Varsity Team Swims to Silver at BCs
By Juan Brasdefer, Grade 10
From a pool of 125 schools and more than 1100 swimmers, the varsity swim team placed 2nd at provincials. Read on for race highlights.
From a pool of 125 schools and more than 1100 swimmers, the varsity swim team placed 2nd at provincials. Read on for race highlights.
By Juan Brasdefer, Grade 10
Wow. What a swim season it has been. It's been tough, no doubt, with gruelling workouts, but every single 6:30am practice paid off when we mounted the blocks at Watermania last weekend for the BC High School Swimming Championships.
At Watermania, we achieved our best finish ever, coming 2nd overall with 489 points and surpassing our previous best of 4th place and 384 points last year. And, let's not forget, we were crowned overall champion at the ISAs and girls champion at the zones. Needless to say, it's been a successful season!
But let's get back to Watermania, where we pulled off a complete team performance: out of the 28 event preliminary swims on Friday, our team qualified for 23 events in consolation or championship finals on Saturday.
Here are some highlights:
• In the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, we placed five relays for a total of 126 points. Our silver medal winning B team of Mackenzie Gunther, Lily Ai, Tiegan Monaghan and Katherine Jiang also netted a school record of 4:31.76.
• In the boys B consolation finals, the team of Cyrus Behroozi, Jonathan Carriere, Sean Ryan Mak and Jonathan Chan won the heat, also achieving many personal best times.
• All three 4 x 50-metre medley teams made the finals, with the boys B team of Justin Leung, Steven Zhang, Jonathan Liu and Sean Ryan Mak placing 4th and setting a new school standard of 2:02.26.
• Steven Zhang, Jonathan Liu and Justin Leung all swam strong races in their individual events. Our lone gold medallist, Kevin Ye, obliterated the school record in the 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 1:05.78, just under a second from the high school provincial record. It was Kevin's riveting swim that propelled the boys to a 2nd overall finish.
• Mackenzie Gunther (who achieved a school record of 30.82 in preliminaries) and Katherine Jiang competed hard in the 50-metre butterfly final to place 4th and 8th overall.
• Kiersten Gilberg placed 7th in the 100-metre breaststroke with a school record of 1:17.51.
• In the girls division, the overall results came down to the final freestyle relays where our B team achieved another school record and placed 7th overall. As results were updated live, the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers made for a nail-biting finale that resulted in our girls placing 3rd overall.
Thank you, Mr. Read, Mr. Ito and Ms. Leblanc, for your coaching support this season. And hats off to captains Sean Ryan Mak and Katherine Jiang for their leadership. For while the team bonded on the starting blocks and in between lane ropes, we could never rid our nerves entirely; however, Sean Ryan’s calming words helped us to focus and conquer the goals we set for ourselves back in August at training camp.
Wolves, just go.
Coaches' note: We are so proud of each and every team member for their grit and determination this record-breaking season. Just five years ago, we were ranked 26th in the province and would have been thrilled to qualify for a couple of individual events and a handful of relays. To say we've come a long way is an understatement. Congratulations, team.
At Watermania, we achieved our best finish ever, coming 2nd overall with 489 points and surpassing our previous best of 4th place and 384 points last year. And, let's not forget, we were crowned overall champion at the ISAs and girls champion at the zones. Needless to say, it's been a successful season!
But let's get back to Watermania, where we pulled off a complete team performance: out of the 28 event preliminary swims on Friday, our team qualified for 23 events in consolation or championship finals on Saturday.
Here are some highlights:
• In the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, we placed five relays for a total of 126 points. Our silver medal winning B team of Mackenzie Gunther, Lily Ai, Tiegan Monaghan and Katherine Jiang also netted a school record of 4:31.76.
• In the boys B consolation finals, the team of Cyrus Behroozi, Jonathan Carriere, Sean Ryan Mak and Jonathan Chan won the heat, also achieving many personal best times.
• All three 4 x 50-metre medley teams made the finals, with the boys B team of Justin Leung, Steven Zhang, Jonathan Liu and Sean Ryan Mak placing 4th and setting a new school standard of 2:02.26.
• Steven Zhang, Jonathan Liu and Justin Leung all swam strong races in their individual events. Our lone gold medallist, Kevin Ye, obliterated the school record in the 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 1:05.78, just under a second from the high school provincial record. It was Kevin's riveting swim that propelled the boys to a 2nd overall finish.
• Mackenzie Gunther (who achieved a school record of 30.82 in preliminaries) and Katherine Jiang competed hard in the 50-metre butterfly final to place 4th and 8th overall.
• Kiersten Gilberg placed 7th in the 100-metre breaststroke with a school record of 1:17.51.
• In the girls division, the overall results came down to the final freestyle relays where our B team achieved another school record and placed 7th overall. As results were updated live, the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers made for a nail-biting finale that resulted in our girls placing 3rd overall.
Thank you, Mr. Read, Mr. Ito and Ms. Leblanc, for your coaching support this season. And hats off to captains Sean Ryan Mak and Katherine Jiang for their leadership. For while the team bonded on the starting blocks and in between lane ropes, we could never rid our nerves entirely; however, Sean Ryan’s calming words helped us to focus and conquer the goals we set for ourselves back in August at training camp.
Wolves, just go.
Coaches' note: We are so proud of each and every team member for their grit and determination this record-breaking season. Just five years ago, we were ranked 26th in the province and would have been thrilled to qualify for a couple of individual events and a handful of relays. To say we've come a long way is an understatement. Congratulations, team.
- Lucy Chambers
- Justin Leung
- Lily Ai
- Jonathan Liu
- Mackenzie Gunther
- Steven Zhang
- Katherine Jiang
- Kevin Ye
- Angela Gu
- Cyrus Behroozi
- Kiersten Gilberg
- Sean Ryan Mak
- Jacqueline Molnar
- Jonathan Chan
- Rebecca Patterson
- Juan Brasdefer
- Teigan Monaghan
- Frank Jiang
- Kaija Goertzen
- Derrick Lin
- Taylor Ball
- Jack Carriere
- Jacqueline Hall
- Jonathan Loa
- Queenie Ng
- Roisin Delaney
- Joanne Chou
- Erin Brooks
Since 1996, West Point Grey Academy has gratefully resided on the Jericho Lands, the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation. Honoured to learn and play on these beautiful lands, we endeavour to be a leader in Indigenous education. In creating shared understanding and opportunities, we hope to help foster a more equitable society for all.
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West Point Grey Academy
4125 West 8th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C., V6R 4P9
Tel: 604-222-8750
Vancouver, B.C., V6R 4P9
Tel: 604-222-8750
