The Ridge Meadows Special Olympics aquatics team competed in the regional qualifier hosted by Coquitlam last weekend, bringing home 13 first-place ribbons, eight second-place ribbons and three third-place ribbons from the event.  Alyssa Vanderklok started off with a technically perfect performance in the 100-metre individual medley, finishing in second place with a time of 2:02.13. She went on to finish first in the 50-metre freestyle, the 100-metre freestyle, the 50-metre backstroke, the 25-metre breaststroke, and the 25-metre butterfly. Kyle Jarrett impressed everybody with four smart and energetic performances.  His 100-metre freestyle, 25-metre backstroke, and 25-metre breaststroke races were all good for first place ribbons.  His second place finish in the 25-metre butterfly was a personal best, with a time of 31.17 seconds. Jeremy Huskins showed his versatility by competing in three freestyle events. His 25-meter sprint, clocked at 19.17, earned him a first place ribbon. Huskins went on to finish first in the 25-metre butterfly, second in the 200-metre freestyle, 50-metre backstroke and the 50-metre breaststroke, and third in the 50-metre freestyle. Relative newcomer Clinton Forster shaved over two seconds off of his best time in the 25-meter freestyle, finishing in just 28.24 seconds and earning yet another first place ribbon for the team. Richard Niesman, 53, put in two spectacular performances, beating several much younger athletes in the process. His 25-metre freestyle earned second place with a time of 25.66 and his 25-metre backstroke race, timed at 34.16 seconds, gave him a third place ribbon. Nathan Baerg finished third in the 25-metre freestyle and shaved four seconds off of his personal best in the 25-metre backstroke, earning himself a second place ribbon in the process. Marianne Borenko finished first in both of her races and her results were personal bests. Jennifer Ireland fought hard but placed just out of the ribbons in her two events. Matthew Bueschkens placed just out of the ribbons in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 50.84 seconds.

Maple Ridge News