Cumberland's Kari Morris blasts through the water in her senior division breaststroke heat during a dual meet with Big Ridge. Big Ridge was victorious in the opening meet of the 2015 season by a 410.5-315.5 decision.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Monday was a totally new learning experience for a lot of young people in the Chattanooga area as it was the opening day of the Chattanooga Area Swim League's 2015 season.
That first day is always interesting as coaches are trying to get their kids in the best races possible, the kids are doing their best to be where they're supposed to be at the right time and the parents are standing helplessly by trying to offer their best encouragement.
And for a host of youngsters who have never taken part in a competitive swim meet, that in itself creates a whole different set of issues to deal with.
With all of that said and done, things came off pretty smoothly at Big Ridge as the Raiders beat the Cumberland Currents -- 410.5 to 315.5 -- in a White Division meet. The Red Bank Gators also got off to a great start with a 425-331 victory on the road at Fort Oglethorpe in another White Division meet.
But on a day when everyone was tense and nervous for good reasons, the meet at Big Ridge ended before the predicted bad weather arrived.
The winning Raiders had the lead from the opening whistle as the difference was 67-60 following the freestyle races.
The Currents stayed within striking distance and trailed by only 123-108 following the breaststroke event, but the Raiders separated themselves in the relay races where they simply had more individuals and scored a lot of points on that fact alone.
"I'm really proud of all our kids for a great effort in this first meet of the season," said Big Ridge coach Martha Carpenter while the freestyle relays were winding down.
"It's been a good meet, but it can be a little overwhelming for new parents as they really don't know what to expect, but the second half of the meet was better than the first as I saw a lot of great swimming tonight.
"I was pleasantly surprised by how well our newest swimmers did, but we were looking for a baseline where we know what we need to work on. I was in Virginia last summer and away for the first time in five years, but I'm glad to be back and tonight is like a homecoming for me," Carpenter concluded with a smile.
Danielle Rungruang and Julie Thornburg serve as co-head coaches for Cumberland. Rungruang was in Thailand visiting her husband's family for a couple of weeks and not present for Monday's meet, but Thornburg was more than happy with what she witnessed.
"Everyone got out and swam and they all showed up for their races. They went out and swam their best and that's all you can ask for," Thornburg said, admitting that she's been doing this for a long, long time.
"We always want to win, but the final score is not the most important thing. The kids had fun and they had times dropping in virtually every race, but as long as we swim our best, that's the goal I'm looking for.
"About a third of our team has never swam in a competitive meet before and several didn't even want to get in the water at the start, but they loosened up as the meet progressed and they had fun too before it ended. But this has always been a fun way for me to spend my summers and I don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't coaching a bunch of young swimmers," she added.
The Raiders had five individuals who maxed out with 19 points, which includes three first-place finishes in individual races and two points for two winning relay teams. Those five included Claire Calhoun, Mae Mae Powe, Sierra Haberhern, Christopher Tate and Sam Powe.
Aidan Shaw followed with 17 points while Austin Rawlins finished with 15.
Brianne Holsomback and James Schone both had 19 points for Cumberland while Jeremiah Morris followed with 17. Chloe Vernon, Avery Tisdale and Jordan Schone all had 15 points apiece for the Currents.
Cumberland returns to action on Thursday by hosting Red Bank while Big Ridge has the rest of the week off before traveling to Fort Oglethorpe on Monday.
In other meets on Monday, defending City Meet champ Dalton beat Signal Mountain, 427-354, while Fairyland nipped Stuart Heights in the closest meet of the day, 389-376. Cleveland beat Country Club by a 443-312 difference in a Red Division meet while the Ringgold-Calhoun meet never got started and was postponed by lighting.
Ooltewah, the Waterdogs and Ridgeside were all idle on Monday.
CUMBERLAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Brianne Holsomback, James Schone;
17 -- Jeremiah Morris;
15 -- Chloe Vernon, Avery Tisdale, Jordan Schone;
12 -- Kimberly Morris, Lauren Alexander;
11 -- Esther Morris;
10 -- Liliana Hatch, Lydia Mizutani, Jonas Taylor, Le Ronnie Ervin.
BIG RIDGE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Claire Calhoun, Mae Mae Powe, Sierra Haberhern, Christopher Tate, Sam Powe;
17 -- Aidan Shaw;
15 -- Austin Rawlins;
13 -- Hunter Shaw, Anika Erickson, Braxton Haberhern;
12 -- Julie Anna Harris, Caleb Sievers, Hunter Sakson;
11 -- Abigail Carpenter, Ciana Medonis, Liam Runkle;
10 -- Elizabeth Tate, Annika Desai, Ethan Runkle.
RED BANK HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Dallas Woods, Kathrine Schlegel, Mason Meyners;
15 -- Ian Rabon, Allen Watson;
14 -- Amelia Harris, Brianna Rabon, Lyndie Alexander;
13 -- Taylor Hurst;
12 -- Asonia Birdsong, Ivey Woolf;
11 -- Rebekah Fuller, Payton Hayman, Chase Hayman, Eddie Birdsong, Robert Steele;
10 -- Ruth Robey, Sarah Garner, Sarah Sapp, Benjamin Meagher, Justin Camp, Avyukth Villamkandathil.
FORT OGLETHORPE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Joshua Carney, Brayden Carney;
18 -- Lily Marshall;
17 -- Camden Cloud;
16 -- Lance Marshall;
15 -- Chaise Maynor, Reece Gallagher;\
13 -- Brandon Edge, Adelyn Tysz;
12 -- Brody Ervin, Megan Easley;
11 -- Alexis Fogtman;
10 -- Morgyn Easley, Madalyn Cleghorn.
STUART HEIGHTS HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Jon Pat Ransom;
17 -- Max Ransom;
16 -- Noah Dzik;
15 -- Scout Chapin, Gwennie Davis, Chris Butler;
14 -- Luke Waldrep, Cooper Lehman, Grant Cooley, George Von Canon;
13 -- Sam Flack, Will Raines;
10 -- Johnny Von Canon, James Badger, Ava McCoy.
FAIRYLAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS;
19 -- Elli Taliaferro, Anne Dassow;
16 -- Francis Bohner, Ben Bevill, Chase Holsonback;
14 -- Elizabeth Wilson, Jane Eiselstein, Kylie Eiselstein;
13 -- Natalie Lopez-Durel, David Horne, Kristen Myers;
12 -- Anna Ward;
11 -- Ethan Bevill;
10 -- Emrick Garrett, Meredith Bevill, Bennett Brock, Andrew Horne, Molly Ballenger.
COUNTRY CLUB HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
17 -- CeCe Turner, Lee Schemel;
14 -- Lisa Yates, Laura Brakebill, Abby Markey;
13 -- Mattie Reichman, Raif Gork;
11 -- Caroline Scheck;
10 -- Will Turner, Sofia Bell, Aden Cash.
CLEVELAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Peter Falsome, Grayson Officer, Trey Parris, Ben Cooper;
18 -- Lauren Thompson, Grayson Payne;
17 -- Devon Frakes, Anna Thompson, Jason Chung;
16 -- Zach Bianucci;
15 -- John Clemons, Breanna Belcher, Jacob McDaniel.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 -- Stephanie Xian, Susanna LaRochelle;
15 -- KaraLin Hoover;
14 -- Charlie Han, Jewel Gordon;
13 -- Maggie Stovall;
11 -- Madison Daverson, Chase Post;
10 -- Ben Flasch, Nicole Hanson, Cecilia Porter, Jamee Mitchum.
DALTON HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
None reported.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)
Alana Ratchford of the Big Ridge Raiders churns a wake in her 11-12 year old freestyle heat.
photo by Dennis Norwood