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Mavericks march home with medal haul

Swimming: Okotoks swim club brings home 56 podium finishes from Killarney meet
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Okotoks Maverick Hailey Thiele, right, picked up six gold medals at the Killarney SC Invitational meet. (Photo courtesy Okotoks Mavericks)

It’s a pretty good way to wave goodbye to a sport.

Okotoks Maverick Hailey Thiele was one of two club members to win a staggering six gold medals at the Killarney SC Invitational in November in one of her final meets with the club before she moves on to a new adventure in other sports.

“It was kind of special because I knew it was one of my last meets because I already was thinking around quitting,” said Thiele, a seven-year member of the swim club. “It was also nice because my sister (Abby) was there and she made me a bit faster, her being there kind of helps me.”

The 10-year-old Thiele won gold in the 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100 and 200m IM as well as the 50 and 100m freestyle.

“The (200 IM) is a race that not many 10-year-olds do,” she said. “It’s really the fly that I get ahead on and most people fall apart on the fly.”

Deon Badenhorst also made six trips to the top of the podium, winning all six of his events. The 12-year-old won gold in 50 and 100m freestyle, 100m IM, 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.

All told, the Mavericks picked up an impressive 56 medals from the invitational — 27 gold, 12 silver and 17 bronze.

Filip Bednarz, 14, picked up a quartet of first-place finishes in the 100 and 200m backstroke, 100m IM and 100m butterfly.

“I think I had to focus more on my underwaters,” Bednarz said. “I was a little tired going into the meet, but I think my mind really helped me through it.

“I’d say a solid 50 per cent of swimming is you have to be in the right mindset because if you’re not thinking straight how are you going to swim well?”

Bednarz earned a personal best in the 100m butterfly.

“Fly is my fastest stroke,” he said. “And I prefer to swim fly over other strokes because I can lay myself out without that tiredness and I keep my pace throughout so I can conserve my energy.”

Teammate Wells Ginzer has made a successful transition to the Mavericks after a half decade in summer swimming with the Okotoks Stingrays.

The 13-year-old earned his championship standard time at the invitational along with three gold medal swims in the 200m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 100m IM.

“My favourite event right now, period, is the 100 fly,” he said. “It’s nice and short, but it’s also a nice amount. It’s a lot more tiring than say a 100 free.

“I also like 100 fly because I’ve got some more competition and it’s nice to compete.”

Also adding gold medal swims were Tess Barber, Justin d’Ailly, Hudsyn Watt, Matthew James along with Mychael and Clayton Lindenback.

“I like seeing my fellow competitors do good,” Ginzer said.

This weekend the Mavericks hold their annual Team Photos with Santa event at the Seton Pool on Dec. 7. The following weekend the Okotoks club travels to Edmonton for the JP Fiset Invitational.

For more information go to okotoksmavericks.com


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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