BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Records are made to be broken.
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Stephanie Kuhn, Willie Paul and Denton Bonney have helped the Laurentian swim team continue its tradition of excellence. |
And that is exactly what the Laurentian University swim team accomplished at the divisional championships recently at the University of Guelph pool.
The Lady Vees had several outstanding swims with new records set along with more swimmers qualifying for the national championships.
For both the men?s and ladies? teams, the performances helped solidify a young, growing team.
Head coach Phil Parker has been blown away by the Lady Vees? efforts.
?The Lady Vees? performances through the first half of the year has opened many eyes throughout the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) swimming scene,? said Parker. ?A third place finish at the divisional championship in Guelph really surprised many onlookers. Schools like Brock and Ottawa are not used to being on the losing side to the Lady Vees.?
At the Guelph event, rookie Stephanie Kuhn from Timmins, qualified for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) swimming championships in the 200-metre individual medley (IM) and 100-metre butterfly (FL). She raced through the pool in the 200 IM with a time 2:23.67. In the 100 butterfly, Kuhn blazed through with a time of 1:04.28, just .31 of a second off Olympian Janet Cook?s 2001 divisional record.
Kuhn is satisfied with her efforts and will now concentrate on turning in career best times at nationals.
?It?s a good accomplishment and I am happy,? said Kuhn. ?Now I have a big goal to go for and I will train hard for it.?
Kuhn also helped the Lady Vees smash the old Voyageur record in the 4X100 freestyle (FR) relay.
Kuhn, along with Lauren Coughtry, Elisha James and cross-country running sensation Leila Angrand, all pushed
themselves to an amazing time of 4:04.09 and established the new record. The previous record was 4:08.54.
Kuhn is thrilled to help the LU swim team in any way.
?It?s a good feeling knowing I am helping the team out overall,? said Kuhn. ?It?s a great team with a lot of spirit and everybody encourages each other.?
Courtney Hicks had a strong showing at the event. She qualified for nationals with a time of 2:26:83 in the 200-metre butterfly.
The men?s team also made a solid impact in Guelph.
Marshall Bonner led the charge for the Vees, recording two qualifying swims to his resume in the 50-metre backstroke (BK) and the 100-metre BK. His time of 26:90 in the 50 M race, broke the old divisional record of 27.90 seconds.
Willie Paul also broke a divisional record with a time of 2:07:39 in the 200-metre butterfly race.
The remarkable performance gave Paul a shot at nationals.
?I was inconsistent, but happy overall with my performance,? said Paul. ?I have qualified in that event for the last
three years.?
Paul, a fourth-year veteran, likes the way the team is shaping up.
?We have incredible numbers compared to last year and a lot of new faces,? said Paul. ?The team is only going to
get better from here. We make up for quantity with quality here.?
Ryan Smith also qualified for nationals in the 400 individual medley (IM) with a time of 4:34:93. This gives Laurentian a total of five swimmers already qualified for nationals, matching last year?s total.
Parker was pleasantly surprised by the women?s and men?s teams performances.
?The swimmers really went beyond expectations,? said Parker. ?We knew we could have some fast swims, but some of these swims were really powerful.?
The mystic of the Laurentian pool wills swimmers to produce their best and holds the key to future success, according to Parker.
?This program has had great success over the past 30 years,? said Parker. ?The pride and tradition wears into each swimmer who trains in the pool. It becomes part of them.?
The LU swim team is on break for the Christmas and New Year?s holidays and will resume their season in January.
