BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Led by top performances from Justin Aalders and Kaily Schofield, the Kentville Marlins turned in a solid show at the Swim Nova Scotia summer championships Aug. 20 to 22 in Bedford.
According to head coach Shauna Manning, the Marlins “had over 80 per cent best times” at the meet.
“Fourteen club records were broken.”
Overall, Kentville finished ninth out of 16 teams, with 428 points:255 on the boys’ side and 173 on the girls’.
Kentville swimmers had 29 top-20 finishes, 14 top-10s and won nine medals: four gold, four silver and one bronze.
Aalders capped an outstanding season (and summer swimming career) with five medals, winning the 100-metre breaststroke, 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly and 100 IM and placing second in the 200 freestyle.
Schofield was second in the 50 ’fly, 100 back and 100 IM and third in the 100 breast for a total of four medals, and just missed a fifth with a fourth-place finish in the 200-metre freestyle.
Other Marlins turning in strong performances included Chantel Graves, seventh in the 100-metre breaststroke, tied for 11th in the 100 IM and 15th in the 100 freestyle.
Rachel Mader cracked the top-10 with a ninth-place finish in the 50-metre backstroke, and managed top-20 finishes in all five of her events.
First-year Marlin Noah Graves also cracked the top-10 at provincials with an eighth-place swim in the 50-metre freestyle, and added three more top-20 swims.
Alicia Edens, Ethan Payne, Isaac Payne, Adam Dorrance and Dominique Dawson all turned in at least one top-20 finish, with Edens and Isaac Payne both making the top-20 twice.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better provincials,” head coach Shauna Manning says.
The Marlins won the small team high point award for the 17-18 division and placed third overall in the small team standings, behind only Windsor and Middleton.
“We only had 18 swimmers competing, compared to some other small teams that had more than 40.”
Kentville swimmers setting new club records at provincials included Aalders, Schofield, Noah Graves, Isaac Payne, Dean VanRoessel, Adam Dorrance, Dominique Dawson, Chantel Graves and Rachel Mader.
“I’m not surprised at how well they all swam. The season went so well, with many best times and great swims. I knew provincials would be no different. All the swimmers work so hard and are always looking to improve. They are all such a pleasure to coach.”
While not wanting to single out individual swimmers, Manning did have special praise for Noah Graves, who “did an amazing job at provincials” despite being in only his first year of competitive swimming.
“Not that the others didn’t do well, but it’s hard not to notice how well Noah has done since he joined our club halfway through the summer.”
After his first week, Graves placed sixth in the 50-metre freestyle, and continued to improve as the season went on. At provincials, “he was eighth overall in the 50 free, and broke the club record for the event.” He was also close to club records in a number of other events, including one record that has stood for 11 years.
Manning also really appreciated the assistance she received this summer from her assistant coaches Mary Claire Lynch, Mike Livingstone and Luc Boudreau who “were a real pleasure to work with.”
jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca
