Locals shine at swim provincials
Published on
Mar 09, 2007
Four local swimmers combined to win 19 individual gold medals at last weekend's junior provincial championships, held at the Etobicoke Olympium.
Thirteen-year-old Sinead Russell, representing the Dolphins Swim Club, led the way with seven first-place finishes. Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK) competitors Marni Oldershaw (five gold), Mika Spencer (four) and Mack Darragh (three) also shone, helping OAK finish with the second-highest team total out of the 60 clubs competing.
Russell posted personal-best times in all seven of her events, establishing new Dolphins club records in all as well. She earned the female Iron Man award in her age group and her times in the 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 400m individual medley ranked her first in Canada amongst 13-year-olds.
Oldershaw also won an Iron Man award, dominating her 12-year-old division with wins in the 100m backstroke, 100m and 200m breaststroke, and 200m and 400m individual medley. Spencer, also 12, finished first in the 50m and 100m free as well as the 100m and 200m fly. She and Oldershaw added a pair of relay golds as well.
Darragh won the 200m fly as well as the 200m and 400m individual medleys.
OAK head coach Christy Fonseca was elated with the club's second-place showing at provincials, noting the club met its two main objectives during the short-course season.
"Back in September, I challenged the coaching staff to win Central Region championships and to place (in the) top three at junior provincials," Fonseca said. "We achieved both goals by winning at regionals a few weeks ago and playing second at these provincials. The amount of long-term preparation that goes into performances like these cannot be taken for granted."
Fonseca added the club doubled its number of male qualifiers at the provincial level. Nineteen of the club's 34-member provincial team were male, an anomaly in swimming according to the coach.
"Not only did we have 19 males, we had multiple-medal winners in every male age category except for 12 and 15, and out of 20 relay opportunities on the male side Oakville swimmers stepped on the podium for nine different relays," she said.
Michael Seifert was OAK's other individual gold-medalist, winning the 100m fly.
OAK swimmers set 20 individual and seven relay club records at the meet. Holly Olsen, Annie Harrison, Erin Assman, Alex Plotnikov and Graham Fink's performance at provincials qualified them for the junior nationals, to be held in July.
The Dolphins sent 12 swimmers to the meet, finishing second in the points race for the small-team award. Lauren Dixon, 11, earned silver in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events, dropping more than four seconds off her times in both distances to qualify for the national age group championships.
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JUNIOR PROVINCIAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Oakville Aquatic Club
Individual results
11-year-old girls: Bridget Jordan (bronze in 50m free, 200m free, 100m breast; 6th in 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM), Emily Hunt (7th in 200m fly), Emily Hunt; 12-year-old girls: Marni Oldershaw (gold in 100m back, 100m breast, 200m breast, 200m IM, 400m IM; silver in 200m back; bronze in 800m free), Mika Spencer (gold in 50m free, 100m free, 100m fly, 200m fly; silver in 200m free, 400m free; bronze in 100m back), Holly Olsen (silver in 100m breast, 200m breast), Annie Harrison (bronze in 200m back); 13-year-old girls: Erin Assman (bronze in 200m fly; 4th in 400m IM; 7th in 100m fly), Tera Van Beilen (6th in 100m breast, 200m breast), Clara Armstrong; 15-17-year-old girls: Katie Fox, Nicole MacKenzie, Jenn Wilson, Karina Sils, Carolyn Antonsen; 11-year-old boys: Michael Seifert (gold in 100m fly; silver in 50m fly; bronze in 200m IM; 5th in 100m back, 100m breast; 6th in 200m free; 7th in 200m back), Even White (silver in 100m IM; bronze in 50m back; 5th in 50m fly; 6th in 50m breast; 8th in 200m IM), Mitchell Gour (silver in 50m back; bronze in 100m IM; 8th in 200m back); 13-year-old boys: Mack Darragh (gold in 200m fly, 200m IM, 400m IM; bronze in 200m back; 4th in 100m back; 5th in 400m free, 800m free), Kent Kikot (silver in 100m fly; bronze in 100m free, 200m fly; 5th in 200m free; 7th in 400m free, 100m back), Alex Plotnikov (silver in 100m breast; bronze in 200m breast), Reid Scarrow (7th in 200m breast; 8th in 100m breast); 14-year-old boys: Jose Lozano (bronze in 200m free; 5th in 400m free, 100m fly; 6th in 200m fly, 200m IM; 8th in 800m free), Graham Fink (7th in 200m free); 15-year-old boys: Brody Dyson (7th in 200m back; 8th in 800m free), Dylan Kent; 16-17-year-old boys: Zack Chetrat (silver in 100m back; bronze in 200m free; 4th in 200m fly; 5th in 200m back, 200m back, 200m fly); Curtis Samuel (silver in 1,500m free; 4th in 400m free, 200m IM, 400m IM; 8th in 200m free, 200m back, 200m fly), Luke Kikot (4th in 50m free), Nick Majtenyi (7th in 100m fly), Cameron McLellan, Matt Lawson, James Loh.
Relays
12-year-old girls: Marni Oldershaw, Holly Olsen, Bridget Jordan, Mika Spencer (gold in 4x50m medley, 4x100m medley; silver in 4x50m free), Marni Oldershaw, Bridget Jordan, Annie Harrison, Mika Spencer (silver in 4x100m free); 11-year-old boys: Mitchell Gour, Evan Whie, Michael Seifert, Mackenzie Martyn (silver in 4x50m free, 4x100m free; bronze in 4x50m medley, 4x100m medley); 13-year-old boys: Mack Darragh, Alex Plotnikov, Kent Kikot, Reid Scarrow (silver in 4x50m medley, 4x100m medley; bronze in 4x100m free; 4th in 4x50m free); 15-year-old boys: Jose Lozano, Graham Fink, Brody Dyson, Dylan Kent (6th in 4x100m free, 2x50m medley; 8th in 4x50m free); 16-17-year-old boys: Curtis Samuel, Nick Majtenyi, Luke Kikot, Zack Chetrat (silver in 4x100m free; 5th in 4x50m free); Curtis Samuel, Cameron McLellan, Zack Chetrat, Luke Kikot (silver in 4x50m medley); Curtis Samuel, Cameron McLellan, Zack Chetrat, Nick Majtenyi (5th in 4x100m medley).
Dolphins Swim Club
Individual results
10-and-under girls: Olivia Sbaraglia (5th in 50m free; 6th in 50m back; 7th in 100m back; 8th in 200m back), Michelle Gervais (8th in 50m fly; 9th in 200m free); 11-year-old girls: Lauren Dixon (silver in 100m breast, 200m breast; 8th in 200m free, 800m free), Cassandra Pedro (10th in 800m free); 12-year-old girls: Bronwyn Evans (5th in 800m free; 6th in 400m free; 7th in 200m free); 13-year-old girls: Sinead Russell (gold in 400m IM, 800m free, 100m back, 200m back, 100m free, 400m IM); 11-and-under boys: Conor Russell (8th in 100m fly; 10th in 50m fly, 400m free); 14-year-old boys: James Richards (4th in 200m breast; 5th in 100m breast; 9th in 200m IM).