Page 4B
Get ready
to welcome
new Sharks
to the ‘school’
By EMILY WEAVER
Edtior
Ask any Shark, they’ll
tell you — the competition
may be fierce, but the water
is fine. Swimmers in the
local Sharks Aquatic Club
practice often and when they
dive in to compete it clearly
shows.
In the recent BRSL (Blue
Ridge Swim League) Cham-
pionship meet in Charlotte,
the Sharks team finished off
its short course season with
the bronze.
“Over the course of two
and a half days our team
swam best time after best
time and continued to im-
prove,’ > said Head Coach
David Messenger.
The Sharks team had one
of its highest finishes ever at
the meet. “We finished third
overall, behind Nomad and
the Gaston Gators, ” Messen-
ger said.
The Nomads (North
Mecklenburg Aqua Devils)
outnumbered the Sharks 200
to 47 as did the Gators with a
swim team almost double
that of Cleveland County’s..
But the Sharks didn’t seem
to mind, as they tied with
Nomad, having three indi-
vidual high point winners —
Kaitlyn Moss, Lindsey
Martelle and Parker Camp-,
= pell:
Other Sharks high point
winners were: in the 10-and-
under girls division, Moss -
1st and Madelyn Martelle -
3rd; in the 11-12-year-old
girls, Lindsey Martelle - 1st;
in the 11-12-year-old boys,
Parker Campbell - 1st, Ben
Waldrep - 2nd, Matt Camp-
bell - 5th, and Jay Wilson -
10th; in the 13-14 girls,
Alexandra Martelle - 2nd,
Annie Shirk - 5th and Ari
Wallace - 8th place; in the
13-14 boys, Garrett Simpson
- 3rd, Austin Toney - 4th and
David Roby - 5th place.
Nearly all of the Sharks,
who competed, finished with
best times at the meet.
The Sharks are now tak-
ing a breather on Spring
Break, but will return to
practice on Thursday, April
8th and Monday, April 12th.
The Mako 2 and senior
swimmers will dive back in
to practice tomorrow.
The Sharks Aquatic club
is made up of several differ-
ent levels of ability. Begin-
ners start out with swim
lessons, and if desired they
can advance to the next level
which is the Hammbherheads.
Here they learn the basics of
the techniques of all the dif-
ferent strokes (Freestyle,
Backstroke, Butterfly and
Breaststroke).
The Hammerheads are
introduced to competitive
swimming through various
intersquad meets. Once they
have learned this they ad-
' The Kings Mountain Herald
Sharks end short
season with bronze
ALL PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
DAVID-ROBY
The scoreboard shows one of the Martelle girls
with the best time.
vance to the Tiger Shark
group, which builds on their
current training, and begin to
compete in more meets.
Mako 2°s generally range
-in age from 11-14, and have
group training two
hours a day, six days per
week. Senior Sharks are typ-
ically high-school aged
swimmers who have
shown a strong commitment
to the sport. They practice 2
1/2 hours a day, 6 days a
week as well. Over the sum-
mer they will do some dou-
ble practices.
The Hammerheads, Tiger
Sharks, and Mako 1 swim-
mers will get back in the
water on Monday. Hammer-
heads, often some of the
youngest Sharks, are encour-
aged to practice three times
“a week. Tiger Sharks train an
hour a day, four days a week.
Mako 1 Sharks, generally
ranging from 9-12 years old,
practice an hour a day, five
days a week.
Beginning in the Mako 1
division, Sharks train both in
and out of the water.
Most of the Makos and
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Senior swimmers practice on
dry land 3-4 days a week and
in the water up to six days a
week, said Hope Toney,
whose son, Austin, is one of
the club’s many top swim-
mers.
She and® her husband
Barry Toney, who photo-
graphs the meets, never miss
a match. As one films from
the sidelines, the other
cheers. And Austin swims
away with another medal.
There were many cheers
at the recent BRSL meet in
Charlotte. By the end of the
long weekend match, Austin
was packing up seven
medals to return home to
Kings Mountain with. But
for many of the swimmers, it
isn’t just about beating the
other teams, it’s about setting
personal goals and beating
the clock.
Want to become a
shark?
The Sharks Aquatic Club
will offer free swimming les-
sons at noon on April 17 at
Kings . Mountain ~~ High
School’s pool (Neisler Nata- -
torium) and at Shelby High’s
pool. Parents of children
ages 5-10-are asked to regis-
ter for the lessons by calling
704-907-1983.
At the lessons, new
swimmers will have the
chance to join the program.
For the first tire this
summer, the SAC will have
a summer league at Shelby’s
City Park, where swimmers
can dive in, have fun and
compete against other swim-
mers three days a week. The
program will give new
swimmers a “bite” of the
competition, allowing them
to ease into the water with
the SAC.
Ten-year-old Madelyn
- Martelle, of Rutherfordton,
began swimming at the age
of five in a summer league
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team. She now swims with
the Sharks and will soon
graduate to the club’s Mako
2 division.
Is she nervous about the
new level of competition?
“Oh she can keep up with
them,” Hope said, adding
that Madelyn is a true
“shark” in the water.
Madelyn smiled. The rea-
son why she swims compet- -
3% she said, is because it
s “really fun”.
Participants compete in
different age groups and
meets depending on their
achievement level and how
old they are on the first day
of the meet.
The Martelles were both
swimmers before they had
children. Now, all three of
- their daughters compete in
the SAC. Although the com-
mute from Rutherfordton
can be long, Jen Martelle
says it is worth it to swim
with the Sharks.
And the Martelle girls are
definitely “making waves”
in competition. Both Lind-
sey and Alexandra Martelle
are ranked in the state’s top
10 swimmers list for breast-
stroke and‘ backstroke
events. Madelyn came in
first place in the 100 breast,
50 breast, and 200 individual
medley (IM) in the 10 and
under age division at the
BRSL Championship. She
also carried home the silver
for 50-yard and 100-yard
freestyle events and the
bronze for 100 IM.
Ruthie Bragg was at the
championship meet in Char-
lotte cheering on her daugh-
ter Abbey Bragg, who will
be moving into the senior di-
vision soon. Abbey finished
in the top 10 in nearly all of
the categories she competed
in.
Kathi Simpson, who is
the age group coach for the
Makos, was proud of her
swimmers at the meet as she
watched and coached from
the side. Her husband, Mike
Simpson, who leads the
swim team at Gardner-Webb
University, watched from the
stands, rooting for their son
in the water, Garrett Simp-
son.
The Sharks’ performance
in the water also trickles into
education. Mike Simpson
said that his women’s swim
team has had the highest
GPA (Grade Point Average)
of any woman’s swim team
in the nation for three years.
Last year, his men’s team
carried the same honor.
“Generally, . swimmers
are better students,” he said.
“That’s the kind of kids
that swim,” Messenger
added. What they do “is not
easy”.
Their skills in and outside
of the water make them
more dedicated, harder
workers, which filters into
their challenges outside of
the pool.
"Swimming is Cleveland
County's best-kept secret. It
teaches these kids goal set-
ting, self discipline, self mo-
tivation, determination and
how to handle disappoint-
ment. These athletes have to
be so physically fit because
they have to endure and use
every muscle in the body,"
Hope said.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Legion Baseball
Legion players
‘meeting Sunday
All players interested in playing American Le-
gion baseball for Kings Mountain should meet at
Kings Mountain High School’s Lancaster Field Sun-
day, April 11 at 5 p.m. or contact Coach Matt
Bridges at 704-692-2423 or
mdbridges@clevelandcountyschools.org.
Coach Bridges will give a brief outline of team
plans for the 2010 season and what will be expected
of all players and their families.
Legion baseball
~ golf tourney set
Kings Mountain American Legion baseball will
hold its fifth annual golf tournament May 22 at
Woodbridge Golf Links.
Lunch will be provided for all JAees, Cash and
-. prizes will be awarded to first and second palces.
There will also be a closest to the pin on all par three
holes and long drive contest.
The cost is $50 per player or $200 per four-per-
son team.
All proceeds will benefit the 2010 American Le-
gion baseball team.
For a sign-up sheet visit
www.kmpostl55.com or contact Jerry Ross at
704-616-3391 for more information.
2010 KM Legion
Baseball Schedule
MAY
20 - at Cherryville*; 23 - Newell; 24 - Cher-
ryville*; 27 - at Huntersville; 28 - at Charlotte; 29 -
at Union County; 30 - Gastonia; 31 - Hickory*.
JUNE
1 - at Hickory* (Fairgrounds); 2 - at Pineville; 4
- Denver; 5 - at Gaston Braves; 6 - Monroe; 9 -
Huntersville; 14 - at Newell; 18 - Union County; 19
- at Gastonia; 20 - Pineville; 23 - at Denver; 25 -
Gaston Braves; 26 - at Monroe.
(Playoffs)
First round - 3 of 5 - July 1-5; second round - 3
of 5 - July 7-11; third round - 3 of 5 - July 13-17;
Area IV finals - 2 of 3 - July 19-21.
(All games 7 p.m.)
*Non-conference games.
TLL
KM lady kickers
beat South Point
Kings Mountain High’s women’s soccer team re-
mained undefeated in the Big South 3A Wednesday
with a 5-2 victory over South Point at Lineberger
Stadium in Belmont.
Ramey Kerns and Meagan Reynolds scored two
goals each and Megan Loftin added one for Dara
Goldstein’s Lady Mountaineers. Kerns had two as-
sists and Reynolds and Caroline Baker added one
apiece.
JV Mountaineers
defeat Forestview
Kings Mountain defeated Forestview 2-1 in a JV
baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Lancaster
Field.
Heath King pitched the first six innings and gave
up only one run and four hits. Jonathan Borchert
pitched the last two innings to get the win.
Mat Moss led the offense with two hits and
scored the winning run when Colby Bailey was hit
by a pitch. Colton Wade, John Day and Tyler
~ Gilliam also had hits.
Booster Club BBQ
May 7 at KMHS
The annual Kings Mountain High Booster Club
barbecue will be held Friday, May 7 from 10 a.m.-6
p.m. at the high school.
All proceeds go to the KMHS athletic programs.
: Touchdown Club
golf tourney set
The annual Kings Mountain Touchdown Club
Golf Tournament will be played Friday, April 16 at
Kings Mountain Country Club:
Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and tee off i is
at | p.m.
It is a Captain’s Choice format. Entry fee is $50
per golfer. It will be flighted at the end of the tour-
nament with winners of each flight receiving first
place prizes.
There will also be prizes for closest to the hole
on the par threes and longest drive for men, women
and seniors. Mulligans and red tees will be sold.
Sponsors are needed. Gold sponsors are $100,
silver $50 and bronze $25. Sponsors’ names are per-
manently displayed on a sponsor“board in the
KMHS weight room.
All profits from the tournament go to improve-
ments to the weight room, which is used by all ath-
letes and P.E. students at KMHS.
To enter the tournament, or for more information,
call Mark Dixon at 704- 477- 4618 or Larry Hamrick
* Jr. at 704-739-3611.
Charles H.
‘Hutchins, M.D. )
704-867-7212