By Ella Lane
For the Saanich News
Island Swimming took home the banner at the Tier 2 Provincial Swimming Championships this past weekend.
The stellar performances of the local swimmers resulted in an 81-point victory over the Lower Mainland’s Hyack Swim Club who placed second. A deep pool of talent led to numerous top scoring swims.
Island Swimming’s Kelsey Andrusak qualified for finals in every event, earning herself seven medals in the process. Other medallists on the women’s side included Sela Wist who placed third in the women’s 14 and under 100-metre butterfly. In backstroke, Thea Masselink picked up the gold in both the 100- and 200-metre distances for 14 and under, while Alicia Eisen took home bronze in the 100m for the 15 and over women.
For the boys Mathew Clavelle came third in the 100m breaststroke and second in the 100m butterfly, Dylan Kormendy placed first in the 15 and under 200m breaststroke, and Brian Ni doubled, taking bronze in both the 50m and 100m freestyle for the 16 and over men.
Larry Yu followed up his bronze and silver medals in the 800m and 400m freestyle by taking gold in the longest distance swim. He completed the 1500-metre freestyle, finishing in an impressive 16 minutes and 32 seconds. Along with a nap and a good warmup, Yu said that knowing gold was within his grasp gave him the extra edge he needed to touch the wall first.
Head Coach Dave Tontini said the emphasis for this meet was on team spirit, stepping up on the blocks and racing for the whole team, along with yourself. This was evident in the relays where Island Swimming made the podium an astounding seven times.
He said the results over the weekend were a product of a season of hard work by all the athletes and coaches. However, he thought the most fun part of the meet was watching the Island Swimmers support and encourage each other to compete their best, allowing them to win the provincial championship as a team.
