Aquanauts give strong showing

The atmosphere of a swim meet is very distinctive–the smell of chlorine, blue surroundings, and cheers of encouragement over the sounds of splashing water.
But this particular meet was highlighted by strong results shown by local swimmers.
The Fort Frances Aquanauts swim team hosted a development meet last weekend and garnered a slew of personal best times heading into the last meet of the season later this month.
Of the 21 local swimmers who participated, 16 clocked a personal best in at least one of their four events.
“I think, consistently, the kids have [improved] through the season,” said Aquanauts head coach Debbie Murray. “They’ve trained hard all year so definitely it’s great to see.”
Karli McKinnon set club records in the both 50m backstroke (35.90) and 100m I.M. (1:18.17) for her age group. Heather Dutton recorded a club best in the 50m fly with a time of 32.48 seconds.
The 50m freestyle was a favourite event as seven swimmers recorded personal bests, including first-timer Amanda Glavish.
The team went up against swimmers from Thunder Bay, Atikokan, Marathon, Kenora, and Minnesota, however, no standings were recorded. Murray said developmental meets are used to record their times with only a competitive mindset.
It also helps increase future participation from the younger swimmers by getting them used to competition down the road. Swimmers as young as seven took part.
“It’s designed to give kids a meet atmosphere from a home point of view,” she said seated poolside amid a loud gallery of friends and family.
“They’re all having fun and getting some sprints in.”
This was a tune-up for the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts international invitational May 25-27, the final meet of the year. Only 12 Aquanauts will going there.
The next step for Murray and assistant coach Ashley Barker will be getting their swimmers to do well in Thunder Bay’s ‘long-course’ pools, which are twice as long as the 25m one at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“When you stand and see 50 metres in front of you, it can really be pretty intimidating,” Murray said. “So in the last few weeks, we’ve been working on our long-course training.”
Here are the individual results of each Aquanaut (* denotes a best time):
•Boyd Badiuk, 12
50m free (31.77)(1st)
100m breast (1:39.39)(1st)
50m back (38.29*)(1st)
100m IM (1:23.18*)(1st)
•Jamie Beadow, 14
50m free (32.11)(1st)
100m fly (1:27.65)(3rd)
50m fly (34.82)(2nd)
100m free (1:22.20)(3rd)
•Jessica Cousineau, 10
50m free (36.63)(1st)
100m breast (1:46.45)(1st)
50m fly (44.82)(1st)
100m free (1:22.01)(1st)
•Brendan Cumming, 18
50m free (28.91)(2nd)
50m breast (35.08)(1st)
50m fly (31.66*)(1st)
100m IM (1:11.80*)(1st)
•Heather Dutton, 11
100m breast (1:28.78*)(2nd)
100m fly (1:15.27)(1st)
50m fly (32.48*)(1st)
100m free (1:06.77*)(1st)
•Rachel Dutton, 11
50m free (35.14)(4th)
100m fly (1:31.44)(2nd)
100m free (1:19.13)(3rd)
100m IM (1:30.85)(3rd)
•Amanda Glavish, 9
50m free (47.64*)(3rd)
100m free (1:55.15)(5th)
100m IM (2:20.56)(3rd)
•Steve Gushulak, 16
50m free (28.06)(1st)
50m back (36.68)(1st)
100m free (1:02.12)(1st)
100m IM (1:12.62*)(2nd)
•Jennifer Hawley, 11
50m free (35.84*)(5th)
100m back (1:33.31)(3rd)
100m free (1:24.72*)(5th)
100m IM (1:35.96)(4th)
•Matthew Hebert, 11
50m free (50.61)(3rd)
100m free (1:59.19)(3rd)
100m IM (2:10.30)(2nd)
•Jillian Kellar, 9
50m back (1:14.55)(9th)
100m free (2.04.95*)(9th)
100m IM (2:21.65)(4th)
•Kenneth Kellar, 11
50m free (39.04*)(4th)
50m back (53.87*)(3rd)
100m free (1:39.95)(5th)
100m IM (2:02.52)(6th)
•Jessica Lowey, 7
50m free (49.91*)(7th)
50m back (1:00.76*)(4th)
100m free (1:58.24*)(7th)
100m IM (2:04.77*)(1st)
•Nicole Lowey, 10
100m breast (1:51.45)(3rd)
50m breast 49.76(1st)
100m free (1:32.64*)(4th)
100m IM (1:48.16)(4th)
•Karli McKinnon, 12
100m breast (1:33.90*)(1st)
50m back (35.90*)(1st)
100m free (1:08.50)(1st)
100m IM (1:18.17*)(1st)
•Jade Morrison, 9
50m free (49.66*)(6th)
50m back (1:06.51)(5th)
•Alex Parent, 11
50m free (36.82*)(3rd)
100m fly (1:38.13*)(2nd)
50m fly (43.32*)(1st)
100m free (1:20.61*)(2nd)
•Matthew Parent, 13
50m free (37.23*)(3rd)
100m breast (1:44.64*)(4th)
50m breast (48.32*)(3rd)
100m IM (1:41.81)(4th)
•Kyle Perrott, 11
50m free (39.27*)(5th)
100m breast (1:49.01*)(4th)
100m free (1:33.22)(4th)
100m IM (1:45.37*)(4th)
•Laurel Perrott, 10
50m free (41.74)(7th)
100m back (1:44.95*)(3rd)
100m free (1:37.13)(6th)
100m IM (1:51.44)(5th)
•Megan Wihnan, 10
50m free (44.50*)(11th)
50m back (56.63*)(6th)
100m free (1:42.15*)(9th) 100m IM (1:58.52*)(7th)