Bluephins Go National
Charlottetown
Bluephins set personal best times and gained national meet experience
at the 2010 Eastern Canadian Championship last weekend in Nepean,
Ontario.Five of the teams’ fastest swimmers were on deck for the four-day meet, competing against 700 of the best swimmers in Canada.
Paige
Crowell, 16, posted the best individual result of the weekend. Tied for
17th in the 50 breaststroke, Crowell beat her competitor in a swim-off
and set a personal best time in the event, 33.85 seconds. Crowell
placed 22nd in the 200-metre breaststoke, and narrowly missed
qualifying for finals in the 100 breast, finishing the event in 19th
place. Crowell also placed 40th in the 400-metre individual medley.
Rhea
Hurnik, 17, was just tenths-of-a-second off her personal best time in
the 50 and 100-meter butterfly finishing the events in 64th and 58th
place respectively. Hurnik also finished 48th overall in the 400-metre
freestyle.
Alison
MacEachern, 14, finished 24th in the 50 fly just tenths-of-a-second off
her best time. She placed 52nd in the 50 free, and set a new personal
best time of 1:01.28 in the 100-metre freestyle, finishing 40th.
Emma
MacKay’s best finish was 36th in the 50-metre backstroke. The
15-year-old set a personal best time of 34.39 seconds in the event. She
placed 57th in the 50 free, and 53rd in the 100-metre freestyle,
finishing each race just shy of a personal best time.
James
Profit’s top finish was 18th in the 200-metre backstroke. He set a
personal best time of 1:01.28 in the 100 back, finishing 23rd overall.
The 15-year-old placed 36th and 37th in the 400 and 800-metre freestyle
respectively.
“I
was looking to have the swimmers near or below their lifetime best
swims,” said Bluephin Head Coach Bill Calhoun, “In almost every race
our swimmers were within a second of their lifetime best. I was pleased
with the way we raced and prepared for each race.”
The
Bluephin girls also had the opportunity to race as a national relay
team. They set new club records in all three relays finishing 31st in
the 4x200 free, 50th in the 4x100 free, and 45th in the 4x100-metre
medley relay.
“This
meet was a great opportunity for our swimmers ... the experience they
gained will pay huge dividends at upcoming regional meets,” says
Calhoun.
Bluephins compete next at the East Coast Short Course Championship, March 4-7th at the CARI complex in Charlottetown.