A flu bug wasn’t strong enough to slow down some KISU swimmers as the team took second-place at the Kamloops Ice Classic Dec. 9 to 11.
Coach Tina Hoeben said “it was a tough one.”
“We had the flu go through our group like it was a scientific experiment on the spread of germs,” she said. “We still managed some great swims.”
Swimmers racked up 27 gold medals and 67 podiums spots.
“That’s huge. It’s really impressive,” said Hoeben.
The Ice Classic featured strong teams from the hosts to Prince George, Williams Lake and Vancouver. Hoeben said the performances show how resilient the swimmers were.
Elijah Kliever was among the sick, but said it helped him to get through as the group bonded and encouraged each other. As he put it, they couldn’t use being sick as an excuse and pushed through.
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“Lots of us were going for time standards and provincials,” said Kliever, who earned his provincial time standards and a new junior national time. “Everybody swam awesome.”
Reece Haberstock avoided getting sick and had a strong meet picking up best times in eight of nine swims. He now looks forward to competing in the 3A provincial championship in 2017.
As the first championship meet of the season, Haberstock said it was tough.
“There were lots of fast swimmers,” he said, adding that he was pushed to keep up.
Hoeben said the meet was important because it ended the first transition cycle. She uses it to see where swimmers are compared to provincially and in Canada. On Jan. 29, 2017, KISU is hosting a jamboree and then on Feb. 17 to 19 there is the AA provincial championships in a location that is yet to be determined.
Follow Emanuel Sequeira on Twitter @pentictonsports.