CVAC Sharks turned in amazing performances at the Vancouver Island Regional Championships this past weekend in both heats and finals.
Day One ended with eight second swims and two top-eight finishes in the distance events along with two girls relays that swam in the finals.
Brooke Lamoureux blew the competition away in the 1500 free. Going into the race, both Brooke and interim head coach Sarah Rudolf were confident that achieving her Senior National standard was an achievable goal for the day. Brooke fulfilled her potential: she crushed the standard as well as her heat, making her Senior cut by 13 seconds and beating her best time by 30 seconds.
Jordyn Ryan was a superstar on day one with one of the busiest finals session of all our Sharks swimmers. After swimming on two relays back to back, Jordyn put together an awesome 100 BR, achieving a new best time, and showing real progress within the race.
Next up was the 200 IM, where Jordyn was seated right in the middle of the pool and going in first. She took control of the race right off the first turn and never looked back. She achieved her third 15-year-old AGN cut, as well as her 16-and-over Western cut.
Michael Jung showed great focus and control in his 100 BR. He stepped up big in finals and achieved his first AAA time of the season, qualifying him for the Provincial Championships coming up at UBC.
After taking off another tenth of a second in his 50 free during the finals session, Ben Neufeld had one of the swims of the night with an awesome 200 IM.
He made his 14-year-old AGN cut and placed first in the Sharks' last swim of the night.
Also swimming finals were Joyce Arends, Gabby Wolfe, Amelia Elder and Emma Neufeld.
Day Two ended with some amazing swims from all members of the team, and exceeded coach Sarah's goal to double the second swims from Day One to 16 – the team actually ended up with 20 second swims.
Janaya Ryan led out the team in her first VIR finals ever. Janaya showed improvement from her morning swim, including having her freestyle split being faster then her butterfly split, which is something we are always aiming for in the 200 and 400 IM.
Gabrielle Wolfe was up next. After battling pre-race nerves, Gabby dove in the water and took control, putting together a best time and a very well swum race overall. She missed her 13-year-old Age Group cut by just over half a second.
Jordyn Ryan had another busy night, with finals in the 100 back, 200 breast, and 200 free. After battling in the 100 back with some of the best swimmers in the province, Jordyn was up in the 200 breaststroke.
Surrounded by four Campbell River Killer Whale swimmers, who were all aiming for different levels of national cuts, Jordyn was able to "keep her head in her lane", and ended up putting together a great race, and achieving her 13-year-old AGN cut.
Heading into the 100 flys, everyone was looking a bit tired but were excited for some big races still ahead. Joyce Arends gave the team the wake-up call they needed. With a race strategy that included just going out fast and having fun, Joyce dropped another second from the morning, bringing her less then a second away from her AGN cut, but making her 16-and-over Western cut.
It was the boys turn to show how it is done in the 200 FR. Ethan Ashley showed great control during his 200 FR, putting together another great race, and inching even closer to that AAA standard.
In the final race of the night Joshua Dolman was called up out of his alternate position to fill in for the top-ranked swimmer in the event. Being surrounded by boys that had over 10 seconds on him, Joshua held his own, dropping another three seconds, on top of the nine seconds he had dropped during his morning swim.
Rafe Perry started the Sharks off on Day Three with a great swim in his first VIR final in the 200 free. Showing great determination and strength, Rafe split his race like a pro.
Brooke Lamoureux had a busy night again in finals, starting with the 400 free. Up against some of the top freestylers in the province, Brooke took control of the race from the very beginning, touching the wall first in another best time and a club record.
Gabby Wolfe swims some of the toughest events in the sport, including the 200 butterfly. With a bunch of racing already under her belt, Gabby stepped up on the blocks, and put together one of her best races of the weekend.
Ben Neufeld was CVAC's last swim of the night along with Joshua Dolman, and what a swim it was! After already swimming the 400 freestyle and 200 backstroke, Ben stepped up to one of the glamour events in the world of swimming. With a goal of breaking one minute, Ben exceeded even his own expectations dropping just under two seconds and winning the event.
The Sharks placed sixth overall, as well as sixth on both the boys and girls side of the meet. They set 10 club records, had one new AAA qualifier and one new Senior National qualifier, and had a handful of new Age Group National and Western qualifying times.
Here is a list of the club records that were broken over the course of the weekend:
• Brooke Lamoureux - 400 freestyle, 1500 freestyle and 200 butterfly
• Jordyn Ryan - 200 backstroke
• Ben Neufeld - 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, and 100 freestyle
Next up for the Sharks is the AA Provincial Championships, June 21-23 in Victoria. The Sharks will be sending three swimmers – Joshua Dolman, Ethan Ashley and Emma Neufeld. Watch for results at www.sharks.bc.ca or like the club's Facebook page.
– CVAC Sharks