One final swim on the final day of the final meet.
Foothills Stingray Mercedes McFayden didn’t let the pressure of the last chance meet get to her turning in an ‘A’ time standard swim at the Age Group Trials in Lethbridge to qualify for the provincial championships for a second time.
“It was the very last race in trials – the very last moment to get it,” McFayden said. “It was really great because I got it by three-tenths of a second.”
The 12-year-old had to re-qualify after recently moving up to a new age group. Technical prowess in the short 50m backstroke earned her the breakthrough in a race wherein she also won the silver medal.
“I got ahead by doing all the underwaters,” she said.
There are two routes from trials to provincials – swimmers must either reach an ‘A’ time standard or race to a gold medal finish in an event.
Stingray Justin d’Ailly opted for the latter.
The 14-year-old was first to touch the wall in the 100m freestyle in the final on June 24.
“I just went in wanting to get a best time,” d’Ailly said.
“I just raced against the guy in lane 4. In the first 50 he was in front, but after that I pulled ahead.
“It was a lot of stress, but good to get it. It was a big relief.”
He expects to swim in middle and short distance events in both freestyle and butterfly at the provincials this weekend in the Stampede City.
He hopes to get best times and maybe even nab an ‘A’ time standard swim at the finals.
Abby Thiele added an ‘A’ time in the 50m freestyle.
“One of the most exciting meets of all the meets we have is Age Group Trials,” said Stingrays assistant head coach Emma Hesterman.
“We have a lot of finals, a lot of swimmers making ‘A’ times and when we’re coming to the end of the season it’s really nice to see the swimmers, after working so hard, actually make those times and get closer to them.”
Adding bronze medal performances were d’Ailly in the 100m butterfly, McFayden in the 100m backstroke and Kailey Ness in the 200 butterfly.
Also earning final swims and top eight finishes were Sophie-Ana Cives, Will Gonzales, Brett Harrison, Keton Murphy and Genevyeve Lindenback.
Elsewhere, McFayden, Thiele, Molly Penn and Lindenback combined to establish the Stingrays’ new club record in the 10 and under 4x50 free relay and medley relay events.
The Age Group Championships run June 30 to July 3 at Calgary’s Talisman Centre.
