Glenn County Observer
The Orland Otters swim team had a “phenomenal finale” to their swim season over the weekend of July 29-31.
Forty-two Orland Otters participated in the three-day NVAL swim championships competition in Redding, with 467 kids over this 112-degree, very hot weekend.
The meet awards were broken down into two groups: seasonal swimmers (like the Orland Otters) and year-round swimmers (like the Chico AquaJets and the Chico Narwhals) who also compete at Junior Olympics, all swimming alongside each other but ranking in these two separate divisions.
Orland’s Otter family took second place in most points scored for a seasonal team! The 42 Orland kiddos swam their hearts nearly right out of their pounding chests, swimming everything from 25 yards to 500 yards.
First place seasonal team Weaverville beat the Otters by just 9.5 points. Third place Redding Swim Team (seasonal) was 278.5 points behind the Otters.
Ruby Neumann, a new board member of the Orland Otters, said, “This right here is cold hard evidence of tremendous personal growth. This was a fun-filled weekend with unforgettable memories, solidifying incredible lifelong friendships.”
Orland High Point Winners:
6&Under Girls: Kylee Galvan, 2nd Place
7/8 Boys: Hudson Romano, 1st Place
11/12 Girls: Stella Reimers, 2nd Place
11/12 Boys: Ayden Champage-Meredyk, 2nd Place
13/14 Girls: Nora Reimers, 2nd place
17/18 Boys: Daniel Niehues, 3rd place
The Willows Hydro Jets had nine swimmers compete in NVALs, four families: Bobadilla, Flowerdew, Throm, and Curiel. Their team scored 670 points and also brought home high point trophies:
Willows High Point Winners:
11/12 Boys: Tavian Bobadilla, 1st Place
15/16 Boys: Nick Flowerdew, 2nd Place
15/16 Boys: Tristan Bobadilla, 3rd Place
17/18 Girls: Billie Throm, 3rd Place
Ruby Neumann commented, “Super proud of our two teams! These kids definitely deserve recognition for their hard work all summer long.”
The Otters began practice on May 16 and just had their awards night on Aug. 3.
The Glenn County Observer 