The Green Hope Falcons girls’ swim team left everything in the pool at the 2026 NCHSAA 8A State Championship. By the end of the meet, the girls secured an impressive second-place finish and the boys placed fourth, securing the team a third-place overall state ranking. Throughout this exciting season, the Falcon Swim program has once again proved to be one of North Carolina’s most successful.
After finishing runner-up by just a few points last year, the team entered the season ready to push even harder. “We were runner-up by just a couple of points last year, which made us motivated this year to see if we could possibly win,” Nola Meekins (‘27) said. “We all knew if that was to happen though, we would really have to show up and get personal bests in some of our races.”
Although the Falcons weren’t able to top last year’s standings, they demonstrated depth across multiple events, led by many talented and hard-working athletes.
Nola Meekins has demonstrated this devotion to her craft and her team’s success. “I’ve been working extremely hard during long-distance practices, which has given me the confidence to leave everything in the pool during these longer races,” Meekins said. “Racing for my team made me highly motivated, especially since I felt they were all counting on me.”
Meekins’ hard work paid off, earning her a state title in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:00.12, despite entering the race with little expectation of reaching the podium. “My 200 IM definitely meant the most to me as I had zero expectations going into that race,” she said.
Other standout performances helped to build the team’s overall score of 630.89 points. University of Tennessee commit Sloane Whelehan (‘27) posted a 22.85 in the 50 freestyle and an impressive 49.42 in the 100 freestyle. Finola Wheelman (‘29) also played a key role, finishing 1:44.25 in the 200 freestyle.
Throughout the season, the spirit and team culture were strengths that led the Falcons to success. Meekins, a Duke University commit, said the team’s culture was one of the defining strengths of the season. “Out of my three years of swimming at Green Hope, the group this year was definitely the closest,” She said. “We had people cheering for swimmers even if they didn’t know them.”
Reese McKone (‘28) explains that the team’s bonding has helped their growth. “We all have grown so much closer over this season,” McKone said. “I think that this has helped us beyond our friendships; it has helped us improve individually as swimmers.” McKone also stepped up during the season when the team needed extra support, swimming twice in a relay event when the team was short a fourth swimmer. “I am proud of myself for stepping up when our relay didn’t have our fourth person,” she said.
Looking ahead to next season, the Falcons aim to build on their consistency by continuing consistent training habits and keeping their competitive mindset. “I think that everyone needs to keep up their hard work in practices and show up and do their best at our meets,” Meekins said. “Hopefully, next year we can secure a win.”
With talent, strong leadership, and a program centered around improvement and teamwork, Green Hope Swim continues to stand as one of the most successful high school programs in North Carolina.
