The Okotoks Stingrays Summer Swim Club competed in its first meet of the season on the weekend, but if there was any rust it didn’t show in the results.
The Stingrays took home 28 first-place finishes and swam to 95 personal bests at the High River Otters Invitational May 25-26 at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex pool, the first event of the season for the Alberta Summer Swimming Association (ASSA) club.
Stingray head coach Geri Ruissen said she was pleased with the results especially given the short amount of time the swimmers had to prepare for the Otters meet.
“Overall the club swam really well,” Ruissen said. “It was a week earlier than usual so they’ve had even less time to prepare, only about three or four weeks. We have a really great team of coaches so some credit goes to them as well.”
A trio of Stingrays, including Tanner Potaka, Michael Duval and Thomias Bruch, qualified for the ASSA all-star team.
“There’s a certain set of time standards that are provincial-wide and they’re the same times that apply to the winter club swim teams,” Ruissen explained.
The ASSA all-star swimmers qualify for the long course provincial meet in Edmonton from July 6-9 where they will compete as a team versus the elite winter club swimmers.
Potaka, a Grade 7 student at John Paul II Collegiate in Okotoks, earned his spot on the all-star team for a third time after swimming to provincial A-times of 1:05.16 in the 100m freestyle and 1:14.82 in the 100m backstroke.
The 12-year-old said he was well prepared for the meet.
“Just working in practice on strokes and breathing properly and flip turns,” he said.
Potaka finished first in all four of his races: the 50m backstroke, 100m IM, 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
He’s certainly comfortable in the pool as a seven-year member of the Stingrays and an elite water-polo player for the Foothills Dolphins.
He said his training in the latter improves his fitness for the former.
“I’m swimming all-year round so it prepares for swimming in the swim club because water polo is a lot of swimming too,” Potaka said.
Stingray teammate Tristen Hetherington found the perfect way to ring in his sweet 16 at the High River Invitational.
“One of my favourite stories was (Tristen) in our top group took off 16 seconds in the 50m butterfly on his 16th birthday so that was kind of special for him,” said Ruissen.
Other highlights for the club included three first place swims from Turner Valley resident Michael Duval in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle.
Bruch earned first place finishes in both the 50m and 100m butterfly while Kale Legrandeur took first in the 200m freestyle and 50m breaststroke.
Jorja Inglis earned three first place finishes in the girls six and under 25m backstroke, 25m freestyle and 25m flutter while Teghan Inglis was fastest in the 10 and under girls 50m freestyle and breaststroke and Easton Inglis was tops in the boys eight and under 25m freestyle and 100m IM.
The Okotoks Stingrays ring in their 30th anniversary as a swim club this weekend when it hosts its annual Okotoks Stingrays Invitational swim meet, June 1-2 at the Okotoks Pool.
The meet, expected to have approximately 400 swimmers representing 10 different clubs in the province, starts at 5:30 p.m. on June 1 and begins again at 8 a.m. on June 2 with races going until 6 p.m.
For more information on the Okotoks Stingrays go to www.okotoksstingrays.com
