Three Okotoks swimmers will pack priceless experience with them in their return to the national stage.
Okotoks Mavericks Finlay Knox, Justin Lisoway and Megan Deering swim with the elite at any age group next week in Toronto when the 2019 Canadian Swimming Trials get underway.
“I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself,” said Deering, a Grade 12 student. “I’m just there to swim for myself, not to swim for a certain team. I’m not expecting that at all. If my swim is a best time, that’s awesome, if not we have Westerns the next weekend.”
Deering qualified in her best event, the breaststroke, at the 50m, 100m and 200m distances last summer in Arizona.
It will be her second chance to swim with the Canadian all-ages elite, having previously competed at trials two years ago.
“That experience was really awesome, we just got to see a bunch of world-class swimming,” Deering said. “At that time I was only 15 so it was awesome to see all these fast swimmers who I had looked up to. It was definitely an experience meet.
“This will be a little different because I’m going with Justin and Fin and all three of us are gone next year. It’s really small, but just embracing the last few months I have with this team.”
Lisoway punched his ticket to Canadian trials with three qualifying swims at the Alberta Spring Championships earlier this month.
A University of Hawaii student starting in the fall, he will be competing in his third trials event after missing out last season.
“I’m definitely more focused this season than last season,” said Lisoway, a 2018 graduate of Edison School. “I should have got it last year, I’m just more here mentally now. I’m also doing strength training with a new coach (Tyler Shillington) and he’s made a huge difference.”
The Maverick achieved the trials standard in 200m IM, 50m backstroke and 50m breaststroke.
“I want to make A-final this year,” he said. “Last time I went I made B-final and I’ve only ever made B-final at trials the last two years if I can make A-final that would be pretty cool.”
Knox, never one to get overwhelmed by expectations, said he just wants to go in and enjoy the experience and put in his best effort on the day.
“That’s really what I’m looking to do,” he said. “There are a lot of qualifications available and world juniors is definitely the one that’s most attainable right now.”
The Canadian Trials is a qualifier for a number of high profile events including world championship trials, junior worlds in Hungary and Pan-Ams.
Following trials, Lisoway, Knox, Deering and teammate Lorenzo Ford set course for Edmonton for Western Championships, from April 10-15.
Heading into the busy stretch of big meets, each swimmer has built up different tools over the years to channel the nervous energy on deck into a positive.
“Me and Lorenzo have been doing meditation before practice each day, so building confidence,” Lisoway said. “I think it’s helped, I’ve been a lot more confident in my races and I’m not getting nervous before this meet like I would normally.”
For Knox, a Youth Olympics bronze medallist in 2018, feeling butterflies in the stomach is a positive sign.
“You definitely want to have nerves going in because it just means that you care about it,” he said. “Provincials wasn’t a huge meet, but I was just as nervous for that as Youth Olympics and Junior Pan Pacs and trials.
“It’s good and it gets me going and I know I’m ready to race.”
For more information go to okotoksmavericks.com
