The Grand Forks Piranhas Swim Club had a lot of fun July 13 and 14 at a swim meet at Castlegar, with 38 swimmers competing over the weekend.
After steadily improving throughout the season, Madalynn Barnfield moved up to Division 1. She completed all four 50-metre races with determination. Eve Van Agteren swam her first final on Sunday and finished second in her age group with a time of 57.88 seconds.
Thea Van Agteren took 15.55 seconds off her 100-metre individual medley (IM) time.
Sydney Gunther shaved off 0.77 seconds in her 50-metre breaststroke, breaking 48 seconds. Jailyn Needoba also achieved a best time of 59.22 seconds in her 50-metre breaststroke.
Melanie Webster improved her 5-metre free time by 17.28 seconds. Jake Webster bettered his time by 0.90 seconds for a time of 50.75 seconds.
Xandria Parker took off 9.51 seconds in her 100-metre back after improving her flip turns.
Kaileigh Parker took off 2.85 seconds in her 50-metre backstroke for a time of 53.97 seconds.
Sam Podmoroff swam backstroke in the Division 4 Boys Medley Relay. He led-off with a best time of 58.84 seconds.
Jasmine Konken took off 7.07 seconds in the 50-metre butterfly prelims and qualified for her first “A” final. She took off two more seconds when she swam her race the second time.
Ashlyn LeRoy was close to a best time in her 50-metre free in prelims. She qualified to swim her race again in finals and earned fifth place.
Dierdre Wark took off 5.85 seconds in her 50-metre free for a time of 1:01.85.
Owen Heric got a best time of 1:47.07 in his 100-metre breaststroke.
Cassiane Larson shaved off 0.29 seconds in her 50-metre fly and placed fourth in finals.
Jayden LeRoy took off 3.79 seconds in her 100-metre IM, achieving a time of 1:40.52.
Robert Wark took off 4.81 seconds in his 50-metre backstroke, while Bryce Findlater bettered his time by 1.40 seconds.
Caitlyn Black impressed the coaches when she took off 3.12 seconds in her 100-metre breaststroke.
Dayton Bryan swam a strategic 100-metre breaststroke, bettering his time by 2.18 seconds.
Sarah Heric achieved a best time in her 100-metre breaststroke by a margin of 0.30 seconds.
Novices Renee Lajoie, Emma Lewis, Alexandra Larson, Michael Konken, Dante Grootjes and Ben Podmoroff all bettered their times from the previous meet.
Eleven aggregate medals were awarded to Piranha swimmers.
Aysia Morgan won the Division 1 girls’ silver medal. Kohei Dunnet won the Division 1 boys bronze medal. Shian Corbeil won the Division 2 girls’ gold medal and set a new meet record in 50-metre fly.
Raelyn Morgan and Kiyomi Dunnet won the Division 3 girls’ silver and bronze medals.
Ethan Argue earned the Division 3 boys’ gold medal. Leena Corbeil earned the Division 4 girls’ bronze medal. Nicole Nuyten earned the Division 6 girls’ gold medal.
Trentin Ludwar received the Division 6 boys’ bronze medal. Coaches Robyn Van Ek and Ross Merry also placed within the Top-3 in their age groups.
The Piranhas earned a total of 464 points, placing second overall. The host team, the Castlegar Aquanauts placed first.
– Submitted by Robyn Van Ek