The Penticton Secondary School swim team continued its winning streak at the provincial championship at Watermania in Richmond on Nov. 16 and 17.
According to the team’s coach, Tina Hoeben, 27 swimmers on the team competed, with the girls placing first in the AAA school division and the boys ranking second in the AAA school division.
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“In 2016, they didn’t separate them by boys and girls and we ranked first overall and broke the 15-year winning streak of St. George. And we had the exact same placings last year for the boys and girls — so we went in with that in mind and our goal was to duplicate it,” said Hoeben, who also coaches the KISU swim team. “It’s pretty ambitious so that was good, it wasn’t a surprise but we’re happy and grateful that we’re able to do that.”
Tyler Wall, a Grade 12 student on the team, broke the provincial record as an individual for the 100-metre backstroke. The mixed freestyle relay team, consisting of Wall, Justin Fotherby (Grade 10), Ashley McMillan (Grade 9) and Ava Wall (Grade 9), also broke the previous provincial record during their race as well.
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Although this meet marks the end of the season for high school swimmers, Hoeben said this is just the beginning for her team. She said despite some minor glitches, she’s very proud of everyone for stepping up and showing resiliency.
“For almost all of those swimmers, there season has just begun. That was their first big meet of the season because they compete beyond high school level,” said Hoeben. “So they’re back in the water on Monday.”
“We use that meet to get them into the frame of mind and do something as a team, so it’s a great mindset to get good results.”
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