Ten-year old Laken Coppinger led Signal Mountain with 17 points as the Green Giants swam past Dalton Thursday evening by a 429.5 to 367 margin to clinch at least a tie in for the 2016 Blue Division championship in the Chattanooga Area Swim League.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The Signal Mountain Green Giants have the upper hand in the Chattanooga Area Swim League’s highly-competitive Blue division and the clinched at least a tie for first place with Thursday’s win over Dalton, but they’ll have to wait until Tuesday before the championship celebration can officially begin.
The Green Giants lost to Dalton by 15 points at Dalton in the first week of the season, but they haven’t lost since as they’ve reeled off four straight wins.
A win at Ooltewah on Tuesday will lock up the title for the Green Giants, who beat the Tidal Waves by 59 points on June 20.
It’s been a hectic season for those teams in the summer league’s top group as Dalton, Stuart Heights and Ooltewah are all tied for second place at the current time with identical 3-2 records.
But on a night when the Green Giants were swimming in the friendly confines of their own pool, this meet wasn’t nearly as close as the first one as Signal Mountain prevailed easily by a final score of 429.5 to 367.
Dalton coach Jason Mezaros has been in Omaha all week at the Olympic swim trials with Dalton standout Ethan Young, so that’s at least 19 points the Dolphins were missing. Add a few more key individuals who had other plans for the visiting Dalton team and it quickly became a meet where the biggest question wasn’t who was going to win, but instead by how much?
Signal Mountain jumped out to a 75-53 lead after the opening freestyle races and slowly pulled away.
Things are coming together nicely for coach Jake Sosna and his Green Giants as they work to snap Dalton’s streak of two straight City Meet titles.
“This has been a good meet for us and I’m glad it’s been close for the most part because the kids stayed interested and didn’t leave early,” he said in reference to last Thursday’s 120-point win over Stuart Heights when that wasn’t the case.
“This is how it’s supposed to be for two of the best teams in the league. We’ve only had one disqualification tonight and I’m real proud of that, but some of our relay teams really came through. We work on those relay starts every day and that’s the kind of stuff that wins championships. And we hope to qualify several relays in some of the age groups next weekend,” he said, noting that a first-place relay in the city meet is worth 40 points.
“Our kids stayed focused tonight because they knew this was a big meet with a lot riding on the final score. We didn’t have to go looking for anyone and that always helps, but we also had a few individuals really step up with positive results.
“We want them to swim like this every meet and we’re hoping that this team atmosphere will carry over, not only to next week’s city meet but to next season as well,” Sosna added.
Natalie Espinoza-Hensley has been a Dalton assistant coach for the past three years after being an important part of their success as a swimmer for five summers prior. She was the one in charge on Thursday in the head coaches absence.
“We’re missing a good chuck of kids tonight and it’s hard to make up those points, especially in relays where you don’t even have enough for a complete team,” she said while the butterfly races were winding down.
“We came here unprepared with all the missing kids, but the ones who came have really been racing and giving us everything they’ve got. What more can I ask for?
“We can’t always win, but we’re always looking for something good among the bad. If we come up here and give our best effort, that’s all I’m looking for,” she added.
Roman Valdez, Ross Valdez and Alexander Withrow headed the scoring list for the Dolphins with 19, 18 and 17 points, respectively, while Laken Coppinger topped the list for the Green Giants with 17 points.
But in the numbers department where scoring youngsters can’t be replaced, Signal Mountain had the overall edge with 22 swimmers who had 10 points or more compared to just 15 for Dalton.
Other winners on Thursday included Calhoun, Red Bank, Stuart Heights and the Waterdogs.
Red Bank’s win over Ridgeside seals the deal for the Gators in the White division while the Fairyland Flash has a shot at an unbeaten season, despite their meet at Ringgold being postponed by pump problems.
Signal Mountain will travel to Ooltewah on Tuesday in a makeup from Monday while Dalton will travel to Stuart Heights on Wednesday.
The Dolphins should be plenty motivated after Stuart Heights went to Dalton on June 20 and shocked the home team with a two-point loss.
