Signal repeats as City Meet champ

For the second year in a row, the Signal Mountain Green Giants won the Chattanooga Area Swim League’s Bill Caulkins City Meet.

The Green Giants earned 2,461.5 points Friday and Saturday at the Fort Oglethorpe pool to earn the first-place trophy.

This championship means more to the swim team than just the recognition; the Giants consider it a win for the community of Signal Mountain as well.

“This will be the first back-to-back we have had in quite a while,” Signal Mountain head coach Jake Sosna said. “Last year was the first year we had won it in about five years, which is huge because our numbers were dipping way down. It used to be that everyone on Signal Mountain swam, and then slowly baseball took over or football or whatever took over.”

But the sport of swimming on Signal Mountain is gaining traction again, and this year the Green Giants blazed through competition in the CASL Blue Division, going undefeated.

At the city meet the Dalton Dolphins came in second with 1,960 points, and the Ooltewah Tidal Waves finished in third with 1,757 points.

“Dalton and Ooltewah are huge (communities),” Sosna said. “Signal Mountain is just a tiny town, so it really is kind of remarkable that we are able to keep churning these out.”

As the coach stood beside the pool sporting his green attire, green beard included, kids both young and old approached him, but none were more excited than a group of 6-year-olds. Sosna was quick to say how important the young ones are to the sport, and the recent success of the Green Giants team.

“With these little guys we are slowly getting everyone back into swimming,” Sosna said. “It starts with the 6-year-olds, and they tell their friends and make sure our coaches do a good job, and word spreads.”

Sosna finds great importance in the “million little green kids running around” at every meet.

And this win, along with all the other wins throughout the 2017 summer season, is what Sosna hopes will bring more excitement to the sport on the mountain.

“It really does mean a whole lot to our community and really just the swimming sport in general,” Sosna said. “It’s not one of the most popular sports in a non-Olympic year, so it’s good to see it get some recognition. And it’s fun — the kids really love it.”

Contact Tori McElhaney at sports@ timesfreepress.com.