Joey Payeur
There was no shortage of tears—and they had nothing to do with winning medals or setting records.
It was an emotional scene on the pool deck and in the stands at the 2016 SunLife Grand Prix in Thunder Bay last weekend that capped the long-course swimming season in the region.
The Fort Frances Aquanauts brought home six medals from the meet while the Cyclone Swim Club nabbed two.
But much of the excitement centered around those who were stroking through the water for the final time for the Aquanauts.
Abby Douglas won the final heat of her local swimming career in a time of 1:22.47 to finish 40th overall in the female age 15-and-over 100m freestyle.
“There was not a dry eye in the Aquanaut house watching [Douglas],” recalled head coach Dawnn Taylor.
“Abby was way out ahead of everyone, which doesn’t usually happen in a 100m event.”
Douglas, who is heading to the University of Manitoba this fall, had a best result of 16th place in the 100m butterfly on the weekend.
Then there was Josh Cousineau, whose mother is Aquanauts’ assistant coach Christie Cousineau and whose family is moving to Cranbrook, B.C. in the near future.
Cousineau topped out in the male age 15-and-over division with a sixth-place performance in the 100m backstroke (1:09.46).
“We told him, ‘Now you’re the competition and we know how you swim,’” chuckled Taylor about one of her top male swimmers over the past several years.
Adam Stromberg also had his swan song with the Aquanauts on the weekend. He is headed for the University of Lethbridge in the fall, where he has signed on to join the Pronghorns’ swim team.
Stromberg closed out his Aquanaut résumé by claiming bronze in the male 15-and-over 50m freestyle (26.45).
He also had the second-fastest time in the 100m free preliminaries (56.53) but chose not to swim in the final.
The Aquanauts were led in Thunder Bay by International Falls resident Chase Hoel, who was a triple medalist.
He won silver in the male age nine-10 50m back (44.05), and also earned two bronze in the 50m breast (58.23) and 100m back (1:34.51).
William Serrano, another Aquanauts’ member from the Falls, captured silver in the male age 11-12 50m breast (45.52).
Cassidy Roach rounded out the Aquanauts’ medal haul with a bronze in the female age 13-14 400m I.M. (6:03.23).
Ayiana Gagne earned fifth-place in the female age 11-12 50m breast (43.38) while her sister, Jacy, finished seventh in both the female age 13-14 50m free (32.26) and 100m breast (1:36.95).
Alex Antonick (female age 13-14) placed ninth in the 200m breast (3:41.47) in the female age 13-14 division.
Her sister, Kianna, reached as high as 14th in the 50m breast (50.52) in the female age 11-12 division.
Anna Gagne topped out in 16th place in the female age 11-12 50m breast (52.57).
“Everybody made at least one final and contributed to the team’s points,” noted Taylor, whose crew finished sixth overall out of 18 teams, with the Oakville Aquatic Club easily claiming the championship.
“Everyone had one, if not multiple, personal bests,” she added.
While the talent drain will be significant, Taylor was confident the future is bright for the Aquanauts.
“We’re looking good with people like Cassidy, Jacy, Chase, and Will on board,” she enthused.
“It said something that Oakville came in as this powerhouse team that just took everyone out, and our guys still came and made finals and went in and fought the fight,” Taylor added.
The Aquanauts will send eight swimmers to the South Dakota Sioux Falls Swim Team Independence Invitational from July 7-10, which they last attended two years ago.
“Most of the kids haven’t experienced an outdoor meet before,” noted Taylor.
“It’s fun but twice as challenging . . . when it comes to things like water temperature changes and other factors,” she added.
“You could be swimming in the rain.”
Taylor said that meet also will be important to keep Roach and Jacy Gagne sharp in advance of the 2016 Ontario Aboriginal Summer Games in Brantford and Six Nations from July 19-21.
