By Eliza McGuire, Revelstoke Aquaducks
This past weekend four Aquaducks attended the Merritt Otters swim meet. While few in number, their presence was noticeable. The division 4 Aquaducks 200 meter mixed medley relay won gold by more than 20 seconds despite having a division 1 swimmer on it. The 200 meter freestyle relay team repeated the following afternoon for a comfortable first as well.
For Ryder Litke, while the meet set up of a combined division 1-7 timed final event that separated the respective divisions only for results was not ideal for the young division 1 boy, he still had a strong meet. Swimming against many athletes over twice his age was intimidating at first, but “Zippy” was up for it, finishing in the top three in four of his six races, and achieving multiple personal bests throughout the meet.
Beth Granstrom, the lone female athlete from Revelstoke, represented beautifully, winning five of her six races, earning her a second aggregate for the division 4 girls category. While she achieved three personal bests, two of those were not only wins, but betterments of her club records as well in the 200 meter individual medley and the 100 meter backstroke.
James LeBuke, who just moved age categories into division 4 a single meet ago, is already knocking on the door of club records, and right with him is Jackson Litke. While LeBuke is chipping away at the 200 individual medley record that has stood for 30 years, Litke is nearing the 100 meter backstroke and 100 meter freestyle records, which are also three decades old, though he is closest to a decade-old record in the 50 meter butterfly.
The boys traded back and forth between firsts and seconds mostly throughout the meet, with a Revelstoke capped swimmer touching the wall first in each of the six events that division 4 athletes may qualify for provincials in. In the end a single point separated the two in the Aggregate race for the division 4 boys category, with James LeBuke the second aggregate and Jackson Litke the first aggregate.
While the numbers were low in Merritt, the coming weekend’s meet is in Lumby and is typically a largely attended meet by the Ducks due to its fun outdoor pool and conveniently located campground a stone’s throw from the pool.