Hidden Valley sends largest delegation in years to Lynchburg for Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association season-ending event
The Stonegate Swim Club saw their run of Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association championships come to an end last weekend at the Liberty University Natatorium in Lynchburg. Olympic Park claimed the RVAA crown with the Gators coming in second and the Hidden Valley Country Club making their best showing in years with an expanding team.
“I knew it would be tough this year, Olympic Park had more swimmers in the meet than we did,” said Stonegate coach Christen King. “We didn’t win this year, but we had a great meet. Our swimmers did a great job.”
Stonegate got 14 first gold swims from the Bauman family alone. Dad Andy Bauman won four first golds in the 40-49 group, sons Logan and Austin combined to win nine events and even young Charlotte won a first gold in the six-and-under 25 meter butterfly.
Also in the six-and-under class, for boys, Pryor Williams posted a third gold in the 25 free and Jackson Newton took a first silver in the 25 free.
In the 7-8 boys Austin Bauman won first gold in 25 free, 100 IM, 25 butterfly and 50 free to go with a third gold in the 25 back. Elijah Crush had a first gold in the 25 breast, a second gold in the 25 back and third golds in the 25 free and 50 free.
In the 7-8 girls Catherine Cromer had three of six first golds among the swimming Cromer family. She took first gold in the 25 back, 100 IM and 50 free and third golds in the 25 free and 25 fly. Also in the 7-8 girls, Riley Beach swam to a fourth silver in the 50 free and Charlotte Dickson had a third bronze in the 25 back.
In the 9-10 boys division Logan Bauman took first gold in the 50 free, 100 IM, 50 fly, 100 free and 50 breast. Logan Cromer had a first gold in the 50 back as Stonegate dominated the division, and Cromer also swam to a second gold in the 50 fly and a third in the 100 free. Cayden Beach had a second bronze in the 50 breast.
Highlights for the 9-10 girls were a third gold for Saige Supanich in the 50 free, a second silver in that event for Hattie Snead and a first bronze in the 100 IM for Alder Warner.
In the 11-12 boys division Remington Huffman had a big day with first golds in the 100 IM and 50 breast. He also posted a second gold in the 50 fly and third golds in the 50 and 100 freestyles events. Chase Borloz took first bronze in the 50 free and Levi Howard brought home a third bronze in the 100 free.
In the 11-12 division Izzy Supanich won four individual gold medals, taking first in the 50 breast and seconds in the 50 back, 50 free and 100 free. Cameron Yeakel was fifth gold in the 50 free.
In the girls 13-14 division Kenless Mehmet swam to a second silver in the 50 free.
Riley Handy and Jack Lawrence of the Gators had a big weekend in the boys’ 15-16 class. Handy took first gold in the 50 back and 50 breast, second gold in the 50 free and 100 IM and third gold in the 50 fly. Lawrence won first golds in the 100 IM, 50 fly and 100 free, a second gold in the 50 back and a third in the 50 free. Aubrey Snead swam to fourth gold in the girls’ 15-16 50 meter breast.
Starke Griffith took a first gold for the Gators in the men’s 17-18 50 backstroke, and Stonegate had a strong delegation of adult swimmers as well. Stonegate dominated the 40-49 men’s division as Andy Bauman took first gold in the 50 back, 50 free, 100 IM and 50 fly. Steve Cromer won first gold in the 50 free, second gold in the 100 IM and 50 breast and third gold in the 50 fly. David Cooper took second gold in the 50 back and fourth in the 50 breast.
Chris Tucker of the Gators moved up to the 70-79 class this year and won five first golds. He outswam the competition in the 50 free, 100 IM, 50 fly, 50 breast and 100 free. Efren Ontiveros, swimming in the men’s 80-and-over class at 84 years old, won first gold in the 50 breast, 50 back and 100 free.
Stonegate also won a bunch of points in the relay events. In the 8U division the mixed team of Elijah Crush, Catherine Cromer, Josephine O’Donnell and Austin Bauman won the 100 free relay as well as the 100 Medley. In the 9-12 mixed Remington Huffman, Saige Supanich, Logan Bauman and Izzy Supanich won the 200 free and the 200 Medley team of Logan Cromer, Huffman, Izzy Supanich and Bauman also took first.
Stonegate finished with 16,972 points to 21,481.5 for victorious Olympic Park. Hunting Hills was third with 13,116, our Lady of Nazareth was fourth and Castle Rock took fifth among 13 teams competing.
The Hidden Valley Country Club was 11th with 4,252 points, with Tracy Smith winning first gold in both the 50 fly and 50 breast in the women’s 50-59 division. That’s a big improvement over what HVCC posted in recent years.
“In two seasons we’ve come from eight swimmers to about 60,” said coach Caitlin Cheatham. “I think overall we had outstanding swimmers, many who had never swam a stroke before in their life, and were at City-County placing. Other swimmers have been devoted for two or three seasons when we had only eight members. They are the real heroes.”
Hidden Valley has scheduled a fundraiser movie night for this Saturday, August 1, at the pool. All ticket proceeds go toward the swim team.
“It’s a community effort,” said Cheatham. “I remember the days when Hidden Valley had 200 swimmers. We will rise again.”
Bauman won four first golds in the 7-8 boys’ division
