AMHERST – The Spartans stepped up to the challenge at a recent sprint meet in PEI.
“Our swimmers really look forward to the Fast and Furious meet in Charlottetown,” said coach Jan Matthews. “It’s a chance for all levels to attend together, and the meet includes multiple eliminator events to encourage and reward fast swimming.”
The eliminators allow the top swimmers in each age group to move on to subsequent rounds, with finals for each of the stroke events on Sunday morning.
“This year, there were three Spartans competing in the final rounds, and one swimmer swept his age group to win all four of the sprint 50’s,” said Matthews.
Simon Buske placed first in the 50-metre freestyle, 50-metre backstroke, 50-metre breaststroke and the 50-metre butterfly eliminators. He also recorded best times in all of his events.
Olivia Bacon qualified for the three of the sprint finals, placing second in the 50-metre butterfly and third in the 50-metre backstroke and freestyle. She ranked in the top ten in all her events and collected six personal time awards.
Olivia Elliott swam to third place in the 50-metre free final and ranked in the top eight in each of her events. She recorded five personal bests during the weekend.
Multiple best times awards were earned across all age groups. Swimming in the 10 and under age groups were Gemma Leslie-Dowe, Ava Taggart, Chelsea Elliott, Olivia Elliott and Simon Buske.
Emmie Maddison, Reagan Bushen, Abbie Byrnes, Aurelia Mitchell and Olivia Bacon made their presence felt in the 11-12-year-old age bracket, while Jordan Beaton had a solid showing in the 13-14 age group. Ella McGuigan and Lauren Millard recorded personal best times as they swam to top ten placings in the 15 and older age group.
Leslie-Dowe, Taggart and the Elliott sisters joined forces to claim second in the 10 and under 200-metre freestyle relay event.
Maddison, Bushen, Byrnes and Bacon swam to fifth in the 11-12-year-old 200-metre free relay, while Millard, McGuigan, Beaton and Buske claimed first in the mixed 400-metre medley relay event.
The Spartans are currently preparing for upcoming meets and championships later in the spring.
