Beaver Sports
The Napanee District Secondary School swim team competed at the EOSSAA championships held at the Queen’s University ARC Pool, Thursday Feb. 9th.
Highlights of the competition include a fourth place ribbon in the 100 metre individual medley and seventh place in the 100 metre freestyle result for Grade 9 student Jerri Rouleau. Laney Wansborough, another grade 9 student, was also able to win ribbons in the 100 IM (fifth), 100-metre breast stroke (eight) and 50 freestyle (eight). Madison Allen, a Grade 10 student new to competitive swimming was able to hold off a determined challenger to achieve an eight-place ribbon in the junior girls 100 metre freestyle.
Owen Googe, the only senior student on the team, had fantastic results, finishing second in the 100 metre breast stroke and dominating the 100 metre butterfly, 100 IM and 200 IM, winning gold. This qualified him for the OFSAA championships held in Windsor on March 1. After exciting prelims where Googe coasted to qualifying for the ‘A’ finals in the 200 IM and 100 IM, he found himself seeded second in the events. In the 200-metre race, at the 100-metre mark he was in fifth place but powered through with his breaststroke and freestyle to come from behind to win the bronze medal by a touch. With very little time to recover, he competed in the 100 IM winning the silver medal. Only a swimmer who broke the OFSAA record for that event beat him.
Owen Googe became the first ever NDSS Golden Hawk to medal at an OFSAA swim meet, winning a silver and a bronze. Submitted photo.
Coaches Michelle Miller and Glen Oster congratulate Googe on this amazing achievement. Never before has an NDSS swimmer medaled at OFSAA. They consider the entire team’s results remarkable, considering the dedication all the swimmers had to have travelling twice a week to train in Belleville.