As hosts of the VIR Championships, the Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks not only ran a flawless meet, they also managed some impressive results.
Reaching for the Western Canadian Standard was one of the goals of the team at the Jan. 18-20 event. The standard is second only to the senior national standard and the swimmers swam hard to reach it.
Juliana Bartemucci made "westerns" twice in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Jordyn Ryan made the standard five times (200 IM, 800 free, 400 IM, 400 free, and 200 fly), while Brooke Lamoureux qualified six times (1500 free, 100 back, 100 fly, 200 free, 200 fly, and 100 free). In the 100 free, Brooke not only took first place, she broke the 1:00 barrier with an impressive time of :59.86.
The score tally included Ethan Ashley's silver in the 1500, Juliana's silver in the 100 breast and a bronze in the 200 breast. Brooke added three silver and four gold. Newcomer Aiden Webber contributed a bronze in his first performance at the regional level, while teammate Josiah Ney from Gold River added a gold in the 50 free, three silvers, and a bronze.
Ben Neufeld ran up a total of three silvers and a pair of bronze. Jordyn swam finals in every event she was entered in and came away with two gold and a silver. Gabrielle Wolfe set the bar high and swam each final as if on fire. She topped the podium for six gold and a silver – leading the team in total points earned by a single swimmer.
Jordyn also achieved her goal of making her third Age Group National time. Jordyn will be joining Brooke (who qualified at a previous meet) to compete at the National level in Montreal in June 2013.
"What was impressive about these swims was the amount of time the swimmers dropped," said Sharks' head coach Albert Burgund. "The amount of double-digit drops was staggering. Of note were the 17.83 second drop in Brooke's 1500 and the 27.15 second drop by Gabrielle in her 800 free," Burgund said. "I was not expecting such stellar performances since we have not reached taper yet."
Other swimmers attending the meet included Joyce and Tyra Arends, Joshua Dolman, Amelia Elder, Michael Jung, Emma Neufeld, and Janaya Ryan.
"Our tiny contingent of 14 swimmers was up against much larger teams and fared outstandingly well. I am very proud of the way they swam and predict a bright future for all of them," Burgund said.
"The Sharks thank the regional district for their help in setting up the facility and ensuring that everything met the FINA specification standards for hosting the meet," a spokesperson said. "We also wish to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of the many volunteers – organizers, officials, hospitality, timers – who made this event a huge success, particularly meet manager Heather Ney.
"There were many community members who came out to volunteer whose children weren’t competing this weekend. The CVAC truly appreciates how the community came together to host nearly 300 swimmers from around Vancouver Island!"
For complete results visit the CVAC website www.sharks.bc.ca. To become a sponsor of the club, contact cvsharks@gmail.com.
– CVAC Sharks