DALTON HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Roman Valdez
18 – Ross Valdez
17 – Alexander Withrow, Will Haley, Gracison Saylors, Franco Valdez
15 – Ava Whited, Bella Lee, Henry Bethel, Carson Vaughn
14 – Sophia Wagner
11.5 – Reese Bingham
11 – Brandt Hudson, Alexis Vaughn
10 – Tyler Stephenson.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
17 – Laken Coppinger, Jewel Gordon
16 – Jameson Mitchum
15 – Jason Green
14 – Belle Flasch, James Johnson, Peter Lochmaier, Audrey Rackel
13 – Megan Hanson, Marley Harper
12.5 – Taryn Dailey
12 – Madeline Daverson, Katherine Johnson, Emily Gill, Luke Smiley, Will Tippett, Cecelia Porter
11 – Vincent Porter, Sam Laramore
10 – KaraLin Hoover, Elizabeth Watson, John Smith.
CALHOUN HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Cal Parker, Matthew Petty, Alice Workman, Cassandra Workman
17 – Brandon Webb, Chloe Edens, Caleb Black
16 – Jeremiah Petty
15 – William Eickman, Makenzie Duke, Joshua Tolson
13 – Mary Jane McKinnon
12 – Spencer Brown, William Turner, Bryce Bates
11 – Luke Driscoll, Calli Edens, Phoebe Reid
10 – Evan Wood, Anna Waguespack.
COUNTRY CLUB HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
17 – Margaret Anne Hudson
14 – Ryan Ellis, Emelia Richey
13 – Addison Margio, Cecelia Turner
12 – William Turner, Emma-Kate White
11 – James Grant, Allison Royal, Caroline Schenck, Sophia Bell
10 – Zane Smith.
CUMBERLAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Kari Morris
17 – Chloe Vernon, Lydia Mazutani
16 – Jeremiah Morris
15 – Lauren Alexander, Jonas Taylor
13 – Elliott Hill
12 – Esther Morris, Zachary Schurr
11 – Avery Tisdale, Michael Minor
10 – Kimberly Morris.
WATERDOGS HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Juliet Bryant, Brendon Ruckman
17 – Anna Garner, Nikolai Shapoval, Davina Sharma, Caiden Cross, Mason Cross, Ridge Asble
15 – Justin Thompson, Ashley Bryant
14 – Macie Starr, Martin Shapoval, Audrey Torchick
13 – Noah Thornton, Connor Browand, Jessica Landberg
12 – Samuel Blake, Pollianna Moshenskiy, Andrew Ruckman
11 – Jae Dauphinais
10 – Kailey Ruckman.
RIDGESIDE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Madeline Bond
17 – Andrew Bond, Beccan Fitzsimmons, Brandon Lowry
16 – Finnegan Fitzsimmons, Owen Eastman
15 – Adelaide Bond, Joseph Danks, Ella Wiley
12 – Fiona Eastman, Noah Akins
11 – Elizabeth Hall
10 – Owen Williamson, Edward Gentry, Sophia Albarakat.
RED BANK HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Luke Massey, Mason Meyners, Dallas Woods, Kathrine Schlegel
17 – Benjamin Meagher
16 – Amelia Harris
15 – Zachary Miller
14 – Isabella Miller, Luke Meyners, William Brooks
13 – Tabitha Wilson
12 – Conner Boerschig, Grace Yood
11 – Asonia Birdsong, Virginia Condry, Maddie Grass
10 – Austin Camp, Ian Rabon.
STUART HEIGHTS HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Scout Chapin, Gwennie Davis, Jon Pat Ransom, Molly Ransom, Luke Waldrep
17 – Jackson Sallee, Max Ransom, Elizabeth Lydon, Gerald Lydon, Catherine Lynch
16 – Ellie Waldrep
15 – Audrey Barkeloo-Carter
13 – Maddux Clardy, Joseph Myers, Beatrice Davis
12 – Roane Chapin
11 – Grant Cooley, Avery Wilson
10 – Reese Skiles, George Von Canon, Matthew McCoy.
CLEVELAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Jacob McDaniel
17 – Peter Falcone
16 – Grayson Officer
15 – Ximena Martinez, Alexia Jackson, Luke Bixler, Grayson Payne
14 – Trey Parris
12 – Breanna Belcher
11 – Cameron McDaniel, Jason Chung, Bryson Lake.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Roman Valdez, center, flies into the pool in the 11-12 50-yard freestyle heat for Dalton Thursday evening at the Signal Mountain pool. Valdez scored a maximum 19 points for the Dolphins but the visitors fell to the home-standing Green Giants by a 429.5 - 367 margin in a Blue Division showdown.
photo by Dennis Norwood