Scottsboro Annihilates Aqua Cats at Guntersville

Scottsboro’s Wet ‘n’ Wildcats showed up in force Tuesday night at Guntersville, as 55 SSA swimmers overwhelmed the host squad 454-202 in Scottsboro’s first away victory against the Aqua Cats in many years.

          Seven Scottsboro swimmers tied for team-high with 15 points, with Amelia Adkins, Kelsey Kokes, Mary Margaret Green, Kristin Copeland, Kyle Vosen, Drew Butler and Michael Rossmeier each sweeping three events.

          Scottsboro swimmers claimed victory in 43 of 60 individual races and 15 of 20 relay contests with a dominant performance across all age groups.

          Kyle Vosen swept the 8-Under Boys IM, Short Free and Fly.  Logan Anderson (11 pts.) placed first in the Breast, and Curtis Cooper added 7 points.  Davis Bostrom, in his first meet, combined with Vosen, Cooper and Anderson to win the Freestyle Relay.

          Kristin Copeland earned a hat trick in the Breast, Back and Long Free for the 8-Under Girls.  Maryann Jones (11 pts.) took first in the IM, and Kyla Reichle (8 pts.) finished first in the Short Free and snared a State Qualifying time in the Long Free.  Savannah Latham added 3 points.  The 8-Under Girls Medley and Freestyle Relay teams swam to easy wins.  Wimberly Haston, Savannah Latham and Caroline Estes nearly cracked the scoring column, and Lilly Green, Victoria Keller, Grace Butler, Paige Megehee, Megan Vosen and Shelby Latham continued to improve.

          Drew Butler swept the Short Free, Long Free and Breast to pace the 9-10 Boys.  Crossan Cooper (11 pts.) added a victory in the Back, and Cole Cooper (9 pts.) took first in the Fly.  Patrick Duncan chipped in 4 points and helped cement the winning Medley and Freestyle Relay teams.  Dalton Parks and Jacob Megehee both came close to scoring as well.

          The 9-10 Girls had their usual strong showing, led by Mary Margaret Green’s sweep of the IM, Short Free and Fly.  Maggie Pierce (13 pts.) won the Back and Long Free, and Alexis Heaton took first in the Breast on her way to 11 points.  Jessica Duncan (6 pts.) and Shonna Browder (3 pts.) both made State Qualifying Times, and Anna Richard, Elizabeth Rains and Amanda Albin added personal bests.  The Medley and Freestyle relay teams of Green, Heaton, Pierce and Browder scored easy victories.

          The short-handed 11-12 Boys were led by Zach Reichle’s 11 points, which included a first place effort in the Breast.  John Paul Stolz added 7 points, and Parker Kerce had a string of personal best times.

          The 11-12 Girls had a very strong showing, led by Amelia Adkins’ sweep of the Short Free, Long Free and Breast.  Emily Albin (11 pts.) was impressive in winning the IM and Back, and Karah Kirkland (9 pts.) added a victory in the Fly.  Samantha Hastings chipped in a point with a 3^rd place effort in the Breast, and both Meghan Travis and Rainy Kennemore nearly cracked to scoring column.  Albin, Adkins, Kirkland and Travis combined to win the Medley and Freestyle Relays.

          Michael Rossmeier’s victories in the IM, Short Free and Breast led the 13-14 Boys with 15 points.  Jeremiah Keller (13 pts.) took first in the Fly and Long Free, and Phillip Klepper’s trio of 2^nd place finishes earned another 9 points.  Zach Reichle swam up to complete the winning Medley and Freestyle Relay teams.

          The Wildcats’ 13-14 Girls tied for team-high with 62 points, paced by Kelsey Kokes’ sweep of the IM, Breast and Long Free.  MaKalea Kirkland (13 pts.) placed first in the Short Free and Fly, and Shannon Bradbury (8 pts) won the Back.  Christina Richard (9 pts.) and Hailey Altonji (3 pts.) rounded out the scoring.  The Relay squads of Bradbury, Altonji, Kirkland and Kokes coasted to victories.  Ashley Baker added a personal best time.

          The 15-18 Boys were led by Matt Brewer’s win in the Breast.  In addition to Brewer’s 8 points, the group picked up scoring from Rylee Powell (3), Benton Reed (2) and Carlos Serrano (1) as they went up against the strongest part of Guntersville’s team.

          The 15-18 Girls had a trio of excellent performances.  Allison Bivens led the group with 13 points, including victories in the Breast and Short Free.  Ashley Carter (11 pts.) took first in the Back and Fly, and Haley Abril (10 pts.) added wins in the IM and Long Free.  Christina Richard swam up to complete the winning Medley and Freestyle Relay squads.

          Head Coach Diane Richard was enthusiastic about her team’s performance.  “That’s the best we’ve done on the road in many years.  We had great support from our swimmers and their parents,” said Richard.  She also observed technical improvements from many swimmers that she attributed to excellent coaching from assistant coaches Marcos Abril and Steve Hamlet.  “Our kids really have some good momentum going, but we’re going to face a stiff test Thursday against Cullman,” Richard added.