12-year old Aidan Sims led Ooltewah to an all-important win over Fairyland Tuesday evening high atop Lookout Mountain. Sims chipped in 19 points as the Tidal Wave swamped the Flash, 420.5 to 383.5. The win allows Ooltewah to remain in the top-rated Blue Division next season while Fairyland drops to the Red Division.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The Fairyland Flash may not have the best team in the Chattanooga Area Swim League this summer, but there’s no doubt they have the most scenic and picturesque view of any team in the Tennessee Valley.
The Flash swam their final dual meet of the season on Tuesday night, a makeup meet with the Ooltewah Tidal Waves.
Both teams entered the meet with one win apiece, meaning that the winner would earn the right to stay in the Blue division next summer while the loser would drop to the Red.
Those youngsters wearing Ooltewah purple earned that honor with a solid 37-point win, the final margin being 420.5 to 383.5.
The Tidal Wave had prevailed by 37 points in their earlier meet last Wednesday, so Tuesday’s results weren’t all that surprising.
Ooltewah is now 2-5 with one road meet left at Signal Mountain on Monday while Fairyland ends its regular season at 1-7 since they have a bye on Monday.
“I’m excited as this is a nice win for us,” said Ooltewah coach Todd Jones while the freestyle relays were being contested.
“We had at least three or four of our best swimmers not here, so it was iffy at times, but we had a bunch of kids step up and fill the gaps tonight. We’re faster than we were at the start of the season and the goal is to keep improving, so that’s all you can ask.
“It’s all positive stuff for our kids today. They knew they had to win this meet to stay in the top division, so there were a lot of positive vibes coming up here as they knew it mattered. We always stress that it’s all about what we do in practice as the score will take care of itself, but we won today and that’s something good to celebrate,” he added.
Kendall Jacobs is in her sixth year as the Fairyland head coach. She’s been on both ends of the scale as both a swimmer and a coach, so she knows how important a meet like this is. She had a good idea coming in what the results might be.
“We lost a lot of close races, but we also won a few. It can be hard to get pumped up when you’re in the middle of a losing streak, but the kids have done a great job tonight,” she expressed toward the end of the meet.
“We’re in a transition year, but it’s amazing just how far they’ve come this summer. I’ve really enjoyed watching the newer kids and how well they’ve done, but we’re still looking forward to the city meet. Even though we didn’t win, I’m still really happy with how they did,” she added.
Aidan Sims was the only Ooltewah swimmer to max out with 19 points while Benjamin Bevill, Frances Bohner and Kristen Myers all did the same for Fairyland.
Elijah Martin, Jacob Kiemeyer, Emma Scruggs and Jillian Cantrell also had 18 points for the Tidal Waves while Ellie Taliaferro had the same number for the Flash.
The difference may have been the total number of high-point scorers as Ooltewah had 23 individuals with 10 or more points while Fairyland only had 17.
Other winners on Tuesday included Big Ridge, Ringgold and Red Bank.
Big Ridge locked up the White division with a 431.5-329.5 win at Fort Oglethorpe while Ringgold moved into second place in the Red division with an impressive 427-369 win at Country Club.
Red Bank posted a 415.5-350.5 win over Ridgeside at Red Bank in a meet postponed from Monday because of pump malfunctions in the Dolphins. These same two teams will swim again at Red Bank on Thursday in a makeup from Monday, June 8.
OOLTEWAH HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Aidan Sims
18 – Elijah Martin, Jacob Kiemeyer, Jillian Cantrell, Emma Scruggs
17 – Joby Nash
16 – Madelyn Weathers
15 – Jaxon Thurman, Faith Isbell
14 – Leah Boyd
13 – Hardy Jones, Lucas Burks, Lilian Parr, Andrew Tallent
12 – Ryan Crumpler
11 – Brandon Burchell, Merrin Allen, Amber Isbell, Cameron Martin
10.5 – Jackson Marshall
10 – Garet Gipson, Haley Grider, Maggie Howell.
FAIRYLAND HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Benjamin Bevill, Frances Bohner, Kristen Myers
18 – Ellie Taliaferro
15 – Ethan Bevill
14 – David Horne
13 – Bryan Garrett
12 – Kennedy Ball, Anna Ward
11.5 – Jack Tilden
11 – Kylie Eiselstein
10 – Anne Dassow, Ellison Ball, Meredith Bevill, Morton Wingfield, Theodore Wingfield, Gabriel McBryar.
BIG RIDGE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Abigail Austin, Mae Mae Powe
17 – Sam Powe
16 – Robert Alford
15 – Claire Calhoun, Liam Runkle, Evan Simpson
14 – Ciana Medonis, Elizabeth Allen
13 – Reagan Bullington, Christopher Tate
12 – Elizabeth Tate, Anna Thomson, Benjamin Jungels, Hunter Shaw, Austin Rawlins
11 – Abigail Carpenter
10 – Braxton Haberhern, Robert Bullington, Ethan Runkle, Adelyn Simpson, Slate Smith.
FORT OGLETHORPE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Timothy DeBord, Reece Gallagher
17 – Brandon Edge, Joshua Carney, Camden Cloud
15 – Brayden Carney, Julie Kim, Adelyn Tysz
14 – Megan Easley
12.5 – Morgyn Easley
11 – Hailey Burgess
10 – Nicholas D’Angelo, Mariana Easley, Lance Marshall, Lily Marshall.
RINGGOLD HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Jonathan Lancaster, Regan Wingrove
17 – Easton O’Donnell, John Courtney
16 – Jayden Jones
15 – Rylee O’Donnell, Saulye Nichols
14 – Natalia Celis, Seth Roberson
13 – Emma Pulliam
12 – Kale Davis, Gabriel Johnson, Hayden Scheeler
11 – Isabella Sweat, Alexandra Van Alstine, Cassandra Rhinehart, Emma Bradford
10 – Cooper Chappelear, Anna Parker, Evan Moeller, Helen Webb.
COUNTRY CLUB HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Lisa Yates
17 – Danyal Gork, Margaret Anne Hudson, Cecelia Turner
16 – Robert Buntin
15 – Erik Buntin, William Turner
14 – Eligio Urani
13 – Kevin Martinez
12 – Emma-Kate White, Caroline Schenck
11 – Abigail Markey
10 – Caroline Schemel.
RED BANK HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
19 – Mason Meyners, Brianna Rabon, Kathrine Schlegel, Luke Massey, Dallas Woods
17 – Ivey Woolf, Amelia Harris
16 – Rebekah Fuller
14 – Eva Irwin, Allen Watson
13 – Benjamin Meagher, Conner Boerschig
12 – McCartney LeMay, Tabitha Wilson, Robert Steele
11 – Eddie Birdsong
10 – Asonia Birdsong, Austin Camp, Payton Hayman.
RIDGESIDE HIGH-POINT SCORERS:
18 – Finnegan Fitzsimmons, Aidan Parks
17 – Rowan Fitzsimmons
14 – Nicolas Robinson
13 – Madison Tumblin, Noah Akins, Max Milam
11 – Madeline Bond
10 – Joseph Danks, Beccan Fitzsimmons, Evan Whaley, Burke Murphy, Mercer Murphy, Adelaide Bond.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Jillian Cantrell glides to a first place finish for the Tidal Wave in the 13-14 50-yard breaststroke. The 14-year old Cantrell contributed 18 points to Ooltewah's winning total.
photo by Dennis Norwood