The Canmore Cohos swim club will send 23 swimmers to the provincial championships this weekend, thanks to a string of top results at a Region E swim meet at the University of Calgary on Saturday (Aug. 10).
Riley Toohey won every race he entered, setting two club records in the process, while Rosie Wilson also walked away with eight individual medals and two club records. Toohey set records in the 200 metre freestyle and 100 butterfly, as well as the 100 IM. Wilson set a club record in the 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle.
Head coach Don Tremblay said there was no secret to the club’s success: hard work and dedication.
“The ones who went to training and stuck with it swam very well and those who didn’t, did not swim so well.”
Last year, the Cohos sent 16 to provincials, so the club is growing stronger and stronger, Tremblay said. A new crop of swimmers is climbing up the ranks.
“The difference has been technique. We’ve spent more time on technique with the kids and we’re teaching the assistant coaches what to look for,” Tremblay said.
Carter Beamish won two gold medals at the meet, while Caitlyn Belik grabbed a pair of silver medals. Ella Stokowski, Alexandra Pasemko and Alba Clevenger won gold and silver in every race they entered, and Jonathon Dreaver and Alison Gourley also walked away with a set of medals. Other individual medal winners included Karl Stoliker, Meg Turner and Ben Bronsch,
“The assistant coaches are improving and the kids are willing. They bought into the program at the start. They came in to learn and are willing to change their stroke,” Tremblay said. “We saw a good improvement. A lot of kids went to another level.”
Despite the boatload of medals, Tremblay wants to see the entire club step up in the overall club ranking. The Cohos finished fifth overall at the meet.
“Personally, I wish we were ranked higher regionally. Other clubs got stronger, so we have more work to do,” Tremblay said.
For a full list of results, visit www.assa.ca
