In a seven-team race to win the Verde Valley Invitational, the Cottonwood Clippers got the sweep in before the strike.
Lightning strikes, to be exact, led the head coaches to agree to call the invitational Saturday, July 18, with the Clippers ahead in the boys, girls and overall categories.
With 250 swimmers from Bullhead City, Kingman, Payson, Prescott Valley and Sedona as well as the Sandsharks of Needles, Calif., involved, nobody wanted to take any chances.
“Five years ago … it rained the whole time,” head coach Daniel Nevarez said. “But we never stopped the meet.
“When it comes to lightning, with it being so unpredictable and lives are at risk, we have to be overcautious.”
Zoey Arwine, Rylie Burke, Gunner Tillemans and Sean Williams led the Clippers with high-points victories in each of their age groups, as the Clippers swept the boys, girls and overall titles of the invitational.
“Having so many great teams here this year with amazing talent did make the competition a lot tougher,” Nevarez said.
For the full story with more photos, please see the Wednesday, July 22, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
