The Bow Valley Riptides will send seven swimmers to the provincial championships in Edmonton thanks to another strong club performance at the 2015 Age Group Trials, June 12-15 at Talisman Sports Centre in Calgary
Cassidy Behm, Domenic Griesser and Kiana Worobey all earned their tickets to provincials with first-place performances in their age categories.
Behm took gold in the 200m IM with a time of 2:56.16, Griesser was first in the 50m breast stroke in 44:90 and Worobey was first in the 200m free with a time of 2:48.97. They will join Emiko Osborne, Neo Gleason, Nick Anderson-Young and Marin Williams at provincials.
“It was an exciting weekend with some heart-stopping races,” said Riptides head coach Don Tremblay. “We had 13 swimmers and brought back 11 medals, three new qualifiers for provincials and they broke three club records.”
Trembley said the team battled well, fighting back and forth through lead changes and big pushes from their opposition. He said Behm’s first race in the final was the most dramatic.
“Cassidy took charge of the medley, was out of the blocks like a bullet and had a two to two and a half body lead on the pack. I thought she went out too fast, but she was able to hold the lead and dictate the race,” Tremblay said.
The head coach is predicting good things at provincials, and believes the team is capable of strong results.
“The kids will do well and should bring back some medals,” Tremblay said, noting Osborne and Gleason are capable of reaching the podium.
Worobey broke two of Emiko Osborne’s records in the 200m and 400m freestyle race, while the boys team of Riley Toohey, Josh Lamb, Alex Neilson and Pierre-Andre Dawe set a new club record in the 200m medley relay.
The meet comes on the heels strong performances at the T-REX swim meet at the University of Calgary on May 29-31, where the Riptides finished second overall with 23 podiums and eight new club records split between Gleason and Osborne.
Osborne and Gleason were on fire again the following weekend at the Cascade Swimming Internationals at the Talisman Centre in Calgary, breaking another nine club records. Osborne won gold in the 100 and 200m free, and grabbed two silver and two bronze medals.
