Aquanauts fast in Dryden

The Fort Frances Aquanauts continued their successful season with a strong performance at the “Cabin Fever Frolic” meet over the weekend in Dryden.
The 12-swimmer Aquanaut contingent combined to finish in the top three in 36 of the 44 events in which they competed.
Individually, 11 of the 12 set personal best times in at least one of their events.
Michael Higgins-Albanese, Katja Sutherland, and Donovan Taylor led the charge—achieving personal bests in every one of their events.
With a bevy of positive results in tow, Aquanaut head coach Tristan Hutton understandably was quite pleased with his team’s performance in Dryden.
“I wanted the kids to experience a small, light meet,” he explained. “We just went there for a half-a-day, swam a few sprints here and there, and had some fun.
“We didn’t swim those big events that hurt you, like the 200m fly and the 400m IM.
“We just wanted to expose the young kids to some more competitive swimming to whet their appetite and give them an opportunity to improve their times.
“I was very pleased.”
Hutton was particularly impressed with two of his younger swimmers.
“I was really proud of Adam [Stromberg],” he enthused. “He took a lot of time off several events. He did very, very well.
“Katja [Sutherland] also did very well in each of her events,” he added.
The Aquanauts welcomed Taylor back from a lengthy bout with injury. The 12-year-old standout appeared to have not missed a beat as he won every event in which he swam.
“I’m very happy to see Donovan [Taylor] back on his way to improving his times pretty much every time he swims,” Hutton remarked.
“He’s back from injury. He’s had to be very patient and take care of himself, but it’s paying off and I’m very happy about that.”
Aquanaut Alex Parent, meanwhile, continued his chase for a spot on the Canadian Paralympic swim team that will compete at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China next year.
Parent set personal bests in three of his four events.
“It’s hard, as an older swimmer, to always improve when you get to that age,” Hutton noted.
“You can tell that he’s responding to the training and working hard in workouts because it’s showing results,” he added.
“At that age, you’re not growing any more. It’s all about the amount of work you put into it.”
The Dryden meet served as preparation for the club’s next two major competitions—the NWO Open (March 30 – April 1) in Kenora and then the Ontario Division III team championships (April 20-22) in Thunder Bay.
In other news, Aquanauts Rachel Dutton and Nichole Lowey are in Etobicoke competing at the all-Ontarios.
The meet began yesterday and wraps up today.
Here are the individual results of the Aquanauts who attended the Dryden meet (* denotes a personal best time):
•Rachel Dutton—100m IM (1:16.47, 3rd), 50m Free (30.85, 1st), 50m Fly (32.69, 1st), and 100m Free (1:08.77, 3rd);
•Jillian Gustafson—100m IM (1:29.01*, 2nd), 100m Back (1:27.99, 2nd), 100m Breast (1:42.76, 1st), and 100m Free (1:15.81, 3rd);
•Michael Higgins-Albanese—50m Breast (1:28.68*, 1st), 50m Free (1:01.43*, 1st), and 50m Back (1:11.43*, 1st);
•Bianca Lesperance—50m Breast (1:15.33*, 3rd), 50m Free (50.91*, 1st), and 50m Back (57.28, 1st);
•Nichole Lowey—100m IM (1:17.34*, 4th), 50m Breast (38.30, 1st), 50m Free (32.83, 3rd), and 100m Breast (1:23.26, 1st);
•Alex Parent—100m IM (1:12.81*, 1st), 100m Back (1:10.39*, 1st), 50m Free (28.70*, 1st), and 100m Free (1:01.53, 1st);
•Levi Rittau—50m Breast (1:21.54, 4th), 50m Free (48.77*, 2nd), and 50m Back (1:03.67, 2nd);
•Kayla Stang—50m Breast (1:29.47*, 5th), 50m Free (1:14.67, 7th), and 50m Back (1:10.04*, 5th);
•Adam Stromberg—100m IM (1:39.91*, 1st), 50m Free (37.02*, 1st), 50m Fly (46.93*, 1st), and 100m Free (1:31.20, 1st);
•Serena Stromberg—100m IM (1:29.25*, 3rd), 50m Free (32.50, 1st), 50m Fly (37.46, 1st), and 100m Free (1:14.90*, 2nd);
•Katja Sutherland—50m Breast (48.10*, 1st), 50m Free (39.94*, 6th), 100m Breast (1:45.33*, 2nd), and 100m Free (1:27.27*, 6th); and
•Donovan Taylor—100m Back (1:11.60*, 1st), 50m Free (29.86*, 1st), 100m Fly (1:14.52*, 1st), and 100m Free (1:04.91*, 1st)