The Mission Marlins had a tremendous showing at the Fraser Valley regional championships in Langley last week.
The powerful performance included 17 gold medals, two regional records, and probably the most impressive number: a total of 31 swimmers qualified for the provincial championships, ensuring that Mission will be well represented.
“We are one of the smaller clubs, so it’s really exciting to qualify so many swimmers,” said head coach Shannon Key. “The kids swam really well.”
The best individual performances included Karl Hallquist winning four gold medals, Jennifer Klimmer breaking the Fraser Valley record in the 100m butterfly event, as well as setting a new regional record with her relay team (also featuring Christina Diewold, Sophie Bryant and Kristiana Kamagianis) in the 200m medley relay.
Other standouts included Abram Wiebe (two gold medals, two bronze), Thora Eyolfson (two golds, a silver and a bronze despite swimming with a cast due to a broken wrist), Haley Klenk (two golds, a silver and a bronze), Anna Andreychick (one gold, one silver and two bronze) and Christina Diewold (two golds and a bronze).
“I’m so proud of all our swimmers, I can’t wait for provincials,” said Key.
The B.C. championships run Aug. 16-19 in Coquitlam.
