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Kootenay swimmers burning up pool; Kelsey Andrusak earns national qualification

The Nelson Daily Sports
By The Nelson Daily Sports
May 22nd, 2015

There’s something fantastic happening in the Kootenay Swim Club.

Kootenay Swim Club swimmers are returning with some amazing results at recent competitions in Fernie, Victoria and Kelowna.

“It has been a terrific season thus far,” said coach Chris Wright.

Last week in Kelowna, at the Kelowna Long Course Invitational, Nelson’s Kelsey Andrusak became the first Kootenay swimmer in the club’s five-year history to qualify nationally.

“Kelsey qualified in three events; 50-meter Freestyle and 50 and 100-meter Breaststroke, and will have the opportunity to race against swimmers the best swimmers in her age range from across the country,” Wright exclaimed.

Wright said Sam Mathew and Andrusak lead the way in high points category for their age group and achieving final swims at night which placed them either first or in the top three overall.  

Morgan Robertson-Weir and Stevenson McCulloch showed that they were fit to stand up and race at a regional level throughout the meet, achieving top finishes in their heats and even getting a second swim at finals for McCulloch in the 200 Butterfly.

Wright said Kootenay swimmers set more than 13 club records in Kelowna.

The recent string of success started in Fernie at the Invitational meet, April 25-26.

Robertson-Weir and McCulloch swam their regional standard in the 200 Individual Medley.   

Together with Evelyne Upward, Kieron Sorenson, Georgia and Abi Anderson, the Kootenay team achieved 30 best times and took off over 300 seconds between all swimmers at Fernie. 

While some of the Kootenay swimmers were in Fernie, a few traveled to Victoria as Andrusak and Matthew achieved their Age Group National Standards in four events combined.   

Andrusak achieved her age group national in the 50 and 100-meter Breaststroke while Matthew earned the gold standard in the 100 and 200-meter Breaststroke. 

The Kootenay Swim Club, which trains during the winter, is registered under Swim BC and Swimming/Natation Canada. All Kootenay Swim Club swimmers are registered Swim BC competitive swimmers and compete in the “O” category, if they choose to swim for a summer team afterwards.

The Kootenay swimmers now travel to Wenatchee, Washington, May 29-31 to compete against top swimmers from the United States and Canada.

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