Three meets into the 2023 short course season, the Cochrane Piranhas Summer Swim Club is already posting some impressive times, with personal bests, club records, and podium placements a-plenty.
The local swim club's season began in early June with a trip to Didsbury on June 3, followed by meets in Okotoks and High River the subsequent two weekends.
Kate Johnson, the club’s communications manager, told The Eagle that June has been a kind month to the Piranhas, who are off to a great start as they reach the half-way point of their 2023 regular season.
“The swim season seems to go really quickly once it gets started,” she said.
“One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how hard all the swimmers [work]. Once they jump in the pool, they give it everything they’ve got, even down to our seven-year-olds. Their enthusiasm in the water never ceases to amaze me.”
According to Johnson, the club sent 37 swimmers to Okotoks and finished the meet with 15 first-place swims, 25 second-place swims and 19 third-place finishes.
Some of the highlights from the first few meets of the season have been the performances of Oliver Johnson, a 14-year-old Cochrane High School student-athlete who set a new club record in the 200-metre (m) individual medley (IM) when competing in Okotoks. Johnson's time replaced a long-standing Piranhas record held by Erik Nusl since 2012.
“It was an exciting race between Oliver and fellow Piranha Isaac Thibodeau, who was recently names as part of the Team Canada Commonwealth Games Lifeguard team,” said Johnson, noting that Thibodeau went on to win his age group in the 200-m IM.
Oliver Johnson is also the only Piranhas swimmer who will compete for the Zone 2 swim team at the upcoming 2023 Alberta Summer Games, hosted in Okotoks from July 20 to 23. Piranhas swim club coach Bryson Hammer will also be at the Alberta Summer Games, Johnson noted, albeit as a member of the Zone 3 team's coaching staff.
Johnson touted the performance of Caebri Smith, who set a new Piranhas club record in the 400-m during the meet in Okotoks. His time of 4:55.53 surpassed his previous club record by 5.69 seconds.
At the subsequent meet in High River, Johnson said Smith managed to shave plenty of time off his 1,500-m race, finishing the lengthy ordeal with a new club record at 20:40.96.
Another impressive performance culminating in a Piranhas record was the 13-14 mixed 200-m relay team, consisting of Oliver Johnson, Mackenzie Morning, Rylee Bashow and Caebri Smith. The fast foursome achieved a time of 1:59.24, eclipsing a club record set back in 2018.
The Piranhas had a break from competition last weekend as they get to enjoy a week off for the Canada Day weekend. But Johnson noted it's right back to business after the holiday, when the Cochrane swimmers attend a meet on July 7 and 8 hosted by the Tritons Summer Swim Club at the MNP Family Sport Centre in Calgary.
They then have their home meet on July 15 at the SLS Centre, before they compete in their final meet of the season back in Calgary, hosted by the Swordfish Swim Club at the Seton YMCA.
Then, Johnson said regionals take place Aug. 12 and 13. That meet will dictate who makes it to provincials the following weekend in Edmonton to wrap up the 2023 campaign.
