Eight Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks competed well at the BC AAA Provincial Championships last weekend. Representing the men were Devin Pelletier, Dylan O’Hara, Drew Kuhnert and Ben Neufeld. On the women’s side were Jordyn Ryan, Megan Rousseau, Emma Neufeld and Brooke Lamoureux.
The four-day championship held at the Saanich Commonwealth Pool started with a bang – Lamoureux won a bronze in the girls 800 free and made an Age Group National qualifying time in the process. Age Group Nationals will be held this summer in Montreal and are the largest and fastest age group meet in Canada. Not to be outdone, Neufeld took the gold in the men’s 1500 – a very good first day.
The following days saw Devin Pelletier (who has been with club longer than any other current swimmer) reach the Age Group National level in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events. He now holds both club records in those events.
The lure of going to Montreal spurred on Kuhnert who sheared 6.31 seconds off his best time in the 100 breaststroke to make sure he had his seat guaranteed for Age Group Nationals.
Lamoureux came back to take a bronze in the 200 free and a silver in the 200 fly. The fly was swum in Age Group National qualifying time – her second of the weekend.
Ryan – who just qualified for this meet at the AA Championships a few weeks ago – surprised everyone with spectacular swims. She went 100 per cent best times, shaving more than 64 seconds off of her entry times. Ryan made it to four “top eight” finishes and took home a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly.
Ben Neufeld swam his final competition as an 11 year old and won gold in every event: 1500 free, 400 IM, 200 back, 100 back, 200 IM and the 200 free. If that was not enough, he also rewrote the club record book. In the 11-12 male category, Neufeld broke both backstroke records, both IM records, and the 100 fly record all previously held by Travis Musgrave (1999).
Head coach Albert Burgund stated: “The swimmers all swam well and exceeded my expectations.” He added that the swimmers have responded very well to training and that they have lots of work ahead of them.
Come see the Sharks in action as they compete at the Comox Aquatic Centre on April 3. “A huge thank you to every one of our supporters and congratulations to all Shark swimmers and parents,” a club spokesperson said.
