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Rags to riches story for Neptunes culminates with impressive provincial results

The Nelson Daily Sports
By The Nelson Daily Sports
August 21st, 2014

The Nelson Neptunes completed an amazing comeback season after 14 members of the team attained some great results at the 56th annual BC Summer Swim Associations Provincial Championships last weekend in Kamloops.

One year from not having a home pool for training, the Neptunes attending the provincial meet were at the big dance for the very first time.

“I was super impressed with how ready and focused these kids were for attending such an overwhelming meet (over 1000 swimmers) for their first time,” said Nelson head coach Cynthia Pfeiffer.

“Many swimmers took off multiple seconds and were able to improve their placings dramatically.”

“Going into the Provincials I was just aiming to make it a positive experience for the Neptunes so they would enjoy it and be more likely to attend in the future years,” Pfeiffer added.

“I had no idea we would have so many swimmers qualify for the consultations and finals.”

In 2012 the Neptunes sent four swimmers to Provincials and placed 58th out of 62 teams. 

This year the Neptunes jumped 11 places climbing to 47th out of 65 teams.

“It is common to have a club go up or down in the team rankings slightly, but I have never coached or noticed a club that has moved up that dramatically, especially after a year of not swimming,” Pfeiffer exclaimed.

  All the swimmers at provincials astounded their head coach Cynthia Pfeiffer

The best placing of the weekend was Jaylen Rushtons 50 meter Breaststroke placing fifth in the province, taking off three seconds. 

“I was super impressed by Jaylens step up of mental focus she had during the provincials and I’m excited to see what she can do next year when she will be oldest in her division,” said Pfeiffer.

Ohia Wintraub also finished with an impressive sixth in her 50 meter Butterfly. 

The girls Division one Medley Relay team consisting of Ella Chouinard, Morgan Robertson-Weir, Imogen Cowan, and Chloe Malenfant also made the finals and finished in eighth place at Kamloops. 

Swimmers who also made the consultations finals included Imogen Cowan, Olivia Cowan, Sage Cowan, Madeline Holitzki, Matthew Holitzki, and Jaylen Rushton. 

“We are hoping that the pool will be open next summer, or at least a portion of the summer so the Neptunes can have a season and keep this incredible momentum of the club on the rise,” said Pfeiffer.

Neptune Results at BCSSA Championships:

(Bold is events that made the consultation finals [9th-16th] and bold with underline is events that made the finals [First-8th])

Joanna Blishen (Division 5 girls): 21st in 50m Freestyle, 20th in 100m Butterfly, 19th in 50m Butterfly, 21st in 100m Breaststroke

Ella Chouinard (Division 1 girls): 18th in 50m Backstroke

Enna Cowan (Division 2 girls): 23rd in 100m Individual Medley

Imogen Cowan (Division 1 girls): 19th in 50m Freestyle, 12th in 50m Butterfly, 19th in 50m Breaststroke

Olivia Cowan (Division 5 girls): 13th in 200m Individual Medley, 16th in 100m Backstroke, 14th in 100m Freestyle

Sage Cowan (Division 6 girls): 11th in 200m Individual Medley, 14th in 100m Butterfly, 19th in 100m Backstroke, 14th in 100m Freestyle

Madeline Holitzki (Division 3 girls): 23rd in 50m Butterfly, 14th in 50m Breaststroke

Matthew Holitzki (Division 4 boys): 15th in 200m Individual Medley, 20th in 50m Freestyle, 15th in 100m Breaststroke, 20th in 100m Freestyle

Chloe Malefant (Division 1 girls): 20th in 50m Freestyle, 21st in 100m Freestyle

Hannah Malenfant (Division 4 girls): 21st in 50m Butterfly, 24th in 100 Breaststroke

Morgan Robertson-Weir (Division 1 girls): 21st in 50m Butterfly, 21st in 50m Breaststroke, 22nd in 100m Freestyle

Jaylen Rushton (Division 2 girls): 9th in 100m Individual Medley, 7th in 50m Butterfly, 13th in 50m Backstroke, 5th in 50m Breaststroke

Ohia Wintraub (Division 4 girls): 24th in 200m Individual Medley, 18th in 50m Freestyle, 6th in 50m Butterfly, 20th in 100m Freestyle

Coach Cynthia Pfeiffer (Division 8 womens): 11th in 50m Freestyle, 6th in 100m Backstroke

Division 1 girls Relay -Ella Chouinard, Morgan Robertson-Weir, Imogen Cowan, Chloe Malenfant- Medley finished in 8th, Freestyle finished in 9th

Division 5 girls Relay – Olivia Cowan, Joanna Blishen, Ohia Wintraub, Hannah Malenfant – Medley finished in 10th, Freestyle finished in 9th.

Division 6 girls Relay – Sage Cowan, Madeline Holitzki, Jaylen Rushton, Enna Cowan – Medley finished in 12th, Freestyle finished in 13th.

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