More than 300 swimmers from 10 of the 12 regional teams competed at the Cowichan Aquatic Centre in the Cowichan Breakers' sixth annual Icebreaker Invitational, the largest edition of the event to date.
The Breakers won Division 8, and placed second in both Division 2 and the "O" Cat 2 level at the highly successful meet.
Coaches Nick Welychko and Rachel Wood helped the team dominate Div. 8. Welychko won the boys 200m IM, 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke, while Wood placed first in the girls 100m breaststroke and second in the 50m freestyle. Leah Farnan also contributed to the Breakers' haul, finishing first in both the 50m freestyle and 50m fly.
Brynna Coogan had four first-place finishes in Div. 2 girls' events to help the Breakers to second place in that age group, She won the 100m individual medley, 50m and 100m freestyle, and 50m backstroke, and added a second-place result in the 50m fly and a third in the 50m breaststroke. Aniela Hagen added a pair of bronze medals in the 50m fly and 100m free. Also helping the impressive Div. 2 result were Aniela Hagen, Hanna Doman, Taylor Buttle, Elizabeth Bryant and Loch Kapucinski.
Sofie Bloss was the Breakers' lone "O" Cat 2 swimmer, but still helped the club to second overall by placing first in the 100m and 50m fly, and second in the 200m IM, and 50m and 100m free.
In Div. 3, Ryan Smith placed second in the boys 50m fly and third in the 100m free, and Madoc Trafford was third in the 50m freestyle. Maya Doman also contributed to the Breakers' fourth overall finish.
The Breakers also placed fourth in Div. 6 and Div. 7. Tyler LeBlanc won the team's lone individual medal in Div. 6, but James Urquhart and Sydnae Lowe also earned points for the team. Haeley Lowe won gold in the Div. 7 girls 200m IM and bronze in the 50m fly. Reid Urquart finished second in the Div. 7 boys 50m fly and third in the 100m fly and 100m backstroke, with Delaney MacPhee and Ben Wunderlich also contributing to the point total.
Gabby Pask won a bronze medal in the Div. 4 girls 200m IM, while teammates Wyatt Rorick and Lukas Bloss on the boys side helped the team place fifth in the division.
In Div. 5, the fifth-place Breakers were represented by Kenzie Pask, who placed second in the girls 100m backstroke, and Rhys Trafford, who had three fourth-place results.
In Div. 1, the Breakers didn't collect any individual top-three medals, but placed sixth thanks to the efforts of Anna Fairweather, Sarah Hagen, Kate Schultz, Kadence Van Horne and Sadie MacDonald.
The Breakers also had some impressive relay results, finishing first in the Div. 1 girls 200m freestyle, Div. 2 girls 200m medley and freestyle, Div. 5 girls 200m freestyle, and Div. 8 boys 200m freestyle. Cowichan teams also placed second in the Div. 5 boys 200m freestyle and medley, Div. 6 girls 200m medley, and Div. 7 boys 200m medley; third in the Div. 7 boys 200m medley; and fifth in the Div. 8 girls 200m medley.
The Breakers expressed their gratitude to the Cowichan Aquatic Centre, members of the BC Summer Swimming Association Vancouver Island Region, and the parents of the Duncan Stingrays swim team.
The Breakers' next home event will be the BCSSA VI Region championships on Aug. 7-9, with swimmers from across the region looking to qualify for the 2015 provincial championships in Victoria.