Wilmot Aquatic Aces came up big at the recent East Coast Swimming Championships.
Twenty-one members of the Aces swim team traveled to Halifax to compete at the Ken Dunn East Coast Championships, July 6-12 at Dalhousie University.
“We have more national qualifiers this year than we’ve ever had,” said Aces head coach Joni Maerten-Sanders from Tillsonburg, who went into the 2022-23 season expecting a couple of national qualifiers from the young swim team.
“We’ve had a really good year overall – everybody just took off this year. They’ve really worked hard for it.”
The Aces have been growing in recent years, expanding to 90 competitive swimmers and more than 90 novices this season.
The team trains in Baden, near New Hamburg, Woodstock (until June), and in Tillsonburg, this season until December at the Tillsonburg Community Center because the Kinsmen pool was slated to be closed for one year due to renovations starting in spring 2023.
“We saw pretty good growth in Tillsonburg in September (2022) but we couldn’t hang on to it because of the pool closure. Some could not travel to Woodstock, but we are hoping the draw will come back when the pool’s done.”
Forty of the Tillsonburg-Woodstock swimmers trained in Woodstock until the end of June.
At the East Coast Swimming Championships, the Wilmot team finished fourth overall out of 26 clubs. The male team was third overall, only 100 points out of 1st, and the women’s team was fourth overall. Halifax won the overall title ahead of Dartmouth and Ottawa in second and third.
Maerten-Sanders said 14-year-old Mia Tomic had “an amazing meet” winning the high point award for girls 13-14 years of age. Tomic came home with gold in 50-metre free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 back, and silver in 50 butterfly. She had already qualified for the Canadian Junior Nationals, August 1-6 at the Pan Am Sports Center in Toronto, and has added to those events.
Isabel Willson, 13, from Tillsonburg, got up in her first event of the weekend and qualified for her first national championships in the 200m breaststroke event. Willson also won the 200 br, won silver in the 100 br and 50 br and 400 IM, bronze in the 200 IM, 4th in 200 fly and 8th in 400 free.
Emma Jane Fowler, 17, from Woodstock, came up big in the 200 fly winning the event with a national qualifying time. She also was silver in the 400 IM, 4th in 200 IM, 50 fly and 100 fly, 8th in 50 br, and 9th in 50 free.
Not to be outdone, 15-year-old Robert Pop won the high point for 14-15 year old boys. Pop qualified for his first national championships in the 800 free and 1500 free. He won gold in the 800 free, 1500 free, 400 free and 200 free, second in 100 free, 5th in 50 free and 9th in 50 fly and 200 back.
Other top performances included Silas Campbell, 15, gold 400 IM, silver 400 free, 200 free and 100 fly, bronze 800 free and 1500 free, 4th 200 IM and 9th in 50 free.
Jacob Fowler, 13, from Woodstock, won gold in 800 free, 400 free, 400 IM, 4th 200 free, 5th 200 IM, 100 free and 200 back and 7th 100 back.
Austin Heinbuch, 14, was 4th in 50 gr, 5th in 200 gr and 100 gr, 6th in 400 free and 7th in 200 IM.
Vasyl Kruypnin, 10, swam to four No. 1 times in Canada this season in the 50 br, 100 br, 200 br and 200 IM. Kruypnin competed in 13-and-under finishing 5th in 200 br, 6th in 50 fly
and 100 fly 8th in 100 dc, and 200 IM.
Macy Larivee, 12, won bronze in the 800 free, 5th in 100 free and 100 fly, 6th in 200 free and 50 free, 7th in 100 back, and 8th in 400 free.
Angela Levac, 14, struck silver in the 50 back behind Mia Tomic giving the Aces a 1-2 finish. She also finished 7th in 100 back.
Lucy Levac, 13, was 8th in 100 breaststroke.
Anna MacDonald, 10, racing in 12-and-under, also had a great meet finishing 5th in 200 br, 4th in 100 br, and 50 br, and 7th in 200 IM.
Calum MacLeod, 13, won bronze in the 800 free, 7th in 200 back, 8th in 400 free.
Ben Sos, 15, swam to a 5th place finish in the 400 free.
Luka Tomic 18, won gold in 100 fly, silver in 200 fly, 50 fly and 200 free, bronze in 100 back and 50 free, 5th in 50 back, and 8th in 100 free.
Aces’ relays also came up big winning gold in 13-and-under boys 4x200m free relay, 14-15 Boys 4×100 free relay and medley relay, and numerous silver medals.
On the final day Calum MacLeod and Austin Heinbuch competed in the open water event. MacLeod finished 3rd in
3-km open water in 13-and-under while Heinbuch was 2nd in the 3-km 14-15 year olds.
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