By MAC FLETT
SS Stingrays coach
The Salt Spring Stingrays finished off the season with some wicked races at the 2022 BCSSA provincials held in Kamloops, and the coaches would like to congratulate everyone who qualified and attended.
The Stingrays had 17 provincial qualifiers this year, with 13 swimmers able to attend the meet. We had some very very fast races and came out with four medals — and all of the swimmers made either an A or B final in at least one of their events.
Druehn Pinney snagged a gold medal in the Boys Division-5 100-meter backstroke, as well as a 15th-place finish in 100-m butterfly, 18th in 50-m butterfly, and an 11th-place finish in the 200-m individual medley. Druehn also snagged another gold in the boys Div.-5 regional relay.
Zoe Sanchez-Wickland raced hard for an 8th-place finish in the 100-m breaststroke, as well as a 14th-place finish in 100-m butterfly, 12th place in the 50-m butterfly, and a 13th-place finish in the 100-m freestyle. Zoe also picked up a gold medal in the girls Div.-5 regional relay.
Elyse Walsh finished 16th in the 100-m backstroke as well as contributing to an 8th-place finish in the girls 200-m freestyle relay.
Aiden Otsubo-Papp finished 8th in his 100-m backstroke, as well as a 17th-place finish in the 50-m freestyle, 18th place in 50-m butterfly, and 19th in the 100-m freestyle.
Keegan Otsubo-Papp finished 22nd in the 50-m freestyle and contributed to a 5th-place finish in the boys 200-m freestyle relay.
Our youngest Stingray Jade Marshall swam hard for a 14th-place finish in the Girls Div.-1 50-m backstroke and competed on a Vancouver Island regional relay.
The Stingrays had some wicked fast relays as well; the boys Div.-7 freestyle relay, made up of Matthias Woodley, Keegan Otsubo-Papp, Aiden Otsubo-Papp and Druehn Pinney, raced for a 5th-place finish. Elyse Walsh, Indigo Marshall, Cypress Marshall, and Zoe Sanchez Wickland also swam an awesome 200-m freestyle relay for an 8th-place finish!
Our coaches showed they can still race too. Zoey Johnson picked up a silver in the girls 200-m individual medley as well as a 7th-place finish in 100-m butterfly, a 6th-place finish in the 100-m backstroke and placed 6th in the 100-m freestyle.
William Rithaler placed 19th in 50-m butterfly and finished 15th in 100-m breaststroke.
Lily Armstrong won her B final in girls 100-m breaststroke as well as contributing to a 6th-place finish on the girls 200-m medley relay.
Finally, Mac Flett finished 19th in 50-m freestyle, 15th in 50-m butterfly and 14th in 100-m breaststroke.
Provincials was a great wrap-up to a fantastic season for the Stingrays. Coaching staff couldn’t have been done without the help of all the parents driving their kids to practices and committing their weekends to swimming. They are the backbone of our team. Thanks also to all of our board members for their hard work they put in all season (and beyond), and of course all of the team’s lovely sponsors. We can’t wait to see what next season has in store for the Stingrays.