Durham Academy Athletics Win Three Team State Championships on Historic Saturday
By Andy Pogach, Director of Athletics
Saturday reminded us why high school sports still matter. When young people compete for something larger than themselves — and when they wear their school’s name across their chest and play for their teammates, their community and each other — extraordinary things can happen. Saturday, they did.
I think we will be talking about May 16, 2026, for a long time around Durham Academy’s campuses. It was the day that Audrey Crowder ’26 cemented her status as a DA legend by winning three individual state titles and leading the girls track team to the program’s first state title since the year 2000. It was the day that Eli Werness ’26 won the 99th and 100th matches of his high school athletics career as the boys tennis team captured its first state title in program history. And it was the day that Curry Jennings ’26 took the ball in overtime, went left, went right, went back left, somehow kept the ball in his long stick and shot it on the ground past the Charlotte Country Day goalkeeper in overtime to send DA head coach Jon Lantzy out in style with the program’s first state title in 23 years.
Here is how historic Saturday was for our program:
- DA won its first boys state championship in any sport since the fall of 2009.
- This was the first school year in which DA won at least four state titles since 1997–1998.
- It was the first time since 1988 that the Cavs won three state titles on the same day.
Winning state championships is hard. We do not do it very often — eight total from 2012 through last week, all of those titles earned by our girls teams during this span. A huge shoutout goes to our student-athletes, coaches, staff and family members for their season-long support through ups and downs.
Here is a recap of Saturday, May 16, 2026, a historic day for Durham Academy Athletics:
Track and Field
The Cavaliers track and field teams sent 15 girls and 11 boys to Forsyth Country Day for the 2026 NCISAA 4A state meet.
The story of the weekend in Lewisville was the DA girls team as the Cavs won their first state championship since 2000. Audrey Crowder ’26 — already the most decorated runner in DA cross country history and the 2022 individual state champion in NCISAA girls cross country — won the first three individual state track titles of her athletics career (3200m, 1600m and 800m). The Cavs’ 4x800m team of Helen Barritt ’28, Harper Maxwell ’28, Elliot Register ’28 and Sybil Ludington ’30 took home a championship, winning the relay with a time of 9:26:11 — more than seven seconds faster than second-place Charlotte Country Day. Another relay team — the girls 4x200m squad of Selena Burrus ’27, Charlotte Gunsch ’27, Ally Lamb ’29 and Anna Savage ’27 — broke the school record by more than two seconds with a time of 1:54.47. The Cavs held off state runner-up Cannon School by 11 points and clinched the victory when Burrus placed fifth in the 200m race, earning DA four points and creating an insurmountable lead heading into the final race.
Here are the DA girls’ podium finishes:
- 800m: Audrey Crowder ’26 — 1st, state champion
- 1600m: Audrey Crowder ’26 — 1st, state champion
- 3200m: Audrey Crowder ’26 — 1st, state champion
- 4x800 relay: Helen Barritt ’28, Sybil Ludington ’30, Harper Maxwell ’28 and Elliot Register ’28 — 1st, state champions
- 4x100 relay: Selena Burrus ’27, Charlotte Gunsch ’27, Ally Lamb ’29 and Anna Savage ’27 — 2nd
- 4x200 relay: Selena Burrus ’27, Charlotte Gunsch ’27, Ally Lamb ’29 and Anna Savage ’27 — 2nd
- 4x400 relay: Selena Burrus ’27, Audrey Crowder ’26, Ally Lamb ’29, Elliot Register ’28 — 3rd
- Discus: Alexandria Parker ’27 — 3rd
- High Jump: Anya Brander ’28 — 3rd
- Pole Vault: Lucie Haws ’27 — 2nd; Anna Savage ’27 — 3rd
While the boys team tied for a ninth-place finish, there was no lack of individual accomplishments.
- John David Spatola ’28 opened up the competition by winning the pole vault championship, clearing a height of 12 feet.
- Tate Duensing ’26 completed his spectacular track career by claiming the 800m state title with a time of 1:54.24.
