Orcas Dominate in Claresholm; Watt Qualifies for ASSA All Star Team

Thanks Shannon Bos for the photos! (LINK HERE)

For the third straight year, the Orcas were outnumbered by the host Claresholm Krakens at the Claresholm Kraken Invitational Swim Meet.  Throughout the years, the Orcas have been repeatedly scrutinized for relying on numbers rather than skill to repeatedly dominate meets in the Southern Region.  This weekend, the Orcas proved once again that high attendance numbers aren’t the only reason they have gone undefeated since the front half of the 2015 season.  After several strong performances by Orcas swimmers, the Orcas finished nearly 140 points in front of the host Krakens to capture the Gross Points Award.  In addition, the Orcas were awarded the Net Points Award, as the Orcas averaged more points per swimmer than any of the other seven teams at the meet.
 
​The Orcas had strong performers all across the board, as they had aggregate medal winners in each age group.  In the 6 and under division, Bentley Togo and Luke Pinder went 1-2 on the boys’ side, while Colby Pilsner-Roberts captured silver on the girls’ side.  In the 7-8 category, three Orcas swept the girls’ side as Elliott Pilsner-Roberts won gold, while Taylor Ginther and Andie Smith won silver and bronze, respectively.  Two swimmers dominated the 9-10 category as Jake Odorski took home the gold medal for the boy’s, while Lily Petry won the gold for the girl’s.  Sean Vanderzee was the lone medal winner in the 11-12 category, but did so in style also taking home gold.  Adding to the gold medal count, Tyson Chomiak won gold in the boy’s 13-14 category, while Isabelle Petry and Charlotte Vanden Elzen went 2-3 on the girl’s side.  In the 15-17 age group, Madeline Vanden Elzen and Morgan Bos tied for the bronze aggregate on the girls’ side.  In the masters’ division, coach Josh Adams claimed a silver medal, while coach Aaron Gamble followed right behind with bronze.

Sean Vanderzee (left) won gold in the 11-12 age group and currently sits 1st in the province in the Boys 11-12 100 Back.  Coach Aaron Gamble won bronze in the masters division, but in this moment, he may have been regretting his choice to race the 200 IM.

In a total of 214 individual swims, the Orcas were able to swim 134 best times.  This means that 62.6% of swims were best times, which is an insanely high rate!  Swimmers who swam best times in 100% of their races were: Josh Adams, Ethan Boras, Olivia Bos, Elyse Burgess, Nicole Burgess, Carson Clamp, Taylor Ginther, Tarak Grover, Jocelyn Kozub, Austin Kremenik, Jake Odorski, Taya Odorski, Colby Pilsner-Roberts, Luke Pinder, Rowenne Shannon, Andie Smith, Bentley Togo, Alexa Weighill, Kallen Weighill, and Eric Wen.

Carson Clamp (left) and Morgan Bos (right) both represented the Orcas at a meet for their first times.  Carson had a great time racing in his first ever meet, while Morgan was able to capture a bronze medal in her first meet with the club

The Claresholm meet was also the first of three meets that Region F swimmers could attempt to qualify for Swim Alberta Provincials.  Swim Alberta sets a “Championship Time Standard” that a majority of year-round swimmers find hard to make.  Summer swimmers who attain the standard by the June 20th cut-off-date, are eligible to compete at the event as part of the ASSA All Star Team.  This is a very challenging task as summer swimmers are only given a six-week training period to obtain the same time that winter swimmers train all year to get. On the weekend, Jens Watt met the qualification time in the 50 breast. He has consistently qualified for the All Star team every year for the past half decade.  On the girl’s side, Olivia Bos swam a massive best time to fall 0.05 seconds short of the time standard in the 50 breast.  The Orcas have two more meets before the deadline.  Many more Orcas have a probable chance of reaching the Championship Time Standard.

Jens Watt (left) qualified for Swim Alberta Provincials, meeting the time standard in the 50 breaststroke.  Lily Petry (right) won gold in the girls’ 9-10 category and currently ranks 1st provincially in two events.

As of June 4, U17 Orcas swimmers are ranked in the top 3 provincially in 25 events.  Of those 25, 11 of them are currently ranked first.  Those currently ranked 1st in the province are:
 

• Olivia Bos: Girls 13-14 50 Breaststroke
• Tyson Chomiak: Boys 13-14 50 Freestyle, Boys 13-14 100 Freestyle
• Tristen Harvey: Boys 17 and Under 1500 Freestyle
• Lily Petry: Girls 9-10 100 Butterfly, Girls 9-10 100 IM
• Colby Pilsner-Roberts: Girls 6 and Under 25 Breaststroke
• Bentley Togo: Boys 6 and Under 25 Backstroke, Boys 6 and Under 50 Backstroke, Boys 6 and Under 50 Freestyle
• Sean Vanderzee: Boys 11-12 100 Backstroke

The Lethbridge Orcas will be back in action this Saturday, June 10th at the Taber pool, where they will look to continue their 13 meet winning streak.