The Merritt Otters were out in force on the weekend as 35 of the club’s 40 registered competitive swimmers took to the pool at the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre for their own invitational meet.
Over 300 swimmers representing 11 teams from the B.C. Interior and the Lower Mainland participated in the busy, two-day event.
Individually, the Otters put on an awesome display in the pool, registering 72 top-six finishes, and a whopping 115 personal best times.
Two Otters — Paige Asselstine and Haley Zabek — went a perfect seven-for-seven in terms of recording PBs in all their events.
Several Merritt swimmers were gold medallists, including head coach Gabriel Lee, who won all four of his races. Other first-place finishers were first-time competitor Kaiden Ricci-Bennie (three wins), Zabek, Koren Lefebvre and Jamie Neill.
The Otters’ Bianca Cavaliere continued to rewrite the club’s record books, setting a new standard in the division four girls’ 100 metre freestyle event.
The Otters’ strong showing resulted in an impressive third-place finish in the team standings, behind only the visiting Delta Sunfish and Coquitlam Sharks.
“It was really nice to see all the Merritt athletes stepping up and swimming fast,” said coach Lee. “Everyone was in it to win it.”
The Otters’ next competition is this coming weekend in Penticton. The regionals are August 6 and 7 in Kamloops.
