With 17 all-time club records falling, the Williams Lake Blue Fins had one of its most successful provincial championships of all time.
The team travelled to Victoria’s Commonwealth Pool for the meet and, finishing 17th place overall in the province with just six swimmers at the event, it turned out to be a huge success for the club, said head coach Chad Webb.
More than 50 clubs competed at the meet and the Blue Fins finished with some amazing results — even topping Prince George in the overall standings, Webb noted.
Gabrielle Knox, Morgan Langford, Jadyn Johnston and Taylor Fitzgerald all qualified for multiple swims at the upcoming Western Canadian Championships being held in Saskatoon, Sask. April 16-20.
“They will compete against the best in Western Canada so they will continue on and train through spring break to be ready for the competition,” Webb said.
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Top-10 finishes were claimed by all swimmers who attended from the Williams Lake squad, which helped in the point scores against some large teams boasting over 30 swimmers at provincials.
The Blue Fins’ relay team finished up 11th in the medley relay and ninth in the free relay, with Braedi Hamar, Peyton Bailey, Knox and Langford.
Leading the way for the Blue Fins, meanwhile, with seven new club records was Jadyn Johnston, while Knox swam away with four.
Fitzgerald had just three new club records, but Webb said she made them count, qualifying for the Olympic Trials in Toronto, Ont. in early April for both the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke.
She managed a fifth-place finish in the 200-metre backstroke and, in the 100-metre backstroke, came away with the only Blue Fins medal of the meet, placing third to capture the bronze in an open age group of 15 and over.
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“This is the first swimmer to Nationals (Olympic Trials) the club has ever had,” Webb said, adding he was extremely proud of how the team competed against some of the best swimmers in the country.
Club records for the Blue Fins are as follows:
Gabriell Knox
• 100-metre freestyle: 1:02.16
• 400-metre individual medley: 5:33.54
• 50-metre freestyle: 28.38
• 200-metre individual medley: 2:31.44
Peyton Bailey
• 200-metre butterfly: 2:45.61
Jadyn Johnston
• 200-metre butterfly: 2:12.69
• 400-metre freestyle: 4:24.85
• 200-metre backstroke: 2:15.42
• 200-metre individual medley: 2:17.24
• 100-metre backstroke: 1:01.93
• 50-metre butterfly: 27.07
• 100-metre butterfly: 59.86
Taylor Fitzgerald
• 200-metre backstroke: 2:22.74
• 200-metre individual medley: 2:31.29
• 100-metre backstroke: 1:05.50
Morgan Langford, Peyton Bailey, Braedi Hamar and Gabrielle Knox
• 200-metre free relay: 1:58.08
sports@wltribune.com
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