The Campbell River Killer Whales (CRKW) sent 22 qualifiers to Saanich Commonwealth Pool to compete in the Long Course Island Championships June 2-4.
Head Coach Jim Campbell’s team finished third in points on the women’s side, and completely dominated one of the age categories. Over the gruelling three days of competition the Killer Whales amassed 10 gold, six silver and eight bronze individual medals, while the relay teams came home with a gold and bronze.
The Campbell River club was represented well in each age group, including the 10 and unders led by Assistant Coach Jenna Beaudin. Maria Villarroel, Ella Vose, Keyana Owens, Mackenzie Hayduk, Charlize Langlois and Camryn Van Hove all qualified for the big meet and treated CRKW fans to lot’s of excitement. The six girl’s capped off their season combining for 14 best times, with each contributing at least one of those. This was a huge accomplishment for these talented young girls and invaluable experience for their bright futures with CRKW.
To no one’s surprise on the Island, the 11/12 year old division was owned by CRKW. For example, the 11/12 year old 50 fly final saw the Killer Whales finish in each of the top five spots. This tight knit group of girls train together six days a week, where the competition in practice with one another really prepares them well for these type of meets. Incredibly, Kara Beauregard, Summer Wenger, Kaya Lathangue, Martina Montana, Kira Dunn and Ava Simard have all been ranked in the top 35 in Canada in their age groups this season.
Wenger led the team in points over the weekend, after Beauregard fell ill for Sunday’s finals. Wenger brought home three golds, two silvers and three bronze medals and Beauregard finished winning four golds, one silver, one bronze and three club records. The one-two punch combined for 15 medals, over a third of the club’s points and both capped the weekend with top five Canadian rankings. K. Dunn won a silver in the 50 backstroke with a huge personal best plus two more top six placings, Lathangue swam to bronze in the 800 free to go along with four other top five finishes, and CRKW’s newest phenom Montana raced to bronze in the 50 fly while adding four other top fives in her event. 12 year old Emily Magowan battled hard all weekend and showed a lot of promise for next season, taking off 35 secs over her slate of events.
The Killer Whales’ top two age groups were led in points by Brooke Wenger, Cianna Dunn and Melayna Beaudin. Wenger won gold in the 50 fly with a personal best swim and picked up a silver and three bronze medals to round out her meet.
Wenger also added to her slate of events for National’s in Toronto later this year, hitting the standard in the 200 fly. C. Dunn had a dominate performance in the 200 backstroke winning gold and then picked up silver in a lightning fast 50, as well as two other top-six placings. Beaudin had a solid meet finishing with four top-eight finishes including a fourth place finish in her 50 backstroke. Ali Beck put points on the board for CRKW with a best time fourth place swim in the 800 freestyle and an eighth in the 400 freestyle, while Cole Reid added a top-five finish in his 200 backstroke Sunday evening. Sasha Jacobs finished eighth in the 15 and over 200 fly final and Sydney Boyle had great swims in her 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle finals right on her personal bests. Aleah Jordan, Benji Bridle, and Maura Dybwad were all instrumental in holding the team together throughout the weekend with big efforts both in the pool and out, helping CRKW conclude their Vancouver Island schedule in style.
The club also showed their depth in the relay’s at VIR’s, where the 11/12 year old team who are one of the fastest in the Country, made up of Beauregard, S. Wenger, Montana and Lathangue won the Island Championship in the 200 freestyle and placed third in the Medley. The senior team consisting of C. Dunn, Beaudin, B. Wenger and Beck just missed out on the podium with a fourth place finish.
Next up, the Killer Whales will send teams to Richmond for Provincial AA’s, Kamloops for AAA’s and Toronto for the Canadian Age Group Championship.
