Morganton Marlins settle for 2nd place at WCSA championships
Members of the Morganton Swim Club paused for a photo at the team’s final practice of the 2025 summer season on July 31 at the Collett Street Recreation Center outdoor pool. Youth swimmers displayed their pirate gear, the theme for this year’s pre-championship meet parade, to honor the memory of Rutherford County Swim Team coach Michael H. Kernodle, who passed away in May.
The host Morganton Marlins youth swim team had to settle for second place at the Western Carolina Swimming Association championship meet held at the Collett Street Recreation Center outdoor pool on Aug. 2.
Catawba Valley won the girls portion of the meet by 125 points and knocked off the three-time defending WCSA champion Morganton boys by 148 points, racking up 723.5 points altogether to finish ahead of Morganton (332), third-place Watauga (237.5), and fourth-place Rutherford County (89).
“Although (we had) a light rain all day, the swimmers, parents, and officials made the meet run well and on time,” said longtime Morganton Swim Club coach Dan St. Louis. “It turned out to be a great day. We had 25 out of 37 swimmers swim personal bests, which was the result of a lot of hard work this summer. We also had 15 swimmers who were new and had never swam competitively until this summer, which we were very proud of.
“We look forward to working with them this fall as they made a ton of improvement.”
Four different Morganton boys – Yuvan Bajracharya, Joel Gomez-Andres, Nicholas Chiota, and Sean Causby – were part of two event victories at the meet.
Gomez-Andres and Bajracharya teamed with Phakawant Long Mitta and Paxton Schafer to win the 12-and-under 200 medley relay (4:25.35), and Bajracharya swam alongside Graham Olson, Wade Gantt, and Ben Bunner on the winning 8U boys 200 freestyle relay (5:20.28). Gomez-Andres also won the 11-12 200 individual medley (3:34.34).
Chiota and Causby were joined by Nate Carswell and Rex Jones on the winning boys overall 200 medley relay squad (2:18.15), and individually, Chiota claimed the 15-and-over 100 free (1:01.92) and Causby claimed the 15O 100 backstroke (1:12.09).
Gomez-Andres also placed second in both the 11-12 50 free and 50 butterfly, and Chiota was runner-up in the 15O 200 IM and 100 fly, while Causby was runner-up in the 15O 100 breaststroke. Jayden Gomez-Andres (boys 9-10 50 free, 50 fly) also placed second in two individual events.
Other MSC second-place finishers were Lumina Miguel (girls 11-12 200 IM), Alyssa Chiota (girls 11-12 50 back), and Nate Carswell (boys 15O 100 back), while the girls 10U and 12U and boys 10U, 12U, and 14U 200 free relays as well as the girls 10U and 12U and boys 14U 200 medley relays also finished in second place.
Paul Schenkel can be reached at 828-445-8595 or paul@thepaper.media.
