Prairie Winter International 2024 Recap
The St. James Seals competed in their first championship meet of the 2024/25 season at Prairie Winter International (PWI) this past weekend. Ekam Ghuman, Annalie Graham, Hayden Grenkow, Klymentii Hryshylo, Maddy Johnston, Mya Kowbel, Devon Lusk, Sam Marquart, Will Rees, Maddie Reimer, Aden Sellors, Arjun Sharma, Asha Thiessen, Rowan Towse, Arsenii Varchuk, Max Wiebe, & Jayden Yang represented the Seals at Pan Am Pool from December 5-8. 17 swimmers mark the highest total of Seals at PWI since 2021 (18 Seals) which was our first championship meet post-pandemic shutdowns.
Ghuman swam an excellent meet in her PWI debut. Ekam book-ended her PWI by smashing her best times in 50 Fly on Thursday night & 100 Free on Sunday morning. She also was able to check off one of her season goals before the holidays by qualifying for Junior Provincials this February in the 50m Freestyle.
Graham swam a great meet, racing right on her best times throughout the weekend. Coming off a knee injury, Annalie was racing healthy for the first time this season, and she did not disappoint! She was able to swim her signature 50m Freestyle 3 times this weekend with (1x individually & 2x on relays) and was able to get under her best time twice on the relays. Annalie also was able to book-end best times at PWI with personal bests in 50m Butterfly on Thursday & 100m Backstroke on Sunday.
Grenkow took the pool by storm on Thursday evening. As the Seals only swimmer entered in the distance events, Hayden made the most of his 1500m Free by not only winning a silver medal, but also taking down a 45-year-old club record by almost 20 seconds! He had a busy weekend of 13 individual swims & 2 relays (which also broke club records), but that didn’t stop him from going 13/13 with 100% best times.
Hryshylo discovered a newfound love for breaststroke at PWI where he threw down 2 huge best times in the 50m and 100m Breaststroke events. Klymentii was also a part of both 16&O boys relay teams which took out the 200m Freestyle & 200m Medley Relay club records, the latter was anchored by his own fantastic 50m Freestyle.
Johnston had an incredible PWI debut filled with best times! Maddy demolished her old 200m Freestyle personal best by almost 38 seconds on Friday morning setting the tone for a great weekend. Maddy finished 10th in 100m Butterfly with a personal best on Sunday morning, almost sneaking into the final as our annual PWI blizzard formed. She was a key part in both 13-14 Girls Relays (at only 12 years old) swimming 2 amazing 50m Freestyle splits, including an anchor leg on Saturday night that was not only under 35 for the first time, but was also over 2 seconds under her best time!
Lusk rose to the occasion at PWI with a busy weekend of 13 total swims. Devon swam his way to 13/13 best times including taking down the 15&O Boys 100m Breaststroke club record on Saturday evening, dropping over 4s throughout the day. He was also a part of the 15&O Boys Relay teams which dropped 2 other club records throughout the weekend, including a blistering 24.9 anchor leg to close out Friday nights session.
Marquart resiliency shines bright at PWI. After she was unhappy with her start on Thursday night, Sam rebounded with a collection of fantastic swims and personal bests throughout the weekend. Sam also raced in her first ever individual final on Saturday night in the 100m Backstroke, on the way to another best time. She was able to correct her mistakes on Thursday night by swimming a personal best leading off the 200 Medley relay in the 50m Backstroke!
Rees showed fantastic growth throughout the weekend in 200m events. Will swam a great pair of 200m Freestyle & Backstroke events dropping over 7 seconds between the two events. No sickness was going to take him out of the fight as he also took down his old 100m Backstroke with another huge personal best. Will made the most of his relay opportunity swimming up as a 12-year-old with the 14-15 Boys as he closed off the Medley relay on Saturday night with a great anchor leg in the 50m Freestyle.
Reimer is the model of consistency at PWI. The Captain swam at or on personal bests throughout the weekend, lowering her own club record in the 15&O Girls 50m Breaststroke on Thursday evening. In a busy weekend of heats & finals, Maddie even surprised herself by kicking the 200m Breaststroke monkