Westlock swimmers earned five medals at their first swim meet of the season.
Competing at the Fred Morie Memorial swim meet in Westlock on June 1, the Westlock Gators’ 28 swimmers came away with two golds and three bronzes.
Ann-Marie Carnegie took gold in the 18-and-over girls division, while Rachael Casavant earned gold in the girls 11-12 category.
Bronze-medal winners were Brienna Nyal (7-8 girls), Evan Felstad (11-12 boys) and Aaron Felstad (13-14 boys).
“I felt they managed very well and put in a great effort,” said coach Kirsten Tabert. “Many of them were showing us the skills they had learned in only four weeks of practice.”
Medals were handed out for overall performances only.
Carnegie earned her gold on the back of three first-place finishes in the 50-metre butterfly, 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke.
Casavant took first in the 100 breaststroke, 100 individual medley (IM) and 50 butterfly.
Aaron Felstad took second in each of the 100 breaststroke, 50 breaststroke and 100 freestyle.
Evan Felstad was second in the 100 freestyle, 100 IM and 50 breaststroke.
Nyal finished first in the 50 freestyle, second in the 25 freestyle and fifth in the 25 backstroke.
Each of the club’s 28 swimmers posted personal bests in at least one event, Tabert said.
The highlight of the day for Tabert was watching the Gators’ youngest swimmer, five-year-old Olivia Nyal, competing in the girls six-and-under 25-metre flutterboard race.
Nyal finished in fifth place with a time of 1:11.47, but she was not discouraged in the least.
“She smiled the whole way,” Tabert said.
As a team, the Gators finished in third place with 271.5 points. The St. Albert Sailfish won the meet with 838.5 points, while the Stony Plain Sharks earned 391 points to take second.
In total, there were 222 swimmers in and around the Westlock Aquatic Centre on Saturday, constantly vigilant to make sure they did not miss their races.
Meet crews kept the races going non-stop, marshalling swimmers through a series of lines and benches to make sure they were in the right place when their event started.
