Solid showing for SSMAC at long course championships

Strong showings by the club’s youthful core powered the Sault Ste. Marie Aquatic Club to a fourth-place finish in the pre-provincial division of the North Eastern Ontario Region (NEOR) Huronia Long Course Championships in Sudbury over the weekend.

Seventeen teams were registered.

Kyle Matthews captured the high point trophy in the boys’ 12-13 age range with first-place finishes in the 50- and 100-metre freestyle, the 100- and 200-metre butterfly and the 200- and 400-metre individual medley.

Becky Day garnered the same honour in the girls’ 12-13 competition by winning her 100-, 200-,400- and 800-metre freestyle events, along with the 100- and 200-metre backstroke.

Also recording strong performances were Blaine Dolcetti with two first-place finishes, a second-place result and a third-place showing. Joshua Lawrence finished first once and had two thirds, while Jeff Byrne placed third twice. Wendy Oleskiw had a third-place medal.

The team fared well in relay action. The boys’ 16 and over 200-metre medley relay foursome of Alex Bonne, Blaine Dolcetti, Jeff Byrne, and Jeff Park placed second. The same group was third in the boys’ 16 and over 200-metre freestyle relay.

Hannah Murray, Julia Turgeon, Cary Matthews, and Alexandra Tracy combined to finish third in the girls’ 11 and under 200-metre medley relay. The same four placed third in the girls’ 11 and under 200-metre freestyle relay.

Coach Bill Park was enthused about the team’s performance at the meet. "Many of our top performers in this competition have several years remaining with the team and they are fast becoming leaders on the club," says Park. "Most of our senior swimmers are returning next year and we have great depth of swimmers in their early teens."

In developmental action, SSMAC finished second out of 16 teams.

Steven Lee won high point honours in the boys’ nine and under competition. He had first-place showings in the 50-metre freestyle, the 100-metre backstroke, the 50- and 100-metre breaststroke, and the 50-metre butterfly.

Theo Theodossiou, swimming in the 14-15 age range, finished second in the high points race, winning three races and placing second twice.

Garnering multiple top-three finishes were PatrickBonne, Sara Matthews, Adam Mossa, Michael Lawrence, and Rayne Fisher.

SSMAC had six top-three placings in relay action.

"Our club swam amazingly this weekend in this division. Lifetime best results were achieved by all swimmers. We did well with a small group. The first place Laurentian team had over 50 swimmers."

(Submitted by David Olinger)