For the first time in history, the Salmon Arm Sockeyes swim team narrowly defeated the Kelowna Ogopogos at their own swim meet.
The Sockeyes took an impressive 48 swimmers to this Kelowna meet to contribute to this win – and whether competing in individual events or relays, the Sockeyes placed on the podium.
In division one girls, Julianne Moore earned another gold aggregate, multiple best times and broke a meet record from 1981 by .05 seconds in the 50-m breaststroke event. Eric Moore and Matthew Bushell won bronze and silver in division-one boys and, along with teammates Rowan Trow and Connor Levins on relays, showed these boys are a force in relays. Mary-Jane Laronde participated in her first meet of the season and swam personal bests in every event, while Noel Arnason swam in his first meet as a Sockeye and qualified for a couple of finals.
In division two, Keeya Corbett showed how well rounded a competitor she is, placing second overall.
In division two boys, Jamie Trow added a silver aggregate for the team behind Stephen Moore, who won every event and added another record in the 50-m breaststroke.
In division three girls, Claire Hall took home the bronze aggregate. Ty Bushell, was the bronze aggregate winner in division three boys. Aria Izik-Dzurko continued to be a super competitor, swimming best times and placing in the top eight “A” finals in every event. Anna Konrad also showed time improvement in every event and moved up the rankings in division three.
In division four girls, Emma-Leigh Chapman took home the bronze aggregate. Division four boys had a medal sweep of the podium with Matt Cooper winning the bronze, Matthew Nesdoly the silver and Jaeden Izik-Dzurko the gold.
Division five girl, Tricia Fair, took home the gold aggregate and broke a record in the 50-m butterfly event, while division five boy, Brayden Gilliam, also won a gold aggregate. Abbie Nesdoly had her breakthrough meet of the season; a highlight included winning a swim-off in order to gain a lane in finals for the 50-m butterfly, after tying in preliminary heats. Oscar Kolotylo was an especially strong competitor in freestyle events.
In division six, Eliza-Jane Kitchen won the gold aggregate for the girls’ events while Jon Wex won the bronze aggregate for the boys. The Sockeyes hope to continue their great season in their last few meets of the year before attending regionals and provincials.
