Mid Valley Swim League referee Tim Sanders had no choice but to cancel Saturday's tri meet between the Ceres Dolphins, Turlock Sea Dogs and Turlock Marlins.

"We attempted to get the meet in," Dolphins head coach Tracy Bull said. "It just didn't happen."

The competition was called off because of poor weather.

"There was never lightning," Bull said. "It was just brutally cold and it never stopped raining. It was a discomfort for everybody."

The tri meet got underway 45 minutes late at Pitman High School.

Girl swimmers filed into the locker room in an effort to stay warm.

"Steam from the showers set off the fire alarm," Bull said. "That's a first."

Nearly half of Ceres' athletes left before the midway point of the competition.

Victor Cruz (17-18 boys), Jacob Stone (15-16 boys), Haley Fisicaro (15-16 girls), Catherina Tan (13-14 girls), Kimo Guevara (11-12 boys), Ricardo Cano (9-10 boys), Jadyn Shinn (9-10 girls) and Diego Armas (6&under boys) had standout individual performances against the Sea Dogs and Marlins. Fisicaro (100 IM, 50 fly), Tan (100 IM, 50 fly), Guevara (100 IM, 100 free), Cano (100 IM, 50 fly) and Shinn (100 IM, 50 fly) were double-winners.

The final races were staged just after noon.

"It was a miserable day," Bull said. "We kept thinking the weather would clear. It slowed but never stopped raining. It was a nightmare. There was nobody on the pool deck. It was eerie. We didn't have a problem with canceling the meet. It just wasn't productive."

Three other MVSL meets were also canceled this past week because of the bad weather.

Ceres will compete at the Oakdale Invitational this Saturday.