enloe coach at the time, said she knew the meet at the University of North Carolina was incredibly fast, but didn't realize how outstanding the times were until later.
"You get caught up in the competition and you don't pay much attention to the records being broken," Peoples said Monday. "Bu it was the best meet that I can remember.
"If you look at the history of high school swimming in the state, that was the cream of the crop."
Berens, a gold medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 4x200 relay, set NCHSAA records in the 200 individual medley (1:49.61) and the 100 butterfly (47.33) in 2006.
Godsoe set the 100 backstroke record (48.78) and Houchin set the 200 free (1:37.95) and the 500 free (4:25.52) state marks. He also swam on Enloe's record-setting 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
The 200 and 500 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 400 freestyle relay times still are the NCHSAA records.
Berens was an all-America at the University of Texas. Houchin was a Pan Am Games gold medalist in the 400 free and was an all-America at the University of Michigan. Godsoe won the 2010 NCAA championship while earning all-America honors at Stanford.
Peterson was an all-America at the University of North Carolina, won the Pan Am Games gold medal in the 1,500 meters and was a 2005 world champion in the open water 10 kilometers.
