Pool Sharks Medal at Provincial Festivals

Etobicoke, On- The Chatham Pool Sharks made waves this weekend at the Provincial Short-Course Winter Festivals, held in Etobicoke. The meet brought together Provincial Festival- time qualifiers from across the province to compete for top places. The Provincial Festivals is similar to the Ontario Age Group Provincials, except its focus is on swimmers 14 years and younger.

Six local swimmers achieved Provincial Festival-cuts and 4 represented the Chatham Pool Sharks at the meet. Swimmers included: Madelaine Tran, Quinn Matteis, Connor McFadden, and Matthew Eddington. David Tran and Genevieve Sasseville also made the cut but were unable to attend.

Connor McFadden – achieved two more Age Group Provincial Cuts by qualifying in the 200 fly and 400 free, giving him a total of 5 cuts.

Overall the Pool Sharks brought home 11 top 8 finishes and placed 28^th out of 65 teams.

Top 8 results included:

Quinn Matteis (M 12)

• 800 free- 4^th
• 200 free- 6^th
• 400 free- 6^th
• 50 free- 7^th
• 100 free- 7^th

Madeleine Tran  ( F 12 )

• 100 back- 7th

Connor McFadden (M 13)

• 800 free- 4^th
• 200 Free- 5^th
• 400 Free- 6^th
• 200 back- 7^th
• 200 fly- 7^th

Assistant Coach Dave Desmarais noted, “We had a great meet with incredible swims and lots of personal bests. Even though we were small in numbers, we made a big impact on the top 8 results”.

Up next for the Pool Sharks:

• Regionals Feb 24-25 in London
• Age Group Provincials March 3-5 in Brantford
• Arena Pro Series March 3-5 in Indianapolis
• SEAL League meet April 2nd in Chatham

The Chatham Pool Sharks is a Division 2 Club and currently has nationally ranked swimmers on the team, as well as many provincial and regional-level qualifiers. This is in addition to the developmental programs offered for younger swimmers. For more information about the Chatham Pool Sharks visit www.chathamypoolsharks.com.