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32 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2006 OAK swimmers golden at age group nationals Cummings, Chetrat win Canadian titles, qualify for Pan Pac trials By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR B eing a national individual medley swimming champion has added meaning for Cam Cummings. While he's long been an accomplished swimmer in backstroke and butterfly, the 17year-old Oakville Aquatics Club (OAK) athlete has always struggled with the breaststroke element of the IM. However, after working on the breaststroke much of the past year, Cummings outperformed several higher-ranked swimmers to win the 17-18year-old boys' 400-metre IM at the Swimming Canada Age Group Nationals last weekend in Calgary. "I think personally that achieving something like a gold medal... in IM means a lot more than any event," said Cummings, who also won the 400m IM at provincials earlier this month. "It's a big accomplishment." Cummings added a pair of silver medals at age group nationals, finishing second in the 200m backstroke and 200m IM. He and teammate Zack Chetrat, who also won three medals in Calgary, qualified for this weekend's Pan Pacific trials in Montreal. "It will be a thrill to be in the same water as all the Olympians, the guys we don't get a chance to race due to age," the University of To r o n t o - b o u n d Cummings said. "We can see how they prepare for their Cam Cummings races, how they swim in the morning, what they do to warm up before the races." Chetrat, meanwhile, edged out fellow OAK member Curtis Samuel to win the 15-andunder boys' 200m fly. Samuel held a slight edge throughout most of the race before Chetrat, not known for his strong finishes, beat his training partner to the final wall. "There's no hard feelings between us. It THE FLY: Zack Chetrat plows his way through the water during his gold medal-winning 200-metre fly swim at last weekend's age group Swimming Canada Age Group Nationals in Calgary. Both Chetrat and teammate Cam Cummings won national gold and will compete at the Pan Pacific trials this weekend in Montreal. was good to get on the podium together," said and two in relay, while Samuel added two Chetrat, a 15-year-old preparing for his Grade bronze medals to the silver he earned in the 11 year at White Oaks Secondary School. "We 200m fly. In fact, Samuel reached the final of have been training together for the past three all seven events he entered, helping OAK to an years on the same level, and we really try to 11th-place overall finish out of the 152 clubs push each other farther and farther." in Canada. Chetrat had mixed feelings "I was quite pleased. I about his other two medals, "I was quite thought we had a strong team bronzes in the 100m fly and pleased. On the and I knew we had good older 400m freestyle. In the 100m fly, whole, we swam guys, but we also had a number he finished in a tie for third and of rookies that swam best times exceptionally was surprised to receive a medal; and a number of young girls following the 400m freestyle, he well." swimming well," said OAK cowas second-guessing his strategy. coach Alex Wallingford. "On the OAK co-coach Alex "At the end of the (400m whole, we swam exceptionally free), I felt I might have done Wallingford well." better," he said. "The distance Keire won individual silver between me and the guy who won was three- in 12-and-under girls' 800m and 1,500m tenths of a second. If I kicked it sooner, I freestyle. She joined Marni Oldershaw, Mika might have been able to catch him." Spencer and Clara Armstrong to earn silver The three-medal performances by Chetrat medals in the 12-and-under freestyle and and Cummings were only two of several high- medley relays. The 15-and-under boys' lights for OAK at the age group nationals. team of Brody Dyson, Matt Lawson, Chetrat Jacqueline Keire came home with four silver and Samuel finished fifth in the freestyle medals, two of them in individual competition relay. Cummings, Oldershaw, Chetrat, Samuel and Keire all set OAK club records at the age group nationals. Following is a summary of how all 15 OAK swimmers fared individually in Calgary: Girls 12-and-under: Marni Oldershaw (5th, 400m IM; 6th, 200m IM; 6th, 50m back; 8th, 200m back; 12, 100m back), Mika Spencer (6th, 200m free; 6th, 400m free; 7th, 100m free; 7th, 800m free; 9th, 50m free), Jacqueline Keire (2nd, 800m free; 2nd, 1,500m free; 4th, 100m back; 4th, 200m back; 8th, 200m IM), Clara Armstrong (5th, 50m breast; 6th, 100m breast; 9th, 200m breast; 20th, 200m IM; 22nd, 100m fly); 13-and-under: Erin Assman (13th, 100m free; 14th, 400m IM; 15th, 100m fly; 21st, 1,500m free; 27th, 200m IM), Mackenzie Darragh (4th, 400m IM; 6th, 200m fly; 11th, 200m IM; 13th, 800m free; 14th, 100m back; 16th, 400m free; 18th, 100m fly; 19th, 200m back). Boys 13-and-under: Kent Kikot (7th, 200m fly; 9th, 50m fly; 9th, 100m fly; 9th, 100m free; 25th, 200m free); 14-and-under: Brody Dyson (11th, 200m back; 17th, 100m back; 21st, 400m free; 22nd, 50m back; 30th, 50m free); 15-and-under: Zack Chetrat (1st, 200m fly; 3rd, 100m fly; 3rd, 400m free; 5th, 50m fly; 5th, 50m back; 6th, 200m free; 10th, 100m free; 11th, 50m free), Curtis Samuel (2nd, 200m fly; 3rd, 200m IM; 3rd, 200m free; 5th, 800m free; 6th, 400m free; 7th, 100m fly), Matt Lawson (8th, 1,500m free; 10th, 800m free; 17th, 400m free; 19th, 200m free); 16-and-under: Luke Kikot (9th, 200m back; 13th, 50m free; 14th, 100m back; 16th, 100m free; 21st, 50m back); 17-18: Cam Cummings (1st, 400m IM; 2nd, 200m IM; 2nd, 200m back; 4th, 50m back; 5th, 100m back; 5th, 1,500m free), Brian Gilmour (11th, 200m breast; 18th, 50m breast; 21st, 100m breast; 27th, 200m IM), Dan Scott (17th, 50m back; 19th, 200m back; 25th, 100m back; 30th, 50m fly; 34th, 100m free). 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