Team Muskoka was making positive waves in Toronto this week.
Fifteen swimmers each from Huntsville High School (HHS) and Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School (BLMSS) travelled together to the OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) meet and came back with seven total medals, high-ranking finishes, personal bests, and memories to last a lifetime.
George Kierstead from BMLSS led the way with two gold medals, one in the Para 50 metre and one in the Para 100 m freestyle, while Hayley Oke from HHS also brought home two golds from the 100 m open backstroke and 100 m open fly.
Uber athlete Emily Parry from Huntsville won gold in the junior girls’ 50 m freestyle and bronze in the 100 m junior girls’ freestyle events. She adds these medals to her haul from OFSAA’s Nordic skiing event.
Bracebridge swimmer Sophie Rix added a bronze in the 100 m open backstroke.
“We are blown away by the amazing performances of our swimmers at the OFSAA championships this week,” wrote BMLSS coach Julia Yates via email (she lost her voice cheering on her swimmers). “We are so proud of this team and what they have accomplished . . . The growing success of both Muskoka teams is very exciting.”
Big accomplishments
Even qualifying as many swimmers as each team did was a significant feat, considering each program only had seven for each team 13 years ago, when each re-started their respected high school swim programs. The wins and great results were the icing on the cake.
For the first time, the two teams travelled to OFSAA together and affectionately coined themselves “Team Muskoka” in the process.
“This year we took 15 swimmers to OFSAA, this is the highest number of swimmers we have ever had qualify for this event, so we were super proud,” says Ally Myers, who co-coaches the HHS team with Sarah Phillips. “Beyond the amazing OFSAA medals, swimmers posted best times and our junior combined team ranked 12th out of 155 schools.”
Erika Einarson, who started helping coach BMLSS this year, says in the past only two or three athletes would quality for the provincials. This year 16 of their swimmers did so, however only 15 were able to attend the actual event.
She mentions that there are a combination of competitive swimmers from local clubs and kids who had never competed at that level before on every team at OFSAA.
“They’re competing and having this experience and seeing these really intense swimmers that have been training their whole life,” says Einarson. “It’s really neat to have all those kids mixed together and see their leadership that happens between the different groups.”
Remarkable performance
The event took place at the Toronto PAN AM Sports Centre on March 4 and 5, featuring 2,500 of the best swimmers in Ontario. That makes even the non-podium finishes all the more remarkable.
For HHS, Tyler Gevaert took fourth in senior boys 100 m backstroke and sixth in senior boys 50 m fly; his brother Josh was fifth in the junior boys 50 m backstroke and sixth in the junior boys 100 m individual medley; the junior girls 200 m freestyle relay team (Jenna Dove, T. Walker, Braunwyn Strickland, Maddie Kay) came first in the B finals, good for 11th overall; the senior boys 200 m individual medley team (Tyler Gevaert, Arik Martin-Padfield, Chris Johnson, Ross Graham) was second in the B finals, finishing 12th overall; and the senior girls open 200 m medley relay team (Ella Dussalut, Amelia Qujada, Hayley Oke, Emily Parry) finished 19th overall.
For BMLSS, the senior girls freestyle relay team (McKenna Forth, Jade Pearcey, Louisa Kirstein, Lola Mahon) dropped 5 seconds off their entry time; Mason Beaumont finished top 20 in the 50 m butterfly; Andrew Guerriero finished 28th in the 100 m freestyle; the junior girls relay team (Dillynn Jones, Ryley Reid, Megan Pearcey, Piper Hemington) finished 15th in the medley relay and 20th in the freestyle relay; Piper Hemington finished tenth in the 50 m butterfly; and the open girls relay team (Maddie Allison, Jo Guerriero, Claire Allison, Sophie Rix) finished fifth in the medley relay.
More than medals
George Kierstad won more than just his two gold medals at the event. By posting a 0:59.99 time, he earned a new fast suit (racing-specific swimsuit).
“His mom said if you get your time under a minute in your 100 m, I’ll buy a new fast suit,” laughs Einarson. “And that’s exactly what he did.”
Emily Parry
George Kierstead
Dillynn Jones, Ryley Reid, Megan Pearcey, Piper Hemington
Maddie Allison, Jo Guerriero, Claire Allison, Sophie Rix.
McKenna Forth, Jade Pearcey, Louisa Kirstein, Lola Mahon
And last but not least, Mason Beaumont Andrew Guerriero
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