The Cochrane Piranhas have a full calendar of meets leading up to the provincials in late August.

After about a month break from competition, the Piranhas attended their first meet last weekend at the Calgary Swordfish Invitational. That is being followed by a string of meets that are only interrupted briefly by the August Long Weekend. 

There may not have been meets, but there has been lots of training. In fact, head coach Breanna Hendriks says it was time well spent in preparation for what's ahead.  

"It was nice to have a good training block and get the kids set up for the last push of the season," says Hendriks.

She impressed with how hard the swimmers have worked in anticipation of these meets.

"It's a big commitment in the summer, but a lot of these kids have been working really hard and are really dedicated," she says. "I'm impressed with that."

This weekend, the Piranhas are participating in the Calgary Tritons Invitational at the Repsol Sports Centre (previously Taliman Centre). Then it's off the Canmore for the Coho Invitational, July 28-29.  Regionals follow at the Repsol Centre on Aug. 12-13, and many of the Piranhas will be competing in the provincials the following weekend.

It's placements at the regional competition that largely determines who advances to the provincials, although there are other factors. Normally, about half of the club's 52 swimmers qualify, says Hendriks.

It won't be long before the Piranhas get to utilize the spanking new pool in the aquatic centre. They'll likely be getting their first taste of the new facility soon, then go full bore next season. That will include hosting their first meet there next June. They've been co-hosting a meet in Didsbury for years and are now eager to bring it home.

"By then we'll do our swim meet at our pool. It's pretty awesome," says Hendriks.

The following is brief summary of the Swordfish meet results for swimmers placing in first through third places in their events.  

  • Isabella Barreto-Waringer placed 3rd in the girls 9 & 10 year old 200m freestyle
  • Natalie Barreto-Waringer placed 1st in the girls 11 & 12 year old 100m backstroke
  • Rylee Bashow placed 1st in the 25m freestyle and 3rd in 100m Individual Medley (IM) and 3rd in 25m breast.
  • Kaitlyn Eiserman placed 2nd in 200m freestyle and 3rd in 25m butterfly
  • Kyla Fritz placed 2nd in the 100m butterfly
  • Nicole Gross placed 1st in 50m butterfly, 2nd in 100m IM; and 3rd in 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke
  • Stephanie Gross had a 3rd place finish in all four of her individual events: girls 15 and under 100m backstroke; 50m backstroke; 100m IM and 400m freestyle
  • Sarah Nusl had a 2nd place finish in all four of her events in the girls 15 to 17 year old categories:100m IM; 400m freestyle; 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke
  • Caebri Smith placed 2nd in the boys 7&8 year old  50m freestyle and 3rd in the 25m backstroke
  • Catherine Swedlo placed 1st in the girls 12 &U 400m freestyle; 2nd in the 100m backstroke; 2nd in the 50m freestyle and 3rd in the 100m IM.
  • Connor Swedlo placed 1st in the 50m backstroke and 2nd in 100m freestyle
  • Duncan Swedlo placed 1st in the boys 18 & over age group for 50m butterfly and 3rd for 50m breaststroke
  • Eric Swedlo placed 1st in boys 15-17 year old 50m breast; 200m IM; and 100m freestyle; and placed 2nd in the 200m freestyle
  • Evan Thibodeau placed 1st in the boys 6&U 25m backstroke; 25m flutterboard; and 2nd in the boys 50m freestyle and 25m freestyle events

In the Relay events, the Piranhas also had some great placements.

  • 3rd place in the girls 17&U 200m medley relay for Kyla Fritz; Darci Petersen; Nicole Cross and Sarah Zitko
  • 3rd place in the girls 10&U 100m freestyle for Isabella Baretto-Waring;er Mackenzie Banfield; Madeline Wowryk and Kaitlyn Eiserman
  • 1st place in the mixed 17&Under 200m medley relay for Stephanie Gross; Eric Swedlo; Sarah Nusl and Connor Swedlo
  • 1st place in the mixed 17&Under 200m freestyle relay for Stephanie Gross; Catherine Swedlo; Sarah Nusl and Eric Swedlo
  • 2nd place in the mixed 8&Under 100m freestyle for Caebri Smith; Madison Fisher Boroff; Evan Thibodeau and Rylee Bashow