Swim team silver at winter invitational

-Steve Latter photos

The Belleville Youth Swim Team earned second place overall  of 10 teams of more than 460 athletes from all over Ontario in a winter swimming invitational.

The 81 member BYST team, which includes members from Prince Edward County,  finished 38 points behind the Ernestown Barracudas from Amherstview, but ahead of the powerhouse Nepean Kanata Barracudas who secured third spot.  The Trent Swim Club (Peterborough) and Whitby rounded out the top five.

“The BYST didn’t mind placing behind their neighbour swim club as both teams will be co-hosting the Eastern Ontario Regional Championships right here at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre in the TMAC on January 31 to February 2,” said Coach Brandon Oates. More than 20 teams will bring their best competitors to showcase their talent in the fast Belleville pool.

“The BYST swimmers managed 74 per cent best times, which is pretty impressive considering many athletes just came off of holidays and others recently completed high volume training camps,” said Oates. “The team is full of talented athletes and they constantly impress the coaching staff.  Following the meet, the team added five new qualifiers and will now have 23 athletes representing Belleville on the Regional stage, plus broke 11 team records.  If this meet is any indication of the fast racing that is coming in 2014, we can expect that the swimmers will be reaching new heights and experiencing continued success.  ”

Medalists included Ashley Allaire, Sruthi Amalan, Craig Bekker, Noah Brooks, John Butler, Thomas Butler, Katelyn Cairns, Stephanie Cairns, Floranne Carroll, Melissa Dingle, Alexander Grant, Benjamin Isaak, Rafik Alkarim Jiwa, Josh Lamoureux, Mackenzie Latter, Madison Lees, Quintin Lichty, James Lossing, Leo Lossing, Brendan MacQuarrie, Jeremy Moher, Sadie Morphet, Katie Morrison, Talia Pappalardo, Kishoresanjay Rajesh and Marcus Trumpour.

BYST athletes placing in the top eight were Madalyn Andrus, Mya Banez, Tyler Banez, Jackson Bonn, Natalie Butler, Margaret Charles, Nickolas Cinnamon, Lauren Donia, Jaydan MacDonald, Chloe Martineau, Leah McGillen, Madeline McGillen, Rylan Miller, Lara Noronha, Callum O’Neil, Ella O’Neill, Natalie O’Neil, Gwen Randall, Joseph Rittenhouse, David Savic, Marko Savic, Nate Shiers-Redhead, Sophie Simard, Lauren Taylor, Hayden Young and Christina Zhang.

Other BYST athletes with strong performances included Janna Arnold, Jade Banez, Kristianna Barton, Katherine Beaumont, Mackenzie Blagojevic, Madeline Bonn, Alexa Buchanan, Lily Charles, Sydney Chumbley, Callum Friar, Tess Friar, Olivia Goyer, Meaghan Hannigan, Isabella Isbester, Una Lajic, Paige Launderville, Henryk Luczynski, Reece Monk, Olivia Morphet, Jenna O’Neill, Leah Oster, Elizabeth Peterson, Lily Randall, Payton Reid, Amy Sommerville, Erin Sommerville, Abigail Szuch, Elizabeth Terry and Gracey Vanberkel.

After hosting Eastern Ontario Regional Swim Championships at the beginning of February, a few athletes are headed to Windsor for Eastern Canadian Championships, while at least half a dozen other swimmers will be competing at Ontario Festivals (top 13 and under swimmers) in Brantford during the middle of the month.  A large team will head to Ottawa a week later followed by many BYST athletes representing Belleville in London at Ontario Age Group Champs; the best 13 and over swimmers in the province.
For more information about the swim team, please contact the Head Coach, Brandon Oates, at (613) 661-SWIM (7946) or visit www.byst.ca