Northwest Narwhals Media Update
Prairie Winter International 2015
A record 18 swimmers from Northwest Narwhal Swim Club attended the Prairie Winter International 2015 on December 10th to 15th competing against 29 Clubs from across Canada with a strong showing from all on the team.
Diego Barcena-Martinez, Stuart Closs, Emma Cournoyer, Makenzie McCuaig, Katie Meakin, Kate Moorhouse and Rowen Sharp joined the team in this fast tank for the first time at this annual event.
Highlights of the team’s performance include Ilana Mironsky (12), in the 12 and under girls division digging deep to achieve a Silver in the 200 Back and a Bronze in the 100 Back along with 100 per cent personal bests in all her swims swimming in 7 finals.
She was narrowly out touched in the 200 IM to rank 4th in the race. Makenzie McCuaig (11) swam hard to make 3 finals resulting in a 7th place finish in the 100 IM along with a 15th place finish in the 100 and 200 Breast.
Rowan Sharp (11) swam finals in the 100 IM finishing 12th overall. On her 50 Breaststroke she slashed 7.38 seconds from her time and swam a strong anchor in the Freestyle relay. Emma Cournoyer (11) had strong performances in all swims making a final in the 100 IM to rank 15th overall as well as a 9th in the gruelling 800 Free and 11th in the 400 Free also cutting times from most of her swims.
In the boys 12 and under division Diego (11) gave it his all in every race dropping 8.20 seconds in his 100 back and over 2 seconds in his 100 Free.
In the 13 – 14 girls, Alyssa Bossio lead the group with 100 per cent personal best times swimming in 6 finals.
Highlights of her fantastic weekend include cutting a massive 18.59 seconds in her 800 Free to finish 6th and breaking the 30 second barrier in her 50 Free in both prelims and finals to finish 8th overall.
Katie Meakin (13) broke the 5 minute mark in her 400 Free finishing up 9th overall. She also swam finals in the 50 and 100 Free with a 9th and 7th place finish respectively. Kate Moorhouse (13) pushed hard in all her swims for 83% personal best times dropping over 6 seconds in the 200 IM and almost 5 in the 100 IM. Emma Moorhouse (14) also had 83% personal best times making finals in the 100 IM to finish 16th overall as well as cutting almost 5 seconds off her 200 IM.
In the 13 and under boys division Stuart Closs swam 5 finals showing strong finishes in all swims. He dropped a massive 15.42 seconds in the 50 Fly for a 7th place finish and finished 5th in the 100 Fly, 6th in the 50 Free keeping all finishes in the top 20 for the division.
In the boys 14 – 15 division, Lawson Mironsky (15), swam 6 finals keeping 6 of his finishes in the top 8 and 3 in the top 20 including a 20th in the 50 Back. Justin Felix (15), also swam 4 finals shaving time off most swims with strong finishes in the 200 Breast (9th) and the 100 Breast (10th). Eric Osala (15) swam a pair of finals in the 100 and 200 Fly moving up to finish 13th and 7th respectively cutting over 7 seconds in the exhausting 200 Fly overall.
In the girls 15 and over division Morgan LaBelle (17) made the team proud by singing the national anthem before the final day of finals. She also swam hard to make 3 finals with an 8th place in the 100 IM, 11th in the 200 Breast and 16th in the 200 Back. Brittney Felix (17), performed well making a pair a finals with a 6th place in the 100 IM and 16th in the 100 Fly. She swam lead in both the Freestyle and Medley Relay.
Riley James (15) had 83% personal best times swimming finals in the 100 IM with a 15th place finish. Madi Ross (15) had strong finishes in this tough age group narrowly missing finals in the 100 IM showing improvement in the 50 Fly, 50 Back and 100 Back.
Mathew Dafoe (16) swam in the 16 and over boys division making finals in the 200 IM and swimming to 100 per cent personal best times. He had top 20 finishes in this 50 Fly, 50 Breast and 100 IM.
Next up the team competes in the Regional Championships at the end of January held at the Canada Games Complex.
