Ridgeside hosted Dalton in a Chattanooga Area Swim League Red Division meet Thursday night and one thing was for sure long before the final race had been held: the Dolphins were going to win, no matter what.
Ironically, both teams are nicknamed the Dolphins and both are in a different position from years past. Dalton has dropped down after a bunch of years in the Blue division while Ridgeside is now up a division after getting comfortable and doing well in the White division.
Youngsters from both teams swam really well and they all seemed to have more fun than the law allows, but when the final tally had been made, it was those guys from Whitfield County that went home with a win in their first meet of the season by a final score of 399-342.
It’s been a challenging start for those guys in Dalton as their pool is currently having some work done on it, so they haven’t really had a place to practice. But their attitude has remained good and they’ve handled major adversity in a big and positive way and that’s one of the things Dalton coach Jason Meszaros is most proud.
“I feel like we’ve done really well tonight in our first meet despite being without a pool for the past five weeks,” Meszaros said while the racing continued.
“I’m so proud of these kids and their parents as they haven’t made the first excuse for all of these setbacks. Their attitude has been great and I’m so happy about that.
“This is our first time in the Red division in a long time and we wanted to start off with a win and to build a little momentum going into the season. We had three goals coming in to today’s meet and that included racing hard, having fun and winning. We’ve accomplished all three.
“But tomorrow is just another day and it’s time to get back to work,” the veteran coach concluded with a smile.
Ridgeside coach Rob Parks knows that his team did really well in the White division a year ago and that’s why they’ve bumped up to a tougher division. Thursday’s loss is the second of the season, but Parks isn’t the least bit worried or bothered.
“It seems like we’re missing a lot of kids tonight, but they are doing their best and cheering for their teammates and that’s the culture we’re trying to build around here,” he said while the butterfly races were wrapping up.
“We always say that fast is good, but slow and legal are better. If we do the absolute best we can, we win regardless of the score. We had a lot of dropped times tonight and that’s what we’re looking for.
“This is only our third week in the water so we’re still needing practice. We have a bunch of new swimmers this summer and it’s tough to get the basics in their head in such a short time. But this is the first week of June and I promise you we’ll get better in the coming weeks,” Parks added.
Layla Brackett, Avery Loftis and Georgia Brackett all maxed out with 19 points to lead Dalton’s win while Alejandro Paniaguia, Sophie Martinez and Jazlynn Watson followed with 17 points apiece.
Elizabeth Grace Shrader topped Ridgeside with 19 points while Jesse Zimmerman was next with 18. Grace Hamilton and Charlie Schrader both finished with 17 each.
Ridgeside will be on the road against the Waterdogs in their next meet on Monday while Dalton will travel to the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club on June 17 to face the Wavemakers.
Other winners on Thursday included Stuart Heights, Big Ridge, Red Bank and Fort Oglethorpe.
THURSDAY'S HIGH-POINT SCORERS
DALTON:
19 – Layla Brackett, Avery Loftis, Georgia Brackett
17 – Alejandro Paniagua, Sophie Martinez, Jazlynn Watson
15 – Melissa Rios, Matthew Owen, Favio Caceres, Kiptyn Evans, Spencer Valencia
13 – Luke Mederios, Harper Loftis
12 – Connor Loftis, Natalie Edds
10 – Eli Mickelson, Ella Bethel, Aurora Caceres, Amelia Key, Cailynn Miller, Matthew Martinez.
RIDGESIDE:
19 – Elizabeth Grace Schrader
18 – Jesse Zimmerman
17 – Grace Hamilton, Charlie Schrader
15 – Lucy Hamilton, Owen Swisher, Cora Hamilton
12 – Annika Fischer, Mari Aguilera
11 – Jacob Stone, Shiloh Budd
10 – Audra Crowe, Jude Wilder.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN:
17 – Luke Russell
16 – Kaylee Greene, Sophie Santola
15 – Jacob Greene, Ryan Berry
13 – Liam Hewitt
12 – Laine Arp, Claire Williams, Mimi Hanning Dmitrievskaya
11 – Marley Degenhardt, Sydney Gordon, Levi McGinness
10 – Owen Isch, Jake Holmes.
STUART HEIGHTS:
17 – Molly Mae Ransom, Nolan Taylor, Ava Gipson, Gilly Smith, Ridge Folmar
16 – Janessa Steele
15 – Will White, Alice Aupperle
14 – Cade Kesler, Harper Clardy, Luke White
13 – June Cleary, Max Shaw, Jameson Halbert
12 – Addie Cannon, Luke Waldrep
11 – Margaret Daniel, Ben Sallee
10 – Warren Harman, Ava Shaw.
CUMBERLAND:
15 – Kathryn Plemons, James Chatard
14 – Carter Young
12 – Lola Phipps
11 – Kymiri Turner
10 – Rosey Honeycutt, Zach Schurr.
BIG RIDGE:
19 – Logan Carroll, Rowan Garver, Haley Clark, Jade Skiba, Noah Keener, Caroline Coode.
17 – Benson Wright, Nathan Jungels, Kate White, Gracin Smith, Eli Haupert, Blakely Martin, Megan Gill
16 – Quinn Young
15 – Camden Ross
14 – May Kountz, Hudson Ross
13 – Madison Skiba, Millie Watson, Carling Smith, Savannah Smith
12 – Lander Smith
11 – Benji Wamuhiu
10 – Bryson Young, Riley Oneil, Nic Tate.
FORT OGLETHORPE:
19 – Katelyn Holman
18.5 – Addison Rievley
18 – Asher Johnson
17 – Teagan Dunn
16.5 – Allie O’Donnell
16 – Sully Foster
15 – Wade Christopher
13 – Audrey Chatfield, Ellison Cross, Tyler Braly
12.5 – Reese Rawls
12 – Colson Chappelear
11 – Jonas Taylor
10.5 – Yaric Lebed
10 – Rowan Hoffman, Aubree McCarthy, Zeke Rawls.
CALHOUN:
19 – Jonah Ogas, Atticus Stephens, Jocelyn Chance
17 – Morgan Cox, Caylon Trundle, Jacob Bateman, Annie Eickman
15 – Landon Travis
14 – Lindsey Cox, Keegan Carter
13 – Cassidy Gray, Jack Brown
10.5 – Brynn Franklin
10 – Grayson Howell, Miller Peek, William Rickett, Brady Smith.
CLEVELAND:
17 – Elias Eldred
14 – Kevin Curley
13 – Teddy Elliott
12 – Caroline Kate Elrod
10 – Jaxon Moseley.
RED BANK:
19 – Ben Meagher, Noah Blake, Addilyn Mayo, Lilah Blanchard, Allie West, James Atchley
17 – Madelaine Ellis, Natalie Emerson, Luke Blake, Audrey Mayo, Grace Martin, Benton Bilbrey, Arya Clinebell
15 – Caleb Ross, Jem Robertson
14 – Adli Bowlin, Maddie Grass
13 – Dexter Miller, Lilly Robertson
12 – Cohen Lowe, Samuel Shaw, Adalia Ross
11 – Caleb Grass
10 – Liam Wallace, Avalie Bilbrey.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)