Lucas Punkari
In what was their first—and only—long course swim meet of the season, the Fort Frances Aquanauts wrapped up their year with a bang over the weekend at the annual May Invitational at the Canada Games Complex in Thunder Bay.
“Overall, I thought we did great,” head coach Dawnn Taylor enthused.
“No one really freaked out at all for competing in a long-course pool [50-metre] for the first time, and everyone just took everything in stride, which worked out really well for our team as a whole,” she added.
Leading the way for the Aquanauts was 17-year-old Donovan Taylor, who was competing in his final NWO regional meet before heading to Indiana University this fall.
He captured first place in the 200m and 400m I.M., the 100m breaststroke, and the 200m backstroke in the boys’ 15 and over age group.
“It was bittersweet as it was his last May Invite, but it was also a wonderful meet, as well,” Dawnn Taylor noted.
“When you look at a swim like the 100m breaststroke, that is an event that is not his best stroke at all,” she said.
“But he pushed his way through and ended up getting a personal best time [1:16.37] in the finals.”
Adam Stromberg, 14, also had a strong showing for the Aquanauts—finishing in first place in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle and the 100m breaststroke.
He also earned age group national qualifying times in the 100m free (58.11) and the 200m free (2:09.56).
“Adam brought it all out this weekend,” lauded Taylor.
“He knew what he had to do going into the races and he made some phenomenal swims, especially in the 100m freestyle finals,” she added. “He showed complete versatility all weekend long, and I’m very excited to see what he does going forward.”
Three other Aquanauts also were able to nab podium finishes during the meet.
Lyndsi Jo Wilson (girls’ age 13-14 400m I.M.), Mitchell Riordon (boys’ 13-14 200m backstroke), and Josh Cousineau (boys’ 11-12 200m backstroke) all came home with third-place results.
“Lyndsi went into the finals seeded in third place and she was able to hold onto that spot in the race, just like she had hoped to do,” Taylor noted.
“Mitchell had never been in a final before this weekend, so it was exciting to see him get to be in one, and the 200m backstroke that he finished third was a nice solid swim for him.
“Josh went into the weekend as one of those guys that flies under the radar,” added Taylor.
“He’s your typical 11-year-old who is trying to find his arms and legs as he’s growing pretty fast.
“His backstroke has improved so much in the last three-four months that we were expecting a good run out of him, but we certainly weren’t expecting him to get a top three,” Taylor admitted.
Kaela Lowey (girls’ 15 and over) and Regan Danylchuk (girls’ 13-14) also qualified for finals during the weekend, but both missed out on reaching the podium.
“Kaela improved on her times in all but one of her swims during the weekend, and she was very consistent throughout the weekend,” Taylor said.
“Regan wasn’t feeling all that well this weekend, but she was able to work through it and she did well under the circumstances,” she added.
While the Aquanauts won’t have another meet as a team until Oct. 19-21, when they will host their annual meet at the Memorial Sports Centre, two members will be hitting the water this summer for events.
Donovan Taylor will be heading to Edmonton on July 19-22 to compete in the Summer Nationals.
Stromberg, meanwhile, will be swimming in either the Canadian Age Group Nationals in Calgary from July 25-30 or at the Ontario Summer Games in Toronto from Aug. 16-19.
