THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – 19 young Thunderbolt swimmers, mostly in the development and prospect swim groups, travelled to Guelph to compete in the Dash for Cash Swim Meet December 7th through 9th. The meet was held at the University of Guelph swimming pool and hosted by the Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club.
For many of the young ‘Bolts this was the first swim meet that they travelled to by plane. Their excitement, energy and enthusiasm were evident as they cheered for one another.
“Our Thunderbolts stepped up to the challenge of being one of the smaller clubs at the swim meet but still dominated in the pool,” said assistant Thunderbolt coach Casey Leslie.
The Thunderbolts came home with an impressive 20 medals.
The Thompson siblings earned 12 of those medals. Reid, aged 9, won gold in the 50m butterfly event and came away with another 4 silver medals. Sister Jillian, aged 9, won gold in the 200m freestyle event and silver in the 50m free and 100 m back. Older sister Mackenzie, aged 11, came away with a silver and three bronze medals.
“I thought the swim meet was really fun. This was my first big swim meet out of town. I am super happy on how I swam,” said an excited Reid Thompson. “I am looking forward to future swim meets.”
Emily Agar scored the other Thunderbolt gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke and 2 silver medals in the 200m Freestyle and Relay events.
“Our results in Guelph really demonstrates the strong development program the Thunderbolts have,” said Thunderbolt head coach Tommaso Panizza.
Other medal winners from Thunder Bay included Addison Pradissitto, Tessa Hupka, Abbi Brown, Maggie Chisholm, and Tye Dobson.
Other solid swims were made by Evander Dunn, Brayden Hrabok, Connor Murphy, Sofia Torres, Riley Agar, Fenn Dobson, Benjamin Sunila, Samatha Bergamo, Ella Hupka and Madeleine Bourget.
“I am very proud of the support the athletes showed for their teammates and ability to push each other to achieve their goals and their best times. It was an excellent experience for all the Thunderbolt swimmers,” added coach Leslie.
