Dawgs Crank Up the Heat at Multi-Dual Swim Meet

By Mike Stirling

“Wall-to-wall” swimmers best describes the scene at the Muskingum Recreation Center (MRC) last Friday night as the Scotties of Tri-Valley hosted five neighboring high schools in an exciting multi-dual swim meet with each of the schools pitting skills against each of the other squads on a one-on-one basis.

When the splashing stopped, the Dawgs had out-pointed all of their competition with the exception of the swimmers from Dover High School.  Contests were close but the team from Dresden was able to post superior team scores against Canal Winchester, Mount Vernon, Granville and Licking Valley as they fine-tuned their swim skills.

Leading the scorers for the Scottie girls were standouts Caroline Holmes who recorded firsts in both the girls 100 Butterfly as well as the girls 100 Backstroke against all five schools while teammate Larissa Lynch racked up first place finishes in the girls 50 Free against Licking Valley and firsts in the 100 Free as she swam against Licking Valley and Mount Vernon.  Lynch added seven other second-place finishes to go with her firsts as she competed in two events against the five schools. 

In other exciting events, Clare Waggle won the 500 Free against Granville, Licking Valley and Mount Vernon and added three seconds and three thirds to add to the Dawgs scoring.  To complete the first place first-place Tri-Valley, Freshman Seryna Mann notched first in the 200 Individual Medley against Licking Valley and Mount Vernon and Junior Starley Jacobs won the 100 Breaststroke against Licking Valley.

Girls relay teams also did well.  To begin the relay scoring, Larissa Lynch, Claire Waggle, Caroline Holmes and Marissa Sees set the tone by finishing ahead of Canal Winchester, Granville and Licking Valley in the 200 Medley Relay while teammates Mariah Clark, Seryna Mann, Marissa Sees and Larissa Lynch defeated Licking Valley in the 200 Free Relay.

Waggle, Clark, Mann and Holmes put together good performances to defeat Licking Valley and Canal Winchester in the 400 Free Relay.  Added to the team effort were many notable swims by all Tri-Valley girls to capture numerous seconds and thirds and add to the success of the evening.

Not to be outdone, the boys squad from Tri-Valley also turned in some noteworthy performances.  A total of 27 firsts were recorded by the Scottie boys followed by 44 seconds and 35 thirds against the five schools who provided the competition.

From the outset, the Scotties let the other teams know that they were there.  Seniors Keegan Bumpus, Chad Bell, Eric Allen and Ben Jacoby were the entry for the boys in the 200 Medley Relay. Against all competition they recorded 2 firsts and 3 seconds then returned to cap the meet in the 400 Free Relay by recording 3 firsts and 2 seconds.

Scottie swimmers Mikal Blackstone, Cyrus Dittmar, Brady Jacobs-Bell and Will Kline teamed to record 3 firsts and 2 seconds in the boys 200 Free Relay.  Also contributing for the Dawgs was the team of Blaine Cox, Tracy Beale, Sean Lacy and Jacob Merry as they recorded 2 seconds and 1 third in the 200 Free Relay.

In individual events, the Scottie seniors made their presence known.  Keegan Bumpus finished first against three of his opponents, second against one and one against the other in the 200 Free.  He was followed by Freshman Nathan Sauerbrey and Sophomore Brady Jacobs-Bell.

Senior Chad Bell was a force in the 200 Individual Medley as he recorded three firsts and three seconds.  Teammates Cyrus Dittmar and Sean Lacy picked up points for seconds and thirds as they added to the Tri-Valley point totals.

Eric Allen was impressive in both the 50 Free as well as the 100 Free where he added six firsts, three seconds and one third place finish in the two events.  Ben Jacoby was close behind with six seconds as well as three thirds.  Fellow Scotties Mikal Blackstone and Cyrus Dittmar finished the scoring in these events for Tri-Valley.

Senior Keegan Bumpus dominated the boys 100 Butterfly with impressive swims followed by teammates Jacob Merry and Will Kline.  Several younger swimmers took over in the 500 Free.  Nathan Sauerbrey swam well followed by Brady Jacobs-Bell and Mason McDaniel.  

Tri-Valley boys McDaniel, Blackstone and Blaine Cox made their presence felt in the 100 Backstroke where they recorded eight places against the five-school competition.  As a cap to the boys’ each of events, Chad Bell was back on the point totals podium where he recorded three firsts and two swims followed in the 100 Breaststroke event.  Fellow Seniors Sean Lacy and Will Kline also swam in 100 Breast.

As indicated, there was a lot going on in a very big meet and the Dresden swimmers had their hands full.  As a team, they continue to improve and look forward to the upcoming Viking Classic scheduled for New Albany High School on Saturday, January 5 at 9:35 am.

Team photo by Mary Kay Waggle.