Morganton Marlins swimmer Nathan Chiota swims the breaststroke portion of a boys 200 medley event in this June 2025 file photo. Chiota was runner-up in three events on July 25 as the Marlins finished second at their host league title meet.
Valdese Torpedo swimmer Ryan Watson participates in a girls butterfly event at the two-day Tarheel Swim League championship meet in Granite Falls on July 24. The 13-year-olds and up swam on day one of the event, followed by the younger ages on day two.
Morganton Marlins swimmer Nathan Chiota swims the breaststroke portion of a boys 200 medley event in this June 2025 file photo. Chiota was runner-up in three events on July 25 as the Marlins finished second at their host league title meet.
The Morganton Marlins youth swimming team’s boys recaptured the Western Carolina Swimming Association title for a fourth time in five seasons, though the Marlins settled for overall runner-up honors for a third consecutive summer as the local club hosted the WCSA championship meet on July 25 at the Collett Street Recreation Center outdoor pool.
Thanks to a 150-point margin of victory in girls events, Catawba Valley (628 points) won the four-team league title ahead of Morganton (546), Rutherford County (148), and Watauga (106) despite the Morganton boys (353) outscoring Catawba Valley by 68 points.
“The boys team winning could not overcome the (Catawba Valley) girls scores. They are a great team,” Marlins coach Dan St. Louis said. “This was a great summer as we had 66 swimmers compete with 24 new swimmers that were added. This is the most new swimmers to join in a long time.
“The swim lessons at the Morganton Recreation Center really made a difference. Many of our older swimmers are involved as swim instructors, which is a big help as well. Everyone worked really hard this summer, and there was a ton of improvement. Can’t wait to see how they will improve this fall.”
Individually, the Marlins were led by triple winner Lily Donlavage (girls 8U 50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 50 butterfly), who also teamed with Anzleigh St. Louis, Ellisyn Lawton, and Rosie Lowther on the winning girls 8U 200 free relay squad.
Morganton also got two individual wins apiece from four swimmers. They included: Cole Bradshaw (boys 8U 50 free, 50 fly), Ariel Dubrawsky (girls 9-10 50 free, 50 breast), Joel Gomez-Andres (boys 11-12 200 individual medley, 50 backstroke), and Nick Chiota (boys 15O 200 IM, 100 free.
Bradshaw, Dubrawsky, and Chiota also swam on two winning relays. Bradshaw teamed with Abbott Hoover, Yuvan Bajracharya, and Elijah Rowe for the boys 8U 200 free and swimming alongside Bajracharya, Rowe, and Wells Taggart in the 200 medley.
Dubrawsky plus Damaris Lopez-Rodriguez, Jojo Jose, and Claire St. Louis swept the girls 10U 200 free and medley relays, and Chiota swam with Sean Causby, Rex Jones, and Jeffrey Gomez-Andres in the boys 15O 200 free and with Causby, Jeffrey Gomez-Andres, and Henry Carlson in the 200 medley win.
The Morganton 10U boys also went 2 for 2 in relays as Asher Nassar, Tony Throneburg, Brody Hinshaw, and Jayden Gomez-Andres won the 200 free before Throneburg, Gomez-Andres, Hoover, and Avery Patton won the 200 medley event.
Five other Marlins swimmers won once each: Hoover (boys 8U 50 back), Bajracharya (boys 8U 50 breast), Lopez-Rodriguez (girls 9-10 50 fly), Lumina Miguel (girls 13-14 200 IM), and Causby (boys 15O 100 back).
Nathan Chiota (boys 13-14 100 free, 100 back, 100 fly) was runner-up in a team-high three individual events, and the other second-place Morganton swimmers included Hoover (boys 8U 50 free), Rowe (boys 8U 50 fly), Lily Margo (girls 8U 50 back), Dubrawsky (girls 9-10 50 back), Jayden Gomez-Andres (boys 9-10 50 fly), Joel Gomez-Andres (boys 11-12 50 fly), Lucy Lynam (girls 15O 100 free), Causby (boys 15O 100 breast), and Jeffrey Gomez-Andres (boys 15O 100 back).
Valdese Torpedo swimmer Ryan Watson participates in a girls butterfly event at the two-day Tarheel Swim League championship meet in Granite Falls on July 24. The 13-year-olds and up swam on day one of the event, followed by the younger ages on day two.
KELLY HARMON PHOTOGRAPHY / FOR THE PAPER
Valdese places 4th in TSL title meet
The Valdese Torpedo capped the summer at the two-day, eight-team Tarheel Swim League championship meet on July 24 and 25 at the Granite Falls pool, finishing fourth overall as a team behind a fourth-place effort from the girls team and sixth-place showing from the boys.
League champion Lenoir (1,741 points) won both the boys and girls portions, with Black Mountain (1,410) finishing second and Forest City (1,235) in third ahead of Valdese (1,073.5).
“It was a good day. Almost every one of our swimmers scored points, and those that didn’t showed improvement in at least one event,” Valdese Torpedo coach David Andersen said. “With 48 total swimmers and a new scoring metric adopted by the league, it made depth more important than ever. When some teams had 90 swimmers, we knew we just were not going to be in contention for a team title. All that being said, the teams ahead of us all did a great job, and Lenoir earned that title with some great swims by some very promising swimmers.
“I’m very pleased with how our kids performed and treated their competitors. They displayed great sportsmanship and support for all the swimmers, not just from our team. They helped each other out and cheered each other on. It was a fun season that I feel very positive about.”
Eight Torpedo swimmers claimed one individual event each. They were: Charlotte Gouge (girls 6U 25 free), Truman Davis (boys 6U 25 free), Elym Reasoner (boys 7-8 25 back), Lauryn Turner (girls 9-10 50 breast), John-Mark Gagliardo (boys 9-10 100 free), Desiree Gonzalez (girls 11-12 50 fly), Ryan Watson (girls 13-14 50 free), and Saylor Watson (girls 15-18 100 back).
Of those, Gonzalez and Saylor Watson totaled a team-best four wins on the day as they both swam on a pair of winning relays. Gonzalez teamed with Abby Gouge, Aria Ledford, and Lydia Falls for the girls 11-12 200 free relay and with Gouge, Falls, and Lyra Davis in the 200 medley, while Watson’s teammates on both girls 15-18 relay wins were Tenley Turner, Isabella McDaniel, Lilah Johnson.
The Valdese boys 8U 100 free relay of Graham Gravel, Truman Davis, Tabor Parris, and Elym Reasoner also won, while the quartet of Gagliardo, Ezra Platt, Luke Gravel, and Nash Greene swept the boys 9-10 200 free and medley relays.
Watson also joined Turner, McDaniel, and Johnson for a second-place mark in the girls 15-18 200 free relay, and the boys 11-12 200 medley relay of Boston Bollinger, Knox Anthony, Andrew Harmon, and Jethro Platt also placed second.
The Torpedo’s individual runners up included Gagliardo (boys 9-10 50 free), Abby Gouge (girls 11-12 50 free), Luke Gravel (boys 9-10 100 IM), Ryan Watson (girls 13-14 100 back), Tenley Turner (girls 15-18 100 free), and Saylor Watson (girls 15-18 100 fly).
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