Kelsey Andrusak and Samuel Matthew of the Kootenay Swim Club were in Quebec City recently to compete in Swim Canada’s age group championships held at Laval University.
Both competed in four events over the course of the week. Andrusak started the competition with what turned out to be her best swim of the meet, finishing tied for 11th place in the 50m breaststroke in a new personal best.
As a result of the tie she had to have a swim off to determine the first alternate in case one of the top 10 wasn’t able to start in the final. Matthew competed in the 50m breast, finishing 21st, also a new personal best.
On day two of the competition, Andrusak finished 19th in the 100m free. Day three saw Matthew finish 19th in the 100m breast with a new best time, Andrusak swam in two events, finishing 21st in both the 100m breast and 50m free. On day four Matthew had his best result of the meet, finishing 15th in the 200m breast, taking off over two seconds from his previous best time. Matthew’s last race was on day five where he placed 22nd in the 200m individual medley.
It was the first time for both swimmers competing at this level and they both can be very proud of their results.
They are both placed well for the upcoming season which will begin in September as they have both already achieved two of the three time standards at the next age level that they need to qualify for the 2016 age group championships in Calgary.
In addition they have both qualified for four events at the 2016 Speedo Western Championships, which will be in Winnipeg next spring.
Both swimmers thanked coach Chris Wright for his dedication and support. Unfortunately, due to the cost and time commitment he was unable to attend in Quebec but the preparation he provided over the course of the year certainly showed in the results obtained.
They also expressed gratitude to all the support provided by members of the Kootenay Swim Club and the community for providing support through a recent bottle drive.
For more information on swimming with the Kootenay Swim Club, go to thekootenayswimclub.com.
