The senior swim team travelled to Watermania in Richmond for the BC Championships this past Friday and Saturday. The story of the weekend was Tommy Dong who brought home a bronze medal. Here is Coach Yoon's report:
The 2019 swim season came to an end this past weekend with 4 Collingwood students competing at the BC championships in Richmond.
Despite having fewer swimmers qualifying for provincials compared to previous years, the team still managed to put together some strong finishes, especially from our senior students.
Aidan Smith did very well in the preliminaries and qualified for the medal rounds in 3 events. Aidan's best finish came in the very competitive 100-meter freestyle race where he came in 5th place. Aidan has been a competitive swimmer for many years. He trains rigorously with his club team, but has represented the Collingwood Swim Team on many occasions and helped the school win a silver medal last year in the 200-meter Medley relay event. Aidan will be graduating this year; we wish him all the best next year and also thank him for being an excellent representative for Collingwood.
Grade 11 student Tommy Dong also made it to the finals for 2 events. Tommy had the fastest time in the preliminary round in the 100-meter breaststroke and was able to capture the bronze medal in the finals. In the finals, Tommy was in first place heading into the last stretch, but the last 25 meters was very competitive as every swimmer was sprinting to the end. Tommy will definitely be back next year and will once again be a strong candidate to medal. With Tommy capturing the bronze medal, the Collingwood Swim Team has won a medal at the provincials the last 3 years.
Isavella Barbosa also qualified for provincials in the 100-meter breaststroke. Qualifying for provincials as a grade 8 student is very impressive as Isavella was competing against older students in Grade 11 and 12. Isavella has had a great start to her high school swimming career, and we look forward to seeing her again for many years to come.
Mrs. Carlbeck and I would like to thank all our swimmers this past year for their hard work and a special thank you to Avery Kirstiuk for coaching the team.
Tommy Dong with medal in hand. Beside him is Aidan Smith who finished his terrific Collingwood swim career on Saturday.