A Signal Mountain swimmer competes in the backstroke Thursday against Calhoun.
photo by M.A. Locke
In the not-so-distant past, the Signal Mountain Green Giants ruled the Chattanooga Area Swim League and won well more than their share of City Meet titles during that time.
The Ooltewah Tidal Waves have taken over that top spot in recent summers and appear the team to beat again, but those youngsters from Signal aren’t ready just yet to toss in the white towel and surrender.
The Green Giants won their second meet in the last two days with a 439-314 victory over the visiting Calhoun Blue Barracudas Thursday evening and are now tied with Stuart Heights at 2-1 for second place in CASL’s Blue Division.
Katherine Johnson is now the head coach for the Green Giants and she’s having the time of her life in her first year as the overall team leader. She’s a 2022 graduate of Signal Mountain and just finished her sophomore year at the University of Alabama where she’s majoring in chemistry, so it’s easy to see how much lighter her load is these days coaching young kids swimming rather than pounding the books.
“We just finished a make-up meet here last night, so our goal for today was just to come out and swim our best. I feel like that’s what we did,” she said while the butterfly events were still going on.
“We’re still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but they did a great job so far tonight. It’s my job to make sure they’re having fun, but we’re also quickly getting faster as one kid knocked off 13 seconds in his 100 IM race.
“I feel really good about our team this summer as we have another strong group of more than 200 kids. Our goal is to just keep getting better and so far, that’s been the case,” she added with a smile.
Todd Ogas is in his third year leading the Blue Barracudas. His kids must feel like the low man on the totem pole as they just moved up to the Blue division after winning the Red last summer. Like so many other teams in the league, roster numbers have been a problem.
There are currently about 90 names on the Calhoun roster, but only about half showed up for Thursday’s meet, which makes winning just a bit more difficult.
“It feels really good out here now that the sun has dropped behind the trees, but our goal was to give kids a chance to try out new events and to improve on what they’ve already done,” he said while watching swimmers pass by toward the wall.
“I must admit that I’m worn out. I’m really a competitive person and want to see our kids do really well. They just want to have fun with their friends and hopefully get a little better.
“We only have about 45 kids here today, so we have more than our share of holes in our lineup, but we’re swimming some good times. They’re having fun and they’re cheering for each other, which is the main objective.
“We’re taking more than our share of lumps in this division this summer, but it all comes down to who works the hardest as they are the ones who get rewarded on meet day,” Ogas nodded.
Nissa Ruth and Morgan Duffey both maxed out with 19 points for the Green Giants while Ben Flasch, Eamon Bales and Jake Holmes added 17 points apiece.
Jonah Ogas and Annie Eickman both had 19 points to lead Calhoun while Cassidy Gray and Keegan Carter scored 17 each.
Life doesn’t get any easier for the Green Giants as they face Ooltewah twice next week, on the road Monday and back at home on Thursday. Calhoun will be at home on Monday to host Stuart Heights in their next meet.
Other winners on Thursday night included Ooltewah, Red Bank, Country Club and Fairyland.
THURSDAY’S HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
CALHOUN:
19 – Jonah Ogas, Annie Eickman
17 – Cassidy Gray, Keegan Carter
15 – Jacob Bateman, Atticus Stephens, Jocelyn Chance, Mason Martin
14 – Miller Peak
13 – Madelyn Burch
12 – Grayson Howell
11 – Landon Travis
10 – Ashley Ramirez.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN:
19 – Nissa Ruth, Morgan Duffey
17 – Ben Flasch, Eamon Bales, Jake Holmes
16 – Natalie Ennen
15 – Owen Isch, Mimi Hanning Dmitrievskaya, Luke Russell
13 – Mitchell Maedel, Sophie Santola, Laine Arp, Claire Williams
12 – Sydney Gordon
11 – Ella Obringer
10 – Eliza Hardin, Xander Callaghan.
RED BANK:
19 – Addilyn Mayo, James Atchley, Ben Meagher, Audrey Mayo, Maddie Grass
18 -- Noah Blake, Caleb Ross
17 – Avalie Bilbrey, Allie West, Lilah Blanchard
16 – Benton Bilbrey
15 – Adalia Ross
13 – Luke Blake
12 – Adli Brown, Samuel Shaw, Natalie Emerson, Noah Blumenberg
11.5 – Harper Cole, Kelly Nickols
11 – Cohen Lowe
10 – Timothy Ellis, Reid Corder.
CLEVELAND:
18 – Elias Eldred, Kevin Curley
16 – Teddy Elliott
15 – Addie Taubert
13 – Ashley Pesterfield
12 – Sophie Hughes
10 – Reed Blackmon, Maddie Peterson, Caroline Kate Elrod, Santiago Eldred.
FAIRYLAND:
19 – Ethan Bond, Millie Elkins
17 – Adelaide Bond, Frances Bohner, Ben Bevil
15 – Millie Sharplin,
14 – William Gaither, Aubrey Cole, Madison Cole
13 – Catherine Carr, Ellis McGinness
12 – Weezie Respess, Hank Wingfield, Alder Wingfield, Margaret Carr
11 – Teddy Wingfield, Hayes Naggar, Lily Cole
10 – Caroline Carr, Carson Gaither, Caroline Cleary.
RIDGESIDE:
19 – Charlie Schrader
17 – Ryan Carpenter, Jacob Stone
16 – Elizabeth Grace Shrader, Cora Hamilton
15 – Owen Swisher, Jude Wilder, Weston Hamilton, Mari Aguilera
12 – Jojo Manning
11 – Lizzie Jane Kinnamon, Eli McBryar.
10 – Reese Pond, Sophie Doreau.
COUNTRY CLUB:
19 -- Eliana Tabibiazar, Cate Bowman, Evie Ranalli, Nicholas Johnson, Monna Yu, Zeki House
17 -- Dru Grant IV, Gracie Manning, Lucinda Ranalli
16 -- Ryan Ellis
15 -- Zoe Feher
14 -- Miles Kirksey, Hampton Tate
13 -- Cooper Brooks, Caroline Hatfield
12 -- Margaret Stinnett
11 -- Luke Mixon, Grace Cox Farrell
10 -- Zanovah Ward, Gio Janini, Wade Hampton Robinson.
WATERDOGS:
19 -- Carter Gray
18 -- Gracelyn Dauphinais
15 -- Asher Williams
14 -- Kyle Cuison
13 -- Noah Torchick, Christian Chai, Sam English
12 -- Marit Chapman, Elle Richardson
10 -- Josiah Bolt, Benjamin White, Jack Cuison, Davis Turner.
OOLTEWAH:
19 – Nora Pace, Makayla McInnes, Keilah Holliman
17 – Jed Holliman
15 – Kaci Lambeth, Carmyn Watkins, Cheyenne Carver
13 – Zack McInnes, Luke Combs, Anna Boyd
12 – Ella Cooper, Elijah Holliman
11 – Luke Oliver, Declan Harris, Nolan Holt
10 – Gabby Oswald, Zahyris, Garcia Ruiz, Noah Holliman.
FORT OGLETHORPE:
19 – Katelyn Holman, Foster Stevens
17 – Wade Christopher, Sully Foster, Ari Motter
15 – Audrey Chatfield
14 – R.J. Partain
13 – Yaric Lebed
11 – Colson Chappelear
10 – Zeke Rawls, Oliver Webb, Asher Johnson, Jonas Taylor.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)