Thirty-four young competitive swimmers from Brock Niagara Aquatics competed at the Western Ontario Regional Short Course Swimming Championships in Brantford this past weekend. Over 900 athletes from 27 swim clubs across south-western Ontario (from Burlington to Windsor) took part in the four-day event held at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Complex.

Among the top-scoring athletes from Brock Niagara were siblings Madison and Matthew Kryger of Niagara Falls who each captured four medals each. Eleven-year-old Madison scored 36 points and won gold in the girls 50 metre backstroke and 200 metre butterfly events, silver in the 100 breaststroke, and bronze in the 200 breaststroke; 15-year-old Matthew scored 30 points and won gold in the 800 freestyle and 200 freestyle along with silver in the 400 individual medley.

Olivia Sheldon, age 11 of Vineland, scored 32 points and picked up a silver medal in the 50 freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly, along with top-8 placings in every other event she competed in. Other swimmers grabbing medals included Daniel Cui, McKenna Clark, Nicholas Woodruff, Torrin Stefels, Blake Bishop, Micah Verrier, Peyton Leigh, Camren Courchene-Carter, Sydney Alexander, Paje Brennan, Isra Alsahli, and Thomas Iapicco.

Sights set on Provincials

The swimmers who took part in the Regional Championships were those just below competing at the provincial level; many were vying to achieve a qualifying time standard in order to race at one of the three upcoming Swim Ontario Championships to be held next month.

The upcoming Ontario Festival Championships will be held in Windsor, February 22–23, and is for young swimmers ages 13/under from across Ontario. Seven Brock Niagara athletes have qualified to attend this competition with several of them picking up qualifications this past weekend: Camren Courchene-Carter, Daniel Cui, Syrah Mills, and Torrin Stefels of St. Catharines; Madison Kryger, and Sophia St-Pierre of Niagara Falls; and Olivia Sheldon of Vineland.

Courchene-Carter (100 & 200 Breast) and Sheldon (50 Free) were first-time Festival Championship qualifiers this past weekend; while Cui, Madison Kryger, S Mills, and Stefels added additional Festival times to their existing repertoire.

First-time qualifier to the Ontario Youth-Junior Championships was Blake Bishop who won gold in the men’s 17/over 200 Back; and Paje Brennan added an additional OYJ standard in the women’s 17/over 1500 Free along with a gold the event.

Matthew Kryger gained qualification to the Ontario Swimming Championships in the boys 15-yrs 1500 Free while also grabbing gold in the event.

The Ontario Youth-Junior Championships and the Ontario Swimming Championships are targeted for swimmers ages 13/over and are the highest-tier provincial-level competitions in Ontario for competitive swimmers. Both competitions will be held over the weekend of March 5–8 in Markham and Etobicoke respectively.

Qualified to attend the Ontario Youth-Junior Championships in Markham are Blake Bishop of Fonthill; Paje Brennan and Madison Kryger of Niagara Falls; Andie Lloyd of St. Catharines; Micah Verrier of Grimsby; and Nicholas Woodruff of Welland.

Qualified to attend the Ontario Swimming Championships in Etobicoke are Aidan Iapicco, Emmett Mills, and Syrah Mills of St. Catharines; Matthew Kryger of Niagara Falls; and Nathan Tang of Welland.

The competitive swimmers of Brock Niagara Aquatics include young people from across the Niagara region who train at the Brock University pool and the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatic Centre.

Following are the top-8 results from the Western Ontario Regional Championships:

Boys 10/under

• Daniel Cui (St. Catharines) GOLD 100 Fly; SILVER 50 Breast; BRONZE 50 Fly; 6^th 100 Backstroke; 7^th 100 Free; 8^th 50 Free

Girls 10/under

• Sloan Vitale (Niagara Falls) 4^th 100 Breast; 8^th 50 Breast

Girls 11 years

• Kaylin Jensen (St. Catharines) 5^th 200 Fly, 200 Back; 6^th 100 Fly; 8^th 100 Back
• Madison Kryger (Niagara Falls) GOLD 50 Back, 200 Fly; SILVER 100 Breast; BRONZE 200 Breast; 4^th 50 Breast
• Olivia Sheldon (Lincoln) SILVER 50 Free; BRONZE 100 Fly; 5^th 200 Breast, 200 IM, 100 Free, 50 Fly; 6^th 50 Breast
• Torrin Stefels (St. Catharines) GOLD 100 Fly; BRONZE 50 Fly; 6^th 100 Back

Girls 12 years

• Peyton Leigh (Niagara-on-the-Lake) SILVER 200 Fly; BRONZE 100 Fly; 6^th 400 IM
• Syrah Mills (St. Catharines) 4^th 200 Breast; 7^th 50 Breast
• Sophia St-Pierre (Niagara Falls) 4^th 200 Back; 8^th 200 Free, 50 Back

Girls 11–12 years

• Kryger, P. Leigh, O. Sheldon, S. Mills 6^th 200 Free Relay

Boys 13 years

• Camren Courchene-Carter (St. Catharines) 5^th 100 Breast, 200 Breast; 7^th 50 Breast

Girls 13 years

• Luz Aguilera Ballesteros (St. Catharines) 6^th 100 Back, 200 Back
• Isra Alsahli (Thorold) BRONZE 100 Free

Boys 14 years

• Mahmoud Radwan (St. Catharines) 5^th 1500 Free

Girls 14 years

• Piper Sarginson (Welland) 4^th 400 IM; 5^th 400 Free

Boys 15 years

• Matthew Kryger (Niagara Falls) GOLD 800 Free, 200 Free; SILVER 400 IM; 4^th 50 Back

Girls 15 years

• Kura Cooper (St. Catharines) 8^th 50 Free

Boys 16 years

• Thomas Iapicco (St. Catharines) 7^th 400 Free
• Emmett Mills (St. Catharines) 6^th 400 Free; 8^th 50 Free, 100 Back
• Nicholas Woodruff (Welland) SILVER 1500 Free; BRONZE 400 IM; 4^th 100 Breast

Girls 16 years

• Sydney Alexander (Pelham) BRONZE 200 Fly; 6^th 400 Free
• McKenna Clark (Grimsby) GOLD 400 IM; 4^th 200 Free, 50 Free; 7^th 50 Back, 100 Back

Men 17/over

• Blake Bishop (Pelham) GOLD 200 Back; 4^th 400 Free; 5^th 100 Back
• Jeremy Tang (St. Catharines) 6^th 400 Free
• Micah Verrier (Grimsby) SILVER 200 IM; 4^th 200 Back; 7^th 200 Breast; 8^th 100 Breast, 50 Free

Women 17/over

Paje Brennan (Niagara Falls) GOLD 1500 Free