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Foothills Stingrays show their stuff

It’s a busy time of year for the Foothills Stingrays as the Okotoks swim club hosted the Team Photos with Santa Junior Meet over the weekend.
Foothills Stingray swimmer Christyna Dashko swims to victory during the J.P Fiset swim meet in Edmonton. The four-day event ran from Dec. 2-5 and hosted competitors from
Foothills Stingray swimmer Christyna Dashko swims to victory during the J.P Fiset swim meet in Edmonton. The four-day event ran from Dec. 2-5 and hosted competitors from across the province.

It’s a busy time of year for the Foothills Stingrays as the Okotoks swim club hosted the Team Photos with Santa Junior Meet over the weekend.

The Junior circuit event was held for swimmers who have not yet achieved an Alberta B qualifying time, which would qualify them for a higher level of competition.

The meet presented a valuable opportunity for swimmers who are just getting used to the competition aspect of the sport Stingrays head coach Todd Melton explained.

“This is for all our kids who are just gaining experience in the sport. So they never really race much. Most of them have only been in for one to two years,” he said.

The club has grown considerably over the past two years, nearly doubling in size, with 100 youngsters now enrolled in the program. With so many swimmers signed up, the chance for them to test their skills in a lower pressure environment is an important one for their development.

“That’s what it’s basically for – introducing the kids to racing,” Melton said.

While the younger Stingrays were busy training for their meet, the older swimmers spent the Dec. 2-5 weekend at the J.P Fiset meet in Edmonton.

The Stingrays cleaned up at the four-day meet collecting 37 new individual records as well as three relay records.

With the standard of competition rivaling the Provincial level, the J.P Fiset meet allowed the Stingrays to demonstrate the results of their hard work.

Leading the way for Foothills was breaststroke swimmer Christyna Dashko, who claimed gold in the 50m and 100m events. She also collected a third-place finish in the 200m breaststroke.

Ever the competitor, Dashko thought she could have done even more. However, she could hardly be unhappy with her results.

“I think it was pretty good. I didn’t get all the times I wanted but I can’t complain,” she said.

Buoyed by her results, the 14-year old Okotoks native is setting her sights high for this season. Dashko is hoping to earn a berth at the upcoming Canadian Age Group Nationals in Montreal.

“I want to place in Nationals or at least make the final. Last year I went and it wasn’t the greatest meet for me,” she said.

To qualify for Nationals, a swimmer has to meet a national time standard — a prerequisite that Dashko should hardly have trouble fulfilling.

A Stingrays veteran of eight years, Dashko credited the arrival of Melton for her ascent into the upper echelon of swimming competition.

“Just the way he trains us is so much better. (He) really focuses on the technique and then he does the practice to build your speed. He gives you lots of one-on-one time so it’s really good,” she explained.

There were a few other notable performances by Melton’s disciples in Edmonton. This included 16-year-old swimmer Joel Bennett, who posted a 2:19 time in the 200m butterfly.

The result is only a few seconds off the national qualifying time and a remarkable result for an athlete who is only in his third year of swimming.

Fourteen-year-old Tianna Going also had a meet to remember. She managed to shave several seconds off from her personal best in the freestyle event.

“She probably took off the most time out of all my swimmers,” praised Melton.

Ten year-old Justin Lisoway also shined. Lisoway managed to claim a bronze in the 50m breaststroke, despite the fact he was competing against a field of swimmers almost two years older.

The great results posted by all the Stingrays swimmers were a positive exhibition of progress made.

“It was a fantastic weekend, the kids swam fast and they had a lot of fun,” Melton detailed.

Top eight results for the Foothills Stingrays at the J.P Fiset meet in Edmonton on Dec. 2-5.

Lauren Hedley (12): 1st - 200m breaststroke, 2nd - 100m backstroke, 6th - 50m freestyle/50m backstroke/100m backstroke, 8th - 100m freestyle.Christyna Dashko (14): 1st - 50m breaststroke, 1st - 100m breaststroke, 3rd - 200m breaststroke, 6th - 400m individual medley, 7th - 100m butterfly/200m individual medley, 8th - 50m butterfly. Thomias Bruch (12): 2nd - 200m butterfly, 4th - 200m freestyle, 4th - 400m freestyle. 5th - 50m freestyle, 6th - 100 freestyle. Justin Lisoway (10): 3rd - 50m breaststroke, 4th - 400m individual medley, 7th - 200m breaststroke, 7th - 100m butterfly.Kyle Jackson (13): 4th - 400/1500m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 6th - 200m freestyle.Ryan Jackson (15): 4th - 200m butterfly, 6th - 400m individual medley, 8th - 50m butterfly.Kalyna Dashko (14): 5th - 100/200m breaststroke, 7th - 50m backstroke, 8th - 50m breaststroke.Tianna Going (14): 5th - 100m freestyle, 6th - 50m freestyle, 7th - 200m freestyle.Holly Johnson (13): 5th - 800m freestyle, 6th - 50m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 7th - 400m individual medley.Blaise Evelyn (11): 8th - 100m backstroke.Richard Williams (12): 7th - 50m backstroke.Joel Bennett (16): 7th - 200m butterfly/400m individual medley.
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