Local swimming sensation Hannah Trimble has picked up where she left off last year, winning two gold medals and a couple silver ones at the B.C. High School Provincial Championships in Richmond last weekend (Nov. 16-17).
The Paralympic swimmer is the provincial champion in 50-metre freestyle and 50-metre backstroke, and came in second in 50-metre butterfly and 100-metre individual medley (IM) events.
Quesnel Junior School sent nine athletes to the meet, which saw more than 1,000 swimmers from across the province compete for dominance in the pool.
Teacher sponsor Heather Fisher says all the QJS swimmers had personal best times.
“The team members swam hard and represented their school and our community well,” she says.
She was most impressed with how the competitors stepped up against more experienced athletes.
“Swimming is one of the only high school sports where there is no age separation,” she points out, “which means that these Grade 8 and 9 students were facing off against Grade 11 and 12 students.”
All swimmers are members of one of the two Quesnel swim clubs, the Sea Lions (summer swimmers) or the Waveriders (all-season swimmers).
B Category swimmers included Taylor McGillivray, who competed in 50m free, 50m back, 100m free and 100m IM; Natalie Bergeron, who swam in 50 m free, 100 m free, 50 m fly and 50 m breaststroke; Shawn Fisher who competed in 50 m free, 50 m back, 100 m free and 50 m fly; and Owen Larson, who swam in 50 m back, 50 m fly, 100 m IM and 50m breaststroke.
A Category swimmers included McKayla Bolitho, who competed in 50m free; Olivia van den Elzen, who swam in 50m free, 100m free and 100m back; Maddy Oakley, who competed in 50m free, 100m free and 100m back; and Bree-Anna McCarthy, who competed in 100m free and 100m back.
The provincials is broken into point totals for girls’ and boys’ team. This year, the girls’ team finished 33 out of 76 teams, which Fisher says is a “pretty great” result.
READ MORE: BC Games: Quesnel Paralympic swimmer takes home six medals