The Comox Valley Aquatic Club hosted the Spring Splash this past weekend at the Sports Centre. This meet was primarily for the novice swimmers of the club and the results were awesome for the younger swimmers.
In the 10 and Under category, Emma Wolfe (9) tackled the 400 free and made 100 per cent best times with wins in the 50 free and 50 fly. Caitlin Burry (8) won three of her races while Tyra Arends (9) and Janaya Ryan (10) both won two gold plus earned a silver. Sasha Gillis (8) swam to four silver and a bronze.
Samanatha Naish (8) won her 25 back and Laine Perry, the Sharks youngest competitor at age seven, won the 25 fly in fine form and did an impressive swim in her first 200 freestyle, coming in second. Kaya Hund swam to 100 per cent best times.
Shayna Jewitt (9) swam hard and made some impressive drops in her 50 back and 50 free races. Ava Kendrick (9) did the 1,2,3: gold in the 50 breast, silver in the 25 fly and bronze in the 50 free.
In the boys 10 and Under, Rafe Perry (9) dropped 28.14 seconds in the 100 IM on his way to two silver and a bronze. Peter Shaver (8) picked up three gold and a silver while teammate Jaden Fath (10) won the 50 and 25 freestyle races. Delwyn Marcoux (10) dropped some time on his way to one gold, one silver and two bronze.
In the 11-12 category, Jay Ryan Arends (12) won all her races and looked great doing it. Eden Nowak (11) swam hard and won a bronze, learned a lot, and kept a smile on her face throughout the meet. Alejandra Sanders (11) netted a couple of silvers and a bronze, helping to rack up the team points.
Alec Huisamen (11) picked up silver in 100 breast and 100 IM. Eric Jung (11) struck gold in the 50 fly and the 50 breast while Nathan Miller (12) showed true grit, earning two silver and a bronze. Zach Wood enjoyed himself and picking up a bronze in the 100 breast kept a smile on his face.
The older swimmers felt it was hard going. They have been putting in lots of metres in training and the pool was uncomfortably warm for racing. Despite this they truly shone. Joyce Arends (16) won all of her events and split both her 200 and 400 free beautifully. Not to be outdone, Ethan Ashley (14) won all his events and split his 200 free as per instructed.
Josh Dolman (15) made winning look easy as he stroked to five gold. Amelia Elder (13) also racked up five gold and swam well-split 400 and 200 free races. Geofrey Hynds (14) picked up four gold and swam a well paced 400 free making coach Scott very happy.
Connor O'Hara (15) swam to two gold, a silver and a bronze while teammate Meghan Perry (13) netted two gold and two silver with a double digit drop in her 200 free. Emily Verret (14) scored triple silver and Brendan Sharp added a couple of silver and a bronze.
Needless to say, the Sharks won the competition. Thank you to everyone who helped out and to the visiting teams who drove from Nainaimo, Qualicum, Port Alberni and Campbell River to have some fun and race hard with their novice swimmers.
– Comox Valley Aquatic Club