10th Annual Candy Cane Invitational
10th Annual Candy Cane Invitational
December 8th to 10th, 2023
Edmonton, Alberta
(Written by Coach Riker Farmer)
Olympian Swim Club was one of eleven northern Alberta and Saskatchewan swim clubs attending the 10th Annual Candy Cane Invitational. Representing OSC were 58 girls and 45 boys for a total of 103 swimmers. For many, it was the first exposure to a prelims/finals meet format, in which OSC had 61 second swims.
On the podium, OSC had one first place, 5 second place and 15 third place finishes. Congratulations to Makena Chung (F12) for finishing first in the Girls 11-12 50m Butterfly and Joshua Bodet (M12) for finishing first in the Boys 12&Under 400m Individual Medley.
Swimmers were treated to rewards and prizes all weekend long. Swimmers that achieved best times were rewarded with candy canes and received an entry into a prize draw that saw numerous OSC swimmers receive a souvenir from this weekend. Additionally, the King and Queen of the Candy Cane reward was given to the swimmer in each age group with the top combined time in the four 50m events from Friday prelims. OSC swimmers Evan Brake (M9), Elise Wonsiak (F8) and Mackenna Riou (F10) were honoured as such in their respective age categories.
Saturday prelims were briefly halted by a fire alarm that caused the evacuation of the facility while fire engines arrived to find no danger. The meet was able to resume no more than 40 minutes after the initial alarm. OSC swimmers did a great job in their response to promptly exit the facility.
First place finishers
Makena Chung - Girls 11-12 50m Butterfly - 32.30
Joshua Bodet - Boys 12&Under 400m Individual Medley - 6:27.74
Second place finishers
Evan Brake - Boys 10&Under 100m Backstroke - 1:30.03
Taylor Bitea - Girls 12&Under 200m Individual Medley - 3:02.62
Makena Chung - Girls 11-12 100m Butterfly - 1:18.19
Mackenna Riou - Girls 10&Under 50m Backstroke - 40.95
Mackenna Rious - Girls 10&Under 100m Butterfly – 1:38.26
Third Place finishers
Lucas Badiu - Boys 12&Under 200m Individual Medley - 3:11.88
Evan Brake - Boys 10&Under 50m Backstroke - 43.06
Samuel Leyland - Boys 11-12 100m Butterfly - 1:30.05
Tao So - Boys 10&Under 100m Freestyle - 1:19.27
Maya Horn - Girls 13-14 100m Breaststroke - 1:32.30
Mackenna Riou - Girls 10&Under 50m Butterfly - 41.98
Kendall Zaboroski - Girls 10&Under 50m Breaststroke - 49.12
Kendall Zaboroski - Girls 10&Under 100m Breaststroke - 1:48.09
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to the below swimmers:
Manessa Elmandany (F10) - 50m Breaststroke - first Festivals time
Luke Korassa (M9) - 100m Breaststroke - second Festivals time
Caleb Gunderson (M10) - 100m Breaststroke - another Festivals time
Elise Wonsiak (F8) - 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle - another Festivals time
Kobyn Kirchner (M13) - 100m Breastroke - another JR Para Provincials time
Makena Chunge (F12) - 100m Butterfly - second Provincial Championship time
Next up, OSC swimmers have the 2023 JP Fiset Invitational, our flagship meet, from December 14-17, 2023 to close out the 2023 calendar year in style. LET’S GO O!