FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — Making strong showings, the two Cleveland swim squads combined for 50 finals appearances, with 30 Top 8 finishes at the Chattanooga Area Swim League's championships at the 64th annual Bill Caulkins City Meet Friday and Saturday.
Waterdogs 10-year-old Christian Chai led the locals, earning a trio of championship trophies along with a runner-up finish in individual events, plus was part of a pair of finals relay foursomes.
Also making a big splash was 13-year-old Waterdog Gracelyn Dauphinais, who collected a first, second, third and fourth individual awards, along with a being a part of a Top 8 relay run.
Waterdogs Davis Turner, age 10, and 14-year-old Claire Wendorf both qualified for four individual finals, with the former also on a couple of Top 8 relays and the latter in on one.
"The City Meet has always been a time of year to reflect on the accomplishments of the season and to celebrate the achievements of all the swimmers that attend. This year is no exception," stated veteran Waterdogs head coach Tony Womac.
"Because of this being a holiday week, our numbers were way down for attendance, but that seems to be the same for many teams across the league. The swimmers that we took did a fabulous job!
"We had a lot of new swimmers and a lot of veterans. They all performed well and dropped time," he assessed. "It was amazing to see those kids make their first finals event, regardless if they were six years old or 18 years old.
"To be such a small group, we had a lot of kids sprinkled throughout the finals on both nights. I am very proud of the effort of all the swimmers that attended. We are definitely building a long lasting, strong team for the future."
The Cleveland Aqua Tiger showing was led by Addie Taubert, Elias Eldred and Ben Condo, each of whom qualified for four individual finals, plus were on a pair of Top 8 of relay quintets as well.
"Super proud of the team and all the hard work they put in all summer long," commented CAT head coach Trey Parris. "We had best time after best time during the whole meet, including big swims for finals.
"Very happy with the overall team spirit and energy cheering each other on and supporting each other before and after races.
"We had several kids make it to finals on both days," he continued. "Reed Blackmon, Addie Taubert, Elias Eldred, Ben Condo, Colin Turner and Jaxon Moseley all had multiple finals swims."
After just a 122-point lead at the end of Friday's events, the Ooltewah Tidal Waves tsunamied the competition Saturday for their fourth straight team championship at the Arlene Crye Municipal Pool at the Gilbert-Stephenson Park in Fort Oglethorpe.
The Tidal Waves had a dozen event wins on Saturday to just eight for Stuart Heights and finished in first place with 2,637.5 points to 2,356.5 for the Sharks.
Signal Mountain was a strong third with 2,045.5 points while Country Club and host Catoosa completed the Top 5 with 969 and 965.5 points, respectively.
There were five individuals who maxed out with 100 points over the two days, including Easton Daniel and Makayla McInnes for Ooltewah, plus Signal Mountain’s Lily and Hayden Vicknair. Red Bank’s Noah Blake also hit the century mark.
WATERDOGS
Chai's tremendous championship effort saw him claim the top spot in the Boys 9-10 50-yard butterfly as the only swimmer to break the 37-second mark with a time of 35.85, which was 1.7 seconds ahead of the second place finisher.
He was also one of just two to break the 40-second mark in the 50 breaststroke with a 39.40, plus the lone swimmer to break 1:20 in the 100 individual medley with a 1:19.98 for his third crown.
After a just a third and an eighth in last year's City Meet, Chai's lone runner-up finish this time around came in the 50 freestyle with a 32.28 mark, which was just .86 behind Ridgeside's Charlie Schrader, who also edge him for the age group's top scorer mark by a 94-90 margin.
Chai and Davis Turner were also part of the Waterdogs 9-10 200 freestyle relay's fourth-place finish (2:36.87) and the eighth-place showing in the 200 medley relay (3:13.89).
After a "Perfect 100" in the Girls 11-12 division at last year's City Meet, Dauphinais posted an impressive 61 points in the 13-14 age group this time around.
Swimming against older opponents, she collected 61 team points for the second-best performance by a local competitor, behind Chai.
Dauphinais was one of just two swimmers to break the 1:06 mark in winning the 100 Individual Medley with a 1:05.26.
She was the runner-up in the 50 breaststroke, once again one of just two to break 34 seconds with a 33.67, only .62 behind Ooltewah's Anna Boyd.
Coming just .34 shy in the 50 butterfly, Dauphinais finish third with a 28.01. In a very close 50 freestyle, she came in fourth with a 26.69, just 1.17 off the winning tally.
She and Wendorf were also part of the 200 Medley Relay quintet that finished eighth (2:25.65).
Individually, Wendorf also qualified for the finals in the 50 breaststroke (eighth with a 37.68), 50 freestyle (ninth, 28.49), 50 backstroke (ninth, 32.85) and 100 IM (14th, 1:13.06).
Davis Turner also made four individual finals, coming in fifth in the 50 breaststroke (49.84) as his best showing.
He also placed sixth in the 50 freestyle (34.51), just .09 out of the Top 5, plus was seventh in the 100 IM (1:36.09) and 15th in the 50 backstroke (47.58).
A trio of other Waterdog swimmers qualified for a pair of finals each.
In the Boys 8-under, Liam Hudson took eighth in the 25 freestyle (19.09), plus was 13th in the 25 butterfly (27.37). He was also a part of the eighth-place Waterdog 100 freestyle relay (1:39.31).
Kenz Farner also earned an eighth-place finish in the Girls 15-Over 50 backstroke (30.60) bracket, plus was 16th in the 50 butterfly (30.37).
Swimming in the Girls 11-12 division, Laura Ward finished 10th in the 50 breaststroke (41.80) and 16th in the 100 IM (1:24.14).
AQUA TIGERS
Reed Blackmon posted the highest finish of the event for CAT, taking fifth place in the Girls 8-under 25 butterfly (20.56), plus she was 12th in the 25 freestyle (19.16).
Taubert's strong four-event showing included a sixth place in the Girls 11-12 backstroke (35.94), just .19 out of a Top 5 finish.
The 11-year-old was also seventh in the 50 freestyle (29.76), plus had a pair of 13th place finishes in the 50 butterfly (35.64) and 100 IM (1:21.12).
Eldred also had a couple of Top 8 races, posting a 33.75 in the 50 butterfly for seventh place and took eighth in the 50 freestyle with a 29.03.
Also an 11-year-old, Eldred finished 10th in the 50 breaststroke (43.80) and 11th in the 100 IM (1:25.35).
Swimming in the same division, 12-year-old Condo was eighth in the 50 breaststroke (37.68), ninth in the 50 backstroke (38.15), 12th in the 100 IM (1:26.14) and 13th in the 50 freestyle (31.46).
Eldred and Condo were joined by Colin Turner and another teammate for a pair of strong relay showings, taking fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:14.92) and fifth in the 200 medley (2:43.02).
Turner was also joined the other two as the third Aqua Tiger to place 11th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 31.15.
Jaxon Moseley, age 13, also swam in a pair of individual finals in the Boys 13-14 division, placing 13th in the 50 breaststroke (31.52) and 14th in the 50 butterfly (31.52). He was also part of the 200 medley relay (2:33.54) that finished eighth.
Eight-year-old Mille Kate Smith rounded out the local contingent of finalists with a 16th place finish in the 25 backstroke with a time of 25.54.
CAT also took eighth in the Girls 11-12 200 freestyle and Mixed 11-12 freestyle (2:06.90) relays.