The Yorkton Storm Swim Club had a banner weekend recently as eleven Storm Swim Club athletes took part in the "Fall Freeze Out Meet" in Regina. Five of the swimmers qualified for the Provincial A Short Course Meet that will be held in Prince Albert later this winter, posting provincial qualifying times early in the swim season calendar. Team Coach Ashley Benko was extremely happy with how the early season meet turned out for the club, saying, "As a coach I am really excited at how the season has started out." "We have never had this many swimmers qualify for this meet, so to have five make it with at least three more possible meets to qualify left is incredible."
To qualify for the Provincial Short Course meet swimmers had to meet or exceed an "A" Standard time that would put them through. Jennifer Haczkewicz led the way for the Storm swimmers recording a whopping 4 "A" times as well as one impressive "AA" time in a very successful weekend. Her double A time came in the 50m Freestyle event where she recorded a time of 31.45seconds. Haczkewicz was happy with her performance saying, "I was really excited to break 32 seconds for the first time." Coach Benko shared Haczkewicz excitement adding "It was especially nice for her to swim that fast, knowing that she had just swam an 800m Freestyle race about half an hour before that on.,". Jennifer's "AA" time will also qualify for her for the Man-Sask Meet later this winter.
Jennifer's sister, Kelsey Haczkewicz recorded 5 "A" times herself at the meet to qualify for provincials for the first time in her swimming career. "Kelsey has really burst onto the scene ever since winning five medals at the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Meadow Lake this past summer." "Her first place finish in the 50m Breaststroke event was the lone first place finish of all the Yorkton swimmers at the Regina meet," said Coach Benko.
Jayden Lang swam 3 "A" times at the meet to qualify for provincials adding to the Storm girls romp in Regina. "Lang continues to turn in quality performances," says Benko, "She is a very committed young athlete." Lang a dedicated swimmer who hails from Melville, drives in to Yorkton to train 3-4 times a week.
As for the Storm boys, Jacob Baker had a stellar performance in Regina, turning in his first two "A" times ever in his first meet of the 2012-13 year. "I am very happy for Jacob," added Benko, "He has been chasing this goal for a couple of seasons now, I am so pleased that he was able to reach this goal at his first meet of the season." "On the first day of the meet he came within 0.7seconds of an "A" time in the 50m Freestyle event. It was great to see him succeed the next day in the 50m and 100m Breaststroke races," continued Benko.
Enrico Bijman added an "A" time in the 50m Breaststroke event to round out the Yorkton qualifiers. The Storm's solid weekend comes in good timing as the next meet for the club is December 8th when the club hosts their home meet at the Gallagher Centre pool where they will hope to post even more provincial qualifying times as they continue the opening of their 2012-13 swim season.
