Five meet records were toppled by Whitehorse Glacier Bears at the Yukon Invitational Swim Meet - the Yukon championships - on Friday and Saturday at the Canada Games Centre.
Glacier Bears Adrian Robinson, Rennes Lindsay, Cassis Lindsay and Haley Braga each penciled their names into the record book with fast swims.
Robinson, who was competing in boys 11-12, set two meet records. The swimmer, who is in his third season with the team, swam the 50-metre breaststroke in 40.12 and the 100-metre breaststroke in 1:28.21.
Robinson currently holds seven Glacier Bears club records for short course and one long course. He recently won gold in the 50-metre freestyle at the B.C. AAA Short Course Championships in Surrey, B.C., in March.
Lindsay set her record in the 200-metre butterfly for girls 10-and-under, completing the race in 3:20.18. Her time qualifies her for the B.C. AAs.
“It’s really exciting for her to qualify for that at such a young age,” said Glacier Bears head coach Stephanie Dixon.
Teammate Emily Crist reached a AA time in the girls 13-14 division.
[image2]
Braga entered the record book, swimming the 400-metre individual medley in 5:35.62 for girls 15-and-over. Braga holds one long-course club record in the 200-metre butterfly for girls 11-12.
Lindsay, swimming in girls 11-12, set her record in the 100-metre backstroke with a time of 1:17.76.
Getting a special mention from Dixon was 12-year-old swimmer Clodagh Berg. Berg set personal best times in all 11 of her swims.
“I don’t know how many best times she had, but she definitely stands out in my mind as somebody who had a breakthrough meet,” said Dixon. “I might go as far as to name her swimmer of the meet for the most improved.”
With teams from Juneau and Haines, Alaska, absent from the meet, organizers decided make things more interesting by splitting the Glacier Bears into three teams.
With self-improvement a focus, the winning team wasn’t the one to win the most races, but the team to set the most personal bests.
“That’s the emphasis we really wanted to have,” said Dixon. “These kids, in my opinion, should be focusing on personal improvement. Of course, winning is important as well, but the only way to win is to put your best foot forward. So you need to focus on the process, not the results.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com