Whitehorse Glacier Bears team members returned from Fairbanks last weekend with lots of hardware hanging around their necks.
Twenty-three bears travelled to Alaska for the Wishbone Invitational Swim Meet.
Craig Berube finished first overall in the boys’ 11-12 group, with six firsts and a second, including a Glacier Bear record in the 400 IM.
Ten-year-old Haley Braga had an outstanding meet, winning aggregate first place in the girls’ 10-and-under division. Braga had five first-place finishes and five personal best times. Up and comer Erin McArthur came a close second overall in this age group, and finished the meet with six personal bests.
Thomas Chretien also set a club record in the 400 IM in the boys’ 13-14 age group, setting six personal best times.
Shannon Holmes swam an inspired final leg in the girls’ medley relay to stay ahead of the competition in that event, and translated that confidence into six personal best times. Isabel Parkkari lopped huge amounts of time off her previous bests in the 200 breast, 100 back and 500 free.
Club newcomers Savanna Scott and Kordel Parkkari, as well as Edouard Bourcier, Julia Fedoriak, Nadia Petriw and Kevin Salesse participated in this meet for the first time, which provided them with a great learning experience.
Petriw finished with two firsts, two seconds and two thirds in the girls’ 11-12 age group.
For the more advanced swimmers, Kirsten Berube, Felix Bouchard, Molly Purser and Tanner Cassidy all finished second overall in their respective age groups.
Purser notched a AAA time in her last race of the meet, beating out her closest opponent by only hundredths of a second in the girls’ 15 and over 100 breast.
Berube swam to five first and two-second place finishes in the girls’ 13-14 age group. Cassidy was strong in the fly events, despite stiff competition from an Alaskan swimmer, and provided some thrilling finishes.
Although Haley Bielz led the field for much of the race in the girls’ 15 and over 1,650 free, she was passed late in the race and had to settle for second place.
Taylor Campbell finished first in three events and came second in three more in the girls’ 11-12 age group, while Ashley Bray had three personal best times and came third in the 200 breast.
Rebecca Leslie had one second and three third-place finishes and took eight seconds off her best time in the gruelling 1,650. Kate McArthur finished the meet with a first, three second, and two third place finishes in the girls’ 13-14 age group and Jason Zrum had two personal bests en route to one second and two third place results in the boys’ 15 and over group.