The Southern Saskatchewan Semi Finals in Swift Current last Saturday proved a good warm up for the 33 Estevan Golden Eels who qualified for the upcoming provincial competition.
“What we do for the season is we plan our training so our kids peak at provincials,” said Eels coach Akeela Jundt, noting provincials are held July 25 and 26 in Biggar. “That means typically they swim a little bit slower at semis, so that they can really peak at provincials and have their fastest times ever. From what we saw that is what happened, so the first times were a little bit slower in the hopes that they will have really good times this next weekend.”
Out of 39 Eels who competed in Swift Current, 33 gained a top-six ranking in their age group event qualifying them for provincial competition. Fourteen of the 33 Eels also emerged as high point winners, including Denver Sehn (bronze), Logan Dalziel (silver) and Lucas Dzeryk (gold) who swept the podium in the 9-10 boys category.
Jundt said a good test will come for these swimmers next weekend as they will, again, compete against the top swimmers from the south, but also the best swimmers from the north of the province, many of whom the Eels may not have faced this season. She said another exciting aspect of provincial championships is that teams are formed by utilizing the best of the southern swimmers, instead of from just within a club's own team, to have relays.
“What they do is they make all-star teams from the south to swim against the north,” she said. “It used to be my highlight of the summer, swimming with...the top swimmers in my age group. It's really fun to join together as a team from the south and compete against a team from the north.”
The Golden Eels Swim Club won the high point club award at semis and has a chance to win at provincials as well, said Jundt. Whether that happens or not depends on how strong the north teams are and how many kids they send to compete, but the Eels are going for the win.
“That is our goal,” she said. “We have a lot of kids going and that's really one of the biggest factors in how many people you can actually get to commit to go.”
High point winners from the Southern Saskatchewan Semi Finals include: Jordyn Tarnes (bronze); Blake Andrist (bronze); Emily Tarnes (silver); Josephina Andrist (bronze); Lucas Dzeryk (gold); Logan Dalziel (silver); Denver Sehn (bronze); Hannah Mantei (gold); Josh Wilson (bronze); Jaiden Jocelyn (bronze); Racquelle Gibbons (bronze); Samuel Beahm (gold) and Thomas Wakely (silver).
