Nine-year old London Wagner of Dalton makes her mid-way turn in the 50-yard butterfly heat. The Dolphins were edged out by Stuart Heights 329-321 Wednesday night in a Chattanooga Area Swim League Blue Division meet. The win cinched second place for Stuart Heights, while Dalton fell into a third-place tie with Ooltewah.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Mother Nature was the overall winner in the final dual meet of the Chattanooga Area Swim League season.
Actually, it was a makeup meet at Stuart Heights between the Sharks and the Dalton Dolphins and it was a battle for second place in the CASL Blue division.
That honor goes to Stuart Heights as the Sharks had an eight-point lead when the latest round of storms hit, sending swimmers, parents, coaches and other interested spectators to their cars or to the nearest safe cover.
While Stuart Heights concludes the regular season at 4-2, Dalton finishes in a tie for third with the Ooltewah Tidal Waves at 3-3.
The Dolphins really weren’t ready to concede this meet after the Sharks had pinned a two-point loss on them at Dalton on June 20, but after a discussion between the coaches and the respective pool reps, the meet was declared final with the Sharks holding a 329-321 lead.
“I like it when it’s a close meet, but we came here with a positive attitude today and it’s been that way all summer,” said Jessica Klutz, one of the co-head coaches for Stuart Heights.
“We’re missing a few kids, but most of them are here as this is always a close meet, but we just urged them to swim fast and have a good time,” Klutz suggested shortly before the heavy rain hit.
“It’s been a fun meet so far, but I always enjoy beating Dalton,” said Katie Sallee, the other Shark head coach.
“It’s been several years since we did, but we beat them at their place. If we could somehow beat them again tonight, that would just be icing on the cake. Overall, this was about what we expected.
“We’ve had a lot of fun this summer, but it seems like we just got started and the season ends at Baylor this weekend,” Sallee said during the break.
Jason Mezaros is the leader for Dalton and never likes competing for anything less than first place.
Wednesday was a tough day for the likable young man as he found out that one of this closest friends and college buddies had died earlier in the day, so he really wasn’t in the mood to talk about a summer swim meet for obvious reasons.
“It’s always a lot of fun when we swim against Stuart Heights, but unfortunately, we didn’t get to finish the meet,” said Dalton assistant coach Andrew Stephenson via cell phone while he was driving back to Whitfield County.
“Congratulations to Stuart Heights for getting the early lead and holding it, but it would have been close and I feel like we were on our way to winning as we were on a comeback and that’s where we’re the strongest.
“I told Jason that I thought that was the best we’ve swam all season and we had the most kids present that we’ve had for any other meet. So we left Stuart Heights with our heads held high as we really had a good time. Now we’re turning our focus to the city meet at Baylor this weekend,” Stephenson added.
Stuart Heights got off to a really fast start and had a commanding 25-point lead following the freestyle races. A 61-48 edge for Dalton in the breaststroke trimmed that Shark lead to 125-113 and it stayed that way through the medley relay and individual medley races with Stuart Heights still holding a 229-216 lead at the break.
The Dolphins got to within four points following the backstroke before the Sharks were able to rebound and hold on for their second win over the two-time defending league champs.
Maddux Clardy and Ellie Waldrep both tallied 17 points for the winning Stuart Heights team while Avery Wilson, Catherine Lynch and Emma Saunders all followed with 15.
Roman Valdez and Alexander Withrow both scored 17 for Dalton while Bella Lee had 16 and teammates Henry Bethel and Will Haley followed with 15 points each.
The ever-competitive Bill Caulkins City Meet will be held on Friday and Saturday at Baylor and it will be interesting to see which team wins as Signal Mountain, Dalton, Stuart Heights and Ooltewah will all be right in the thick of the team race.
DALTON HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
17 – Roman Valdez, Alexander Withrow
16 – Bella Lee
15 – Henry Bethel, Will Haley
14 – Gracison Saylors
12 – Ross Valdez, Carson Vaughn, Ava Whited
11 – Sophia Wagner
10 – Tyler Stephenson, Brandt Hudson, Carlin Hudson, Lucien Chenard.
STUART HEIGHTS HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
17 – Maddux Clardy, Ellie Waldrep
15 – Avery Wilson, Catherine Lynch, Emma Saunders
14 – Jon Pat Ransom
11 – Luke Waldrep, Scout Chapin, Beatrice Davis, Gwennie Davis, Bella Lehman. Elizabeth Lydon
10 – Johnny Von Canon.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Ellie Waldrep of Stuart Heights dives into the pool to start her 50-yard freestyle heat in the 13-14 age group. Waldrep earned 17 team points for the Sharks.
photo by Dennis Norwood