Eight Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks travelled to Victoria for the Island Pacific Cup last weekend. The competition was tough with new Olympic head coach Randy Bennet bringing his “Academy” swimmers to the meet.
“The swimmers were really inspired to be swimming with Olympic-level swimmers such as Julia Wilkinson or Blake Worsley. It pushed them to bring on their ‘A’ game,” commented Sharks’ head coach Albert Burgund.
Three local swimmers qualified for the Age Group Nationals which will be held in Calgary next summer: Brooke Lamoureux (800 free, 200 butterfly, 400 IM); Emma Neufeld (50 back) and Ben Neufeld (200 back). Burgund said the others did some impressive swimming too. Julianna Bartemucci, Gabrielle Wolfe and Mario Venegas all swam 100 per cent best times and managed to make some new ‘AAA’ (provincial standard) qualifying times in the process.
“The medal count ran up impressively,” Burgund said. “Brooke led the pack with seven gold and one silver while Ben followed up with three gold, two silver and three bronze. Congratulations to all the swimmers on a job well done.”
The Sharks thank the community and their sponsors for all their support. For complete results and information on the club visit www.sharks.bc.ca/.
