Numerous Vipers earn top-five finishes

POOL PARTY: Morgan Bruce of the Taber Viper Swim Club competed in the 200-metre freestyle event in her age group at the Taber Aquafun Centre on Saturday, during the club’s home meet that drew swimmers from all over the region. TIMES PHOTO BY GREG PRICE

By Greg Price
Taber Times
gprice@tabertimes.com

Taber Viper Swim Club competed in its home meet over the weekend that saw the Taber Aquafun Centre beaming with activity.

Emberly Hall took third place in her six-and-under 25-metre freestyle event with a top time of 41.26 seconds.

Bria Hall finished her seven-and-eight-year-old 25-metre freestyle event in third also, with a time of 21.50 seconds in a very deep field of 22 swimmers. Hall took fourth for 50-metre freestyle (47.80).

For seven-and-eight-year-old boys, Bennett Hughes was fourth, clocking in at 24.43 seconds. He also earned second for 25-metre backstroke at 25.14 seconds.

Don Velarde’s time of 38.50 seconds was good enough for fourth in 50-metre freestyle for nine-and-10-year-old boys. Teammate Ryder Unrau was fifth in the same event, clocking in at 43.89 seconds. Velarde was also third in 50-metre breaststroke at 54.99 seconds and also won third for 25-metre butterfly at 19.58 seconds.

In a field of 20 swimmers, Rebecca Carver was third, registering 35.31 seconds on the clock. Her swim of 46.24 seconds was good enough for second in 50-metre breaststroke and she took fourth in 100-metre breaststroke (1:44.73). Evan Klemen emerged in second place out of 16 swimmers in 11-and-12-year-old boys 50-metre freestyle, registering a best time of 32.08 seconds. He was top swimmer in his 100-metre freestyle event at 1:12.63 and tops in 200-metre freestyle (2:45.03). For 50-metre butterfly, Klemen took third (36.36).

Also in a field of 16 swimmers, Kayleigh Klemen’s time of 33.98 seconds was good enough for third in 50-metre freestyle for 13-and-14-year-old girls. She earned fourth for 100-metre backstroke (1:29.26).

Darci Wright’s time of 28.94 seconds earned her second for 15-to-17-year-old girls 50-metre freestyle. She also earned fourth for 100-metre freestyle (1:04.98) and second in 50-metre backstroke at 34.81 seconds. Wright’s time of 31.61 seconds earned her second for 50-metre butterfly.

Morgan Bruce clocked in at 1:47.51, good enough for fifth in nine-and-10-year-old girls 100-metre freestyle. She also earned fourth for 25-metre backstroke at 24.16 seconds, tying with the exact same time as teammate Mikayla Kress. Bruce’s time of 25.91 seconds in 25-metre breaststroke earned third.

It was a trio of top-five finishes for nine-and-10-year-old boys 100-metre freestyle, with Jacob Paul finishing in third (1:43.83), followed right behind by Kade Haslam (2:00.89) and Dominic Loewen (2:23.01). Paul was third in 200-metre freestyle (3:50.94) and Loewen was fourth (5:08.76). Loewen earned fifth for 50-metre backstroke at 1:12.72. Haslam clocked in fifth for 25-metre breaststroke (33.96).

Haslam was fourth for 25-metre backstroke at 23.89 seconds and Paul was fifth at 23.94 seconds.

Ainsley Duell earned third (1:19.70) in 13-and-14-year-old girls 100-metre freestyle. She won second place in 50-metre breaststroke (43.84). Duell was top of the heap in 100-metre breaststroke, with her time of 1:35.54.

Heston Bevans’ time of 1:15.49 earned him fifth for 100-metre freestyle for 13-and-14-year-old boys. He was also second in 100-metre IM (1:28.27).

Kaylee Hutzul’s time of 3:45.26 took fifth in 200-metre freestyle for nine-and-10-year-old girls.

Her 50-metre butterfly time of 56.20 seconds took fourth, to go with a fourth-place time in 100-metre IM (2:03.79).

Adison Hutzul clocked a time of 3:07.17 to take fourth for 200-metre freestyle for 11-and-12-year-old girls. She also earned fifth for 400-metre freestyle (6:25.16).

Taylor Hutzul competed in the grueling 400-metre freestyle and finished first (6:25.19) for 13-and-14-year-old girls.

For seven-and-eight-year-old girls, Elizabeth Ostrop took third out of 24 swimmers for 25-metre backstroke, with a time of 25.35 seconds. Her time of 56.81 seconds took third in 50-metre backstroke.

Dion Velarde was tops in the field of 13-and-14-year-old boys 50-metre backstroke at 35.17 seconds. He also finished top of the podium in 100-metre backstroke (1:18.16). His 50-metre breaststroke race earned him fourth at 41.73 seconds.

Jessica Anderson topped the field in her age group for 50-metre backstroke at 35.53 seconds for 15-to-17-year-old girls and 100-metre backstroke (1:17.31). Anderson was third in 50-metre butterfly (32.80) while taking second in 100-metre butterfly (1:16.99).

Benson Leishman’s time of 1:47.84 earned him fourth for 100-metre IM for 11-to-12-year-old boys.