A pair of Sault Surge Aquatic Team swimmers are off to the Summer Ontario Swimming Championships to be held July 7 - 10 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.
Paige Banton and Kaelyn Albert will be competing in breastroke and butterfly stroke events at the Toronto meet.
Banton is a 19-year-old St. Mary’s College graduate heading into her third year of study at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
“It’s been fun and exciting. My team is really great and supportive. I love working with my coaches and how they've gotten to know me and how I’ve gotten to know them,” said Banton, currently studying dietetics at Marshall.
She qualified for the Summer Ontario Swimming Championships based on her swimming achievements in the U.S.
Of her days with the Surge before going to university in the U.S., Banton said “it was really great. It is different from college obviously but the Surge has always been really supportive and fun. It was my home away from home before I went to school.”
Banton has been swimming competitively since she was seven years old with a few gold, silver and bronze medals to her credit at the local and provincial level.
Kaelyn Albert competed and won a bronze medal in the 100 metre breaststroke event at the Summer Ontario Youth Junior Championships June 16 through 19, 2022 at the Markham Pan Am Pool, qualifying her for Summer Ontario Swimming Championships beginning Thursday.
“I medalled so I did really well and I finally beat my time after two years, so that was positive for me,” said Albert, a 17-year-old Korah Collegiate student who has won several medals over the years.
“It felt great to have qualified again. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to this meet. It’s given me an extra chance to swim again. It’s a great way to finish off the season but it’s also an important step leading into the next season.”
The two said they are pumped about going to the Summer Ontario Swimming Championships.
“I am,” Banton smiled.
"There’s going to be some fast competition.”
“I’m really excited, really looking forward to seeing how everything goes and how it’s going to influence my career next year,” said Albert, who also hopes to go on to national competition.
“It’s one of my big goals, to get a scholarship. That’s another reason why this meet is important, to finish off the season with a good time and for scouting.”
“It was a really hard meet to qualify for,” said Nancy Day, Sault Surge Aquatic Team (SSAT) head coach.
“I’m excited for both of them. They trained really hard. They look like they’re fast and ready to race.”
Hard work has paid off for many Surge team members since February, Day said.
“We do a lot of training on technique. We’ve been really working on technique and the results really show when they're racing.”
“The results over the last four months have been top notch.”
Surge swimmers did well at a recent meet involving swimmers 13 years of age and under in which some swimmers medalled.
“The kids have really been training hard. They step on the blocks and they put 100 per cent into their races. I’m really proud of all of them and how much they've improved,” Day said.