Boys Tennis
The DA boys tennis team claimed the program's first state championship with a 5–1 home win Saturday morning over Charlotte Latin School. The Cavs, who ended the season 20–5, won 17 of their final 18 matches. Included in Saturday’s special victory were milestone wins for Eli Werness ’26, who captured his 99th and 100th individual victories across singles and doubles play.
The Cavs jumped out early to multiple break leads in first and third doubles. Sam Hertzog ’28 and junior Everett Sun ’27 led wire to wire in their 8–2 victory at number three, which featured a battle of two previously unbeaten doubles teams. At the top spot, Werness and David Ilut ’29 led 6–2 and 7–3 before the Hawks cut the lead to 7–5. The Cavs closed out the final game to put the second DA team point on the board.
The Cavs had a chance to sweep the doubles segment as Andy Ye ’26 and Benigno David ’30 staged a late rally from 6–1 down to even the match at 7 on court two. The Hawks were able to survive the late Cavs surge and prevail 9–7.
In singles play, the Cavs took first sets with Werness at one, Ilut at two, Hertzog at three and David at four. Werness gave DA its third point with a 6–0, 6–3 victory. David was close behind with a solid 6–0, 6–1 win at five, putting the Cavs just one match win away. Ilut looked to be the clinch, but his Hawks opponent saved three match points at 5–4 in the second. Hertzog ultimately ended the match with a strong backhand winner (6–2, 6–1) to claim the state championship! It is the first state title for head coach Sean Bilsborrow ’94 in his fourth state title appearance.
NCISAA D1 State Championship
Durham Academy 5 – Charlotte Latin 1
Doubles:
- Eli Werness / David Ilut def. Luca Bravo / Hunter Greenberg, 8–5
- Vikram O'Brien / William Holland def. Andy Ye / Benigno David, 9–7
- Sam Hertzog / Everett Sun def. Carter Gannett / Bryson Wilde, 8–2
Singles:
- Werness def. O'Brien (6–0, 6–3)
- Ilut led Greenberg (6–1, 5–5)
- Bravo led Ye (6–3, 2–1)
- Hertzog def. Bradley Shaw (6–2, 6–1)
- David def. Graham Albertsen (6–1, 6–0)
- Holland led Sun (6–2, 2–5)
Boys Lacrosse
The DA boys lacrosse team captured its first state championship since 2003 with a thrilling 6–5 overtime win at Charlotte Country Day School. The Cavs made three trips to the Queen City in nine days, defeating the top seed and No. 1 team in the state as ranked by MaxPreps.
The DA defense, anchored by goalie Drew Roeder ’26, was once again the story Saturday as it held the Bucs to their lowest scoring output of the year. Curry Jennings ’26 was the hero — the moment that he beat his defender and the goalkeeper with a low shot will go down in the history books.
The Cavs opened the scoring on a goal by Hunter Freedman ’29 off an assist from Camden Hughes ’26 about four minutes in. After three straight Bucs goals, Ian Schulz ’27 ran behind the net, spun to his right and scored to cut the CCDS lead to one. Schulz scored a similar goal out of halftime that once again cut the Bucs’ lead to 4–3.
Just three minutes later, the Cavs tied the game on a long shot from Hughes while on the man-up (with a one-player advantage). After Country Day once again took the lead, Jennings scored to tie the game on a great individual move with just eight minutes left in regulation. The Cavs survived a late Bucs flurry, including a shot off the post with a minute to go and a last-second shot that went just wide.
In overtime, Country Day had the first possession and took a shot that hit the side of the net. The Cavs moved the ball to midfield and called timeout to set up the winning sequence. Jennings scored his goal at the 1:54 mark of overtime, and the Cavs lifted the trophy to give Lantzy his first-ever state title in his final game as the team’s head coach.
A huge congratulations to the coaching staff and student-athletes who persevered through an 0–4 start and a lot of bumps in the road — and then came on strong at the end to defeat three Charlotte opponents, including the state’s top team, in the span of nine days.