McKinley Rollins

Salisbury Cyclones press release

Swimmers from Salisbury YMCA earned high finishes and top individual awards in the Southern Piedmont Swim Conference for summer race teams.

Salisbury’s team was formed in 2017 and is nicknamed the Cyclones. The team trains at the Country Club of Salisbury and Hurley YMCA. The Cyclones host summer meets at the Country Club.

Guy Deal earned the second highest score in the 11-12 age group, while McKinley Rollins and Maggie Deal placed second and third, respectively, for swimmers 8 and under.

Cyclone medalists were Deal with a silver in the 50-yard butterfly and 50-yard backstroke and a bronze in the 50-yard freestyle.

Rollins  took bronze in the 25-yard fly and 25-yard freestyle. Braylen Yates earned silver in 11-12 50 free.

Older athletes pitched in for the highest ever Salisbury score by almost 1,000 points.

The Cyclones had more than 100 swimmers in 2023. More middle and high school swimmers took the plunge into summer racing, filling a gap and helping the team stand up to more established teams from Charlotte and Concord.

Josh McBride collected bronze in the 50 backstroke for ages 13-14. He joined Jileal Davis, Rodney Hawkins and Taki Cook in the 200 freestyle relay where their effort put Salisbury on the podium for the first time in a relay since the Cyclones were formed.

Other high performances from Salisbury included Karis Miller who just missed bronze in the 50 fly.

Cook, Davis, Hawkins, Moses DeNise, Maggie Deal, Noor Elsaid, Camden Miller, Cole Smith, Adi Verdin and Weston Yates all earned top-10 awards and points.

This was the last year for high school graduates Daniel Epley, Koen Franz, Isidro Ginder, Miller and Maggy Moore. Representing 4 different Rowan high schools, these  athletes have almost 30 years of YMCA and high school competitive swimming experience between them.

Y swim teams director Hannah Hawkins said, “There are innumerable benefits of a stable team for Salisbury. It’s literally a lifesaving sport. Kids return every summer to train outside at the Country Club of Salisbury pool. They make friends and set individual and team goals. We stress the Y values of caring and respect to everyone, so it’s a supportive atmosphere. The team is coached by Matthew Epley. The Mini Cyclones are coached by Margeaux Rary. They have strong competitive swimming backgrounds and do a great job with swim technique development.”

Registration starts at the Y in February. Swimmers must pass a pool test. The team is for ages 5 to 18 as of June 1, 2024.