Swim Yukon and the Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club hosted the 2019 Yukon Championship Swim Meet at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse on April 26 and 27.
A total of 113 swimmers from the Whitehorse Glacier Bears, the Haines Dolphins Swim Team and Special Olympics Yukon took part in the meet, which doubled as a qualifier for the Western Canada Summer Games this summer in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
This year’s meet included six new records, including five by the Glacier Bears’ Thomas Gishler.
Zoe Benitah, Lauren Faulkner, Madie Mead and Hayden Westropp all qualified for the games and will compete for the Yukon in Saskatchewan.
Swimmers were grouped into categories based on age and gender, with aggregate winners calculated for each group.
Gishler was the aggregate winner of the boys 13 and 14 group, and set records in the 200 metre butterfly (2:31.15), 200 m freestyle (2:09.28), 400 m freestyle (4:33.35), 200 m individual medley (2:29.71) and the 1,500 m freestyle (18:00.85).
Gishler’s time in the 1,500 m freestyle was not only a meet record, but a new club record as well.
The other record set at the meet belongs to Mia Barrault in the 200 m breaststroke (2:45.99) en route to becoming the aggregate winner of the girls 13 and 14 group.
In the girls eight and under group, Kaia Eikland was first followed by River Powell in second and Makayla Henry.
The boys eight and under winner was Roy Oborne, with Caedmon Del Prete second and Jett Schommer third.
Sabine Keesey won the girls nine and 10 group, while Ella Germain and Naomi Pearce finished second and third.
McConnell Robinson was the top swimmer in the boys nine and 10 group, followed by Hugh Stopps and Fin Bradford.
Winning the girls 11 and 12 group was Breanna Faulkner. In second place was Lauren Faulkner, and in third place was Melody Qiu.
On the boys side, the 11 and 12 group winner was Garrison Del Prete. Second spot went to Tuja Dreyer and Liam Gishler was third.
Barrault won the girls 13 and 14 group, with Kassua Dreyer in second and Amelia Ford in third.
The winner of the girls 15 and over group was Alexa Mannen. Second place was Camilla Hallock and Amelia Wallace was third.
Rounding out the results, Aidan Harvey won the boys 15 and over group. Hayden Westropp was second and Kevin Spofford was third.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com