Stingrays race to second in season finale

Black Mountain swim team hosts 450 swimmers in Tarheel Swim League Championship meet

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 28, 2025

As temperatures soared, July 25 and 26, competition was heating up beneath the cool blue waters of the Black Mountain Pool, as hundreds of young swimmers competed in the 2025 Tarheel Swim League Championship.

Hosted by the Black Mountain Stingrays, who raced to second place behind Forest City, the meet featured young swimmers from six Western N.C. counties.

Approximately 450 swimmers, ages 5 through 18, from Black Mountain, Granite Falls, Lenoir, Watauga, Shelby, Valdese and Forest City, competed for the conference crown, approximately 10 months after the Black Mountain Pool temporarily ceased operation to function as an aid station after Tropical Storm Helene. While the disaster disrupted many area youth athletics programs, the Stingrays flourished, entering the summer season with approximately 180 swimmers.

The volunteer-led program, directed by Black Mountain Pool Manager and Head Coach Beth Rathbone, entered the TSL championship with hopes to reclaim the title it won in 2022 and 2023. Led by Moses and Jonah Lehman, who claimed first place in the 10U and 12U divisions, the boys team topped the scoreboard with 1,071 points. Henry Grant, who recorded 50 points, finished third in 10U competition.

A second-place finish by 14U swimmer DJ Rozenbroek and a third-place showing in the 8U division by Hannah Elliott paced the Black Mountain girls, who posted a total of 756 points, falling short of Forest City’s 1,169. The combined team tallies resulted in 2,072 points for Forest City, 1,827 for Black Mountain and 1,121 for Lenoir.

The Stingrays celebrated their second-place finish in the Mardi Gras-themed meet in front of a glittery green, purple and gold background, but the opportunity to host the championship was an accomplishment in itself, according to volunteer Angela Cook.

“There is extraordinary poignancy for many of us that the team is hosting conference at a pool that less than 10 months ago was filled with water that we scooped up in buckets to use for flushing toilets,” she said. “In a year when children saw the horror that water can wreak upon their community, these kids, some barely 5 years old, got into a pool and swam.”

While young swimmers endured grueling practices and meets in multiple WNC counties throughout the season, hosting an estimated 1,000 parents and swimmers in Black Mountain would not have been possible without the support of dedicated volunteers and local businesses.

“Ingles emptied out their ice machine so that we could keep our drinks and perishables cold, and McDonald’s donated 150 breakfast sandwiches that we were able to sell for fundraising and ensure that families had access to protein and carbs before the meet started.,” Cook said. “Swannanoa bakery Ovenbird Kitchen donated baked goods, including some delicious gingerbread cookies. Monetary donations from Cousins Cuban, AgCare Products and Valley Hope Church have also helped to defray swimming team expenses this season.”

Chad and Allison Nicholson, whose children swim for the Stingrays, provided nearly 70 pounds of meat to provide “pooled pork” sandwiches for the weekend gathering, which included tents along a section of Laurel Circle Drive.

While many local residents and organizations contributed to the resilience of the Stingrays program, the coaches of Rathbone, Danny Little, Grace Quam and Sarah Kramer are the “glue of the team,” according to Cook.

“Every year, the volunteer-led Black Mountain Stingrays provides an exceptional youth sports experience for Swannanoa Valley youth,” she said. “As a mom to two boys that play many sports in the Swannanoa Valley, I can honestly say there are not two individuals who give more to youth athletics than Coach Beth and Coach Danny.”

Photos of the 2025 Tarheel Swim League Championship meet, hosted by the Black Mountain Stingrays, can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.