Mosby Park coach Kristy Snider was more worried about the threat of bad weather than the possibility of quality swimmers not making the long trek from downtown Cleveland to Fort Oglethorpe
Lightning and thunder did cause about a 45-minute delay, but once the meet resumed, it was Snider's Waterdogs who took charge and eventually headed back home with a 449-306 victory in a Red Division meet of the Chattanooga Area Swim League.
With the win, the Waterdogs are now 3-4 in the Red Division with only a home meet next Monday against crosstown rival Cleveland left in the regular season.
The season concludes on Friday and Saturday, July 13-14 with the City Meet at Fort Oglethorpe.
The host Marlins have one of the nicest facilities in the league, but once the first event began, the visiting Waterdogs seemed to be more at home than the Marlins in the spacious Arlene Crye Municipal Pool.
"I've been able to relax a little bit now, but we had a good roster for tonight's meet. We always enjoy swimming here, so I was more worried about the threat of bad weather than I was having a bunch of my kids not show up," Snider said while the freestyle relays were being contested and the outcome long decided.
"Our goal for tonight was to not have any disqualifications and I think we may have achieved that. Our strokes are starting to look good as our technique continues to improve and we're starting to pick up some speed just in time for the City Meet.
"We usually have good attendance at away meets and we always have fun here. I was really impressed with some of our exhibition swimmers, some with faster times than those who were swimming for points. They're doing a good job of proving themselves.
"It's always nice to win, but we just wanted to swim smart while turning on the speed. I feel really good about our performance tonight," Snider added.
The Waterdogs jumped out to a 73-37 lead following the freestyle races. The difference reached the century mark (261-160) after the individual medleys and it only increased from there.
Despite another disappointing loss, Fort Oglethorpe coach Tony Womac remains upbeat and positive.
"I couldn't be any more proud of my swimmers as we had another great meet tonight. Even with the smallest team in our division, we continue to hold our own and we've made great improvement in every meet so far," Womac assessed while a light rain continued to fall as the crowd headed toward the parking lot.
"We have at least 50 or 60 brand new swimmers and they've made great gains. Tonight was just another great job. Our focus is on what we're doing as we continue to learn and grow with this great sport.
"We're finished with our regular-season meets, but we'll do some fun stuff as we get ready for the City Meet and next Monday we're planning an inter-squad meet against our parents. That should be a lot of fun," Womac concluded with a smile.
Luke Hunt and Christian Torbett both had the maximum 19 points for the winning Waterdogs while teammates Julie Bryant and Bristol Snider were next with 18 points apiece.
Erin Brown and Reece Gallagher were tops for the Marlins with 18 points while John Hillman and Brandon Edge were next with 17 each.
While Mosby Park was victorious over Fort Oglethorpe, there were several others postponed by the storms that swept through the Chattanooga area early Monday evening, including Stuart Heights at Signal Mountain and Ridgeside at Big Ridge.
MONDAY'S DUAL-MEET RESULTS
Stuart Heights at Signal Mountain, postponed
Dalton 240, Ringgold 121 (meet called early because of storms)
Mosby Park 449, Fort Oglethorpe 306
Red Bank 249, Cleveland 157 (meet called after Individual Medley by bad weather)
Country Club at Cumberland, postponed
Ridgeside at Big Ridge, postponed.
MOSBY PARK HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Luke Hunt, Christian Torbett;
18 -- Julie Bryant, Bristol Snider;
17 -- Davina Sharma, Pete Davis, Sean Moran;
16 -- Tanya Sharma, Maya Sharma;
15 -- Caiden Cross, John Bryant;
14 -- Jesse Badger, Olivia Torres;
13 -- Reid Nelson, Kyra Nipper;
11 -- Jenny Aarmao, Shannon Badger, Conner Browand;
10 -- Gareth Miller, Anna Harvey, Joe Keller.
FORT OGLETHORPE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
18 -- Erin Brown, Reece Gallagher;
17 -- John Hillman, Brandon Edge;
13 -- Sky Kim;
12 -- Julie Kim;
11 -- Ava Whited, Emma Kate White, Katelyn Bickett.
CLEVELAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
12 -- Logan Stutzman, Megan Mitchell, Jason Chung, Robert Parr;
11 -- Bri Foley;
10 -- Trey Parris, Meredith Borst, Ben Cooper.
RED BANK HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
12 -- Linsy Devlin;
11 -- Asonia Birdsong;
9 -- Grace Brown, Luke Massey;
7 -- Brianna Rabon, Morgan Haynes;
6 -- Ricky Haynes, Macie Meyners, Lyndie Alexander.
RINGGOLD HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
7 -- Grace Ann Hawthorne, Regan Wingrove, Mitch Chow.
DALTON HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
12 -- Lindsey Mulkey, Romino Mendoza;
10 -- Rebecca Davis, Will Cushman;
9 -- Tyler Henderson;
8 -- Henry Bethel;
7 -- Andrea Arriola, Ross Valdez, Austin Fischer, Reese Bingham, Ramon Valdez, Hollie Porter, Oscar Chenard, Raoul Valdez, Ethan Pence, Mona Pike;
5 -- Bruno Valdez, Abigail Crawford, Trey Davis, Anthony Calderon.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)