7/14/2009 6:00:00 AM Dolphins dominate in home swim meet
SHAWN BYRNE/Miner
Dillon Zorn, top, of the Kingman Dolphins edged out the Needles Sandsharks' Robert Hancock in the boys 9-10 50-meter backstroke during the Kingman Invitational Saturday at Centennial Pool.
KINGMAN - Four teams combined to bring 245 swimmers to the Kingman Invitational hosted by the Kingman Dolphins Swim Team and sponsored by Kids Little Smiles Dentistry Saturday at Centennial Pool. The Dolphins captured six of the 11 overall individual titles in the 73-event meet.
On the boys' side, a Dolphin won every division except the 15-18 age group. The Dolphins swept the 8-and-under division, as Michael Bathauer took first and was just two points ahead of his twin brother Matthew. Aden Dunton and Kade Juelfs tied for third with 22 points.
The 9-10 division was also a top-three sweep for the Dolphins. Alek Dunton won with 36 points and was followed by Brady Cowin (30). Kael Juelfs finished third with 28.
Jacob Miyauchi took 11-12 with 36 points and KDST's Kegan Snoddy was third with 25. It was Patrick Webb with 36 to win 13-14, and Tylor Hatton was the Dolphins' top-finisher in 15-18 with 22 points and fifth place.
In the girls' divisions, Shelia Ramirez took fourth place in 8U with 23 points, just two points out of third. Avery Moon was third in 9-10 with 24 points, and Makayla Newberry had a second-place finish in 11-12 when she tied with 28 points, one behind the leader.
Alexis Bathauer won 13-14 with Heather Weninger finishing fourth. Mariah Moon and Kelsey Hlavac were co-winners in 15-18 with 32 points.
The time it took to complete the meet, almost seven hours, was perfectly suited for the many newcomers to the Dolphins this season.
"It was a good test for our newer swimmers in that it was a long meet," Dolphins' coach Michael Perrine said. "They would have been done after a couple of hours in the past."
One of those newcomers is Cara Moulder, 13. Moulder dropped 1 minute, 13 seconds off her 100-meter breaststroke time. Moulder said the drop came as a result of the time she's put in the pool. She's been swimming an hour a day, seven days a week. Though her dropped time in the breaststroke was drastic, it's not her favorite swim.
"The backstroke is my favorite," Moulder said. "I'm really good at it."
It's only Moulder's first year, but it's easy to tell she's fallen in love with the sport.
"I'll be signing up for the winter training," she said. "I definitely want to swim when I get to high school."
Moulder added she would like to swim in college. "I think it's a great sport," she said.
Being a latecomer has made it extra tough for Moulder, Perrine said. Moulder had to start swimming 100 meters, rather than 50 had she began earlier.
"She's been steadily improving," Perrine said. "A drop of more than a minute is huge."
The Dolphins will host the Dick Tomlin Invitational at 8 a.m. Saturday at Centennial Pool. KDST president Terry Miyauchi said he expects the same number of swimmers for the Dick Tomlin as were at the invitational.
