Valdese Torpedo claims thriller on road over Granite Falls

The Valdese Torpedo youth swim team visited Tarheel Swim League (TSL) rival Granite Falls in a down-to-the-wire dual meet on Thursday evening, July 9.

The Valdese girls were victorious by a 223-191 margin, leading the guests to the overall team triumph (432-408) despite the Granite boys claiming a narrow eight-point win.

“It was a good meet with some tight races,” Valdese coach David Andersen said. “It’s hard to believe we’re only two weeks away from the end-of-season championship meet.”

Individually, Torpedo swimmers Elym Reasoner (boys 7-8 25 freestyle, 25 butterfly, 50 free) and Ryan Watson (girls 13-14 50 free, 100 backstroke, 100 fly) led the way with three victories apiece.

Both swimmers also won with relay teams at the meet. Reasoner, Truman Davis, John Oakley, and Tabor Parris won the boys 8U 100 free relay, and Watson teamed with Emma Keller, Isabella McDaniel, and Tenley Turner to take the girls 15-18 200 free relay.

Five other Valdese swimmers won twice apiece individually at the meet. They included Oakley (boys 6U 25 free, 8U 25 back), Turner (girls 15-18 50 free, 100 back), Lola Reasoner (girls 9-10 50 breaststroke, 100 free), Braylee Bollinger (girls 13-14 50 breast, 100 free), and Walker Bowman (boys 15-18 50 free, 100 free).

Like Watson and Elym Reasoner, Bowman was also part of four event wins. In addition to his two individually, Bowman teamed with Noah Harmon, Jacob Harmon, and Jaron Davis to claim the boys 15-18 200 free relay and with Harmon, Harmon, and Noah Smith in the boys 15-18 200 medley win.

Valdese swimmers who once apiece individually included: Serenity Hollifield (girls 7-8 50 free), Leila Bowman (girls 9-10 100 individual medley), Sarah Oakley (girls 9-10 50 back), Paisleigh Kirkland (girls 9-10 50 fly), Ezra Platt (boys 9-10 50 breast), Dawson Kirkland (boys 11-12 100 free), Jethro Platt (boys 11-12 50 breast), Mason Boice (boys 13-14 50 free), Isabella McDaniel (girls 15-18 100 free), and Emma Keller (girls overall 200 free).

Among the Torpedo’s six other relay wins, the quartet of Boice, William Bowman, Gabriel Platt, and Andrew Harmon led the way, claiming first in both the boys 13-14 200 free and medley relays.

Valdese also got relay wins from the girls 9-10 200 free squad of Audrey Henderson, Paisleigh Kirkland, Leila Bowman, and Adeline Parris; the girls 9-10 200 medley unit of Kirkland, Parris, Sarah Oakley, and Lola Reasoner; the girls 11-12 200 medley squad of Leila Bowman, Aria Ledford, Lyra Davis, and Lydia Falls; and the boys 11-12 200 free grouping of Calvin Huss, Jethro Platt, Boston Bollinger, and Dawson Kirkland.

Valdese was back in the pool on July 11 for a TSL friendly sprint/distance meet hosted by Forest City.

“We only had a handful go,” Andersen said, “and they did well, but it really wasn’t about points or places. Just a good time.”

Valdese this morning (July 18) hosts its final meet of the summer, followed by the TSL championship meet back in Granite Falls (July 24-25). Valdese in 2025 placed fourth on the boys side, while the girls finished sixth in the TSL.

Morganton girls closing the gap

The Morganton Marlins won a four-team host Western Carolina Swimming Association (WCSA) meet on Tuesday evening at the Collett Street Recreation Center outdoor pool.

The Marlin boys topped Catawba Valley for a third consecutive meet this summer, scoring 353 points to easily outdistance the neighboring county runners up (203), while Watauga (29) was third and Rutherford County (21) was fourth.

On the girls side, Morganton (279.5) again fell to Catawba Valley (286.5) but continued the summer-long trend of closing the point gap on their rivals. The Rutherford girls (82) were third, with Watauga (15) fourth.

When it was all tallied, Morganton Swim Club won the meet by a 143-point margin.

“We swam well with almost all of our team there, which helped a lot in points,” said Marlins coach Dan St. Louis. “But we still have a lot of work to do to get ready for our conference meet.”

Three Morganton swimmers won three individual events each, highlighted by Damaris Lopez-Rodriguez and Lily Donlavage keying a team-best five victories each in the pool.

Lopez-Rodriguez claimed the girls 10U 50 free, 50 back, and 50 fly, teamed with Jojo Jose, Katelyn Stout, and Claire St. Louis for a win in the 10U girls 200 free relay, and swam alongside Donlavage, Jose, and St. Louis, on the winning 10U girls 200 medley relay.

Donlavage (girls 8U 50 free, 50 breast, 50 fly) also nabbed three individual wins and swam with Anzleigh St. Louis, Ellisyn Lawton, and Lily Margo on the winning girls 8U 200 free relay squad.

Nathan Chiota (boys 14U 100 free, 100 back, 100 fly) also won three times for MSC.

Joel Gomez-Andres (boys 11-12 50 back, 50 fly) collected two wins, and MSC’s Cole Bradshaw (boys 8U 50 free), Abbott Hoover (boys 8U 50 back), Yuvan Bajracharya (boys 8U 50 fly), Jayden Gomez-Andres (boys 10U 50 fly), Lumina Miguel (girls 14U 200 IM), Lucy Lynam (girls 15O 100 free), Sean Causby (boys 15O 100 back), and Nick Chiota (boys 15O 100 fly) won one individual event each.

Morganton’s Abbott Hoover, Yuvan Bajracharya, Elijah Rowe, and Cole Bradshaw swept the boys 8U 200 free and 200 medley relays, and Alyssa Chiota, Annie Taggart, Emerie Rowe, and Desiree Gonzalez-Tomas did the same in the girls 11-12 age division.

Morganton also swept the relays in the boys 10U and 15O age groups with Graham Olson, Brody Hinshaw, Tony Throneburg, and Jayden Gomez-Andres claiming the 10U 200 free and Olson, Hinshaw, Gomez-Andres, and Elam Lawton winning the 200 medley.

Sean Causby, Liam Bradshaw, Jeffery Gomez-Andres, and Nick Chiota won the 15O 200 free relay, and Rex Jones joined Causby, Bradshaw, and Chiota on the first-place 200 medley relay.

Morganton also got a win in the boys 11-12 200 free relay via Phakawant Long Mitta, Parker Olsen, Hayden Stout, and Joel Gomez-Andres.

This week’s meet was the final one of the regular season for the Marlins, who next host the WCSA championship meet on July 25. Both the Morganton boys and girls placed second a year ago after the boys had won three straight WCSA titles from 2022-24.