The past two weekends have seen various levels of the Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks excel.
On Sunday, May 15 five young swimmers travelled to Campbell River for the Killer Whales inter-squad meet. For some it was their first time competing and for others it was a chance to showcase some of their new skills.
Natasha D’Aoust, Quinn Ehrler, Chloe Pierce, Janaya Ryan, and Emma Wolfe all swam well, much to the delight of head coach Albert Burgund. “It really is heart-warming to see the next generation of Shark champions get off to such a commanding start,” he commented. Individually there were some impressive stats: Natasha cut more than a minute off of her 100 individual medley, Quinn established times in 5 events and earned three bronze in the process, Chloe went for 4 gold as did Janaya who also added a silver. Emma, the youngest at just seven years old, managed to earn 4 silvers.
"Way to go Sharks and a big Comox Valley thank you to the Campbell River Killer Whales for putting on such a great meet," a CVAC spokesperson said.
The following weekend a small but mighty contingent of Sharks travelled to the Canada Games Pool in New Westminister for the Hyack Festival AAA Youth Cup. This meet represented a high standard and the Sharks stepped it up.
Brooke Lamoureux set the mark by winning the 800 and 400 free (both in age group national qualifying times) and taking silver in the 200 fly, bronze in the 50 free and 200 IM.
Mikhaila Lindsay followed Brooke to a bronze finish in the 800 free, fourth in the 400 and added a couple of new AAA times. Ben Neufeld continued his winning ways in the 100 back. He added silvers in the 200 back, 100 fly, and bronze in the 100 free. Devin Pelletier, the oldest member of the team, fought hard to two top-eight finishes in the 100 and the 200 back.
In addition, Brooke broke club records in the 100 and 200 fly previously held by Stephanie Bigelow. Ben Neufeld broke club records in the 1500 free (established), 100 back (his own), and the 100 fly which was previously held by Graeme Yamagishi.
"Congratulations to all Shark swimmers and thank you to all our sponsors and supporters. For more information about our club please visit our web page at http://www.sharks.bc.ca/," the spokesperson said.