This past weekend, 11 Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks competed at the BC AAA Long Course Provincial Championships.
Representing the men were Devin Pelletier, Dylan O’Hara, Drew Kuhnert, and Ben Neufeld. On the women’s side were Jordyn Ryan, Mikhaila and Cheyenne Lindsay, Julianna Bartemucci, Gabrielle Wolfe, Emma Neufeld and Brooke Lamoureux.
The four-day championships at the Saanich Commonwealth Pool started with a bang – Brooke took gold in the girls’ 800 free – setting a new club record and bettering her Age Group National qualifying time. Brooke also took silver in the 200 free and led the 4×50 free relay to a silver medal together with teammates Cheyenne, Mikhaila, and Jordyn.
Making finals on day one were Cheyenne (200 and 800 free), Mikhaila (200 and 800 free), and Gabrielle (100 fly). Ben Neufeld picked up a silver medal in the 200 back and broke his own club record too – a great first day. “It was great to see three Sharksin the top eight in both the 200 and 800 free,” a CVAC spokesperson said.
The rest of the meet progressed well for the Sharks. Brooke continued making finals in every event she swam and managed another Age Group National Qualifying time in the 200 butterfly (a club record and a silver medal). Ben also had another club-record breaking swim in his 200 butterfly and won the bronze. He also picked up a silver in the 100 back.
The real story was the great effort put in by Cheyenne and Mikhaila Lindsay. Both girls were determined to make the Age Group National Qualifying standard so that they could go to Montreal. Both girls swam their hardest and did make it – Mikhaila in 200, 400 (gold), and 800 free, while Cheyenne waited until Sunday finals to make it in the 400 free (bronze).
“Talk about nerve wracking – no wonder the coach is losing his hair!” the CVAC spokesperson said. “The team did an awesome job. Every swimmer walked away with personal best times.
“The girls all made finals swims and the boys gave it their all. In total the Sharks will have five swimmers attending the National Age Group Championships in Montreal: Devin Pelletier, Drew Kuhnert, Brooke Lamoureux, Cheyenne Lindsay, and Mikhaila Lindsay.
“The team ended up in 19th spot overall in the province out of 43 teams attending – quite a jump up from being in the bottom 10 last season. These results would not have been possible without the strong support of our sponsors and the people of the Comox Valley – thank you.”
For complete results and information on the Sharks visit their website at www.sharks.bc.ca/ or contact head coach Albert at 250-871-5927.
– Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks
