Eric Cardinal, 11, of the Sarnia Y Rapids Swim Team finished first overall among the 10-and-11-year-old boys at the St. Clair Erie Aquatic League (SEAL) Swim Championships, after coming 1st in the 50M backstroke and 50M breaststroke, 2nd in the 100M freestyle and 4th in the 100M Individual Medley (IM). Teammate Liam Young, 13, finished 3rd overall in the 12-and-13-year-old boy category, placing 2nd in the 50M butterfly and 100M freestyle, 3rd in the 100M backstroke and 6th in the 100M IM.

In all, 33 members of the Sarnia Y Rapids Swim Team participated in the Championships in Leamington, on April 16. Emily Houle, 13, finished 2nd in the 100M IM and 5th in the 100M breaststroke. Samantha Bedard, 9, earned two 5th-place finishes, in the 25M butterfly and 20M freestyle. Sophie Stasyna, 13, earned a 5th-place finish in the 200M freestyle. Kaiden Rawson, 8, placed 6th in the 25M butterfly.

Team members recorded other notable achievements: 7-year-old Ayrianna Batson improved her time in the 25M butterfly by 12 seconds. Jack Biggar scored a Top 10 finish in the 50M freestyle. McKenna Jackson, 8, Ciara Brown, 9, Nes Tulang, 9, Thomas Cardinal, 10, and Samantha Lefebvre, 11, each took more than 10 seconds off their 100M IM seed times. Erin Lacey, 8, reduced her time in that event by 7 seconds, while Dylan Cloud, 10, took 11 seconds off his time in the 50M butterfly and Hannah Lacey, 11, took 5 seconds off hers. Magaidh Crossland, 12, improved her times for the 50M butterfly and 100M freestyle by more than 15 seconds each. Jena Devine, 11, shaved more than 5 seconds off her times for the 50M breaststroke and 100M freestyle. Courtney Murray, 12, improved her time in the 100M backstroke by 16 seconds, while her sister, Lauren, 9, improved in 4 of her events and Hayley Robertson, 12, improved in 3 of hers. Hunter Small, 11, took time off in all of his individual events (by as much as 17 seconds, in the 100M IM) as did Trista Walsh, 11. Olivia Voisey, 8, took a whopping 36 seconds off her time in the 100M IM. Luke Young, 12, had three Top 10 finishes and improved his times in his events.

Also swimming were Ella Roland, 8, Emma Devine, 9, Ally Core, 10, Mavi Deol, 10, Madison McKinlay, 12, Aynsley Persad, 12, Latashia Dutcher, 13, and Janelle Joosten, 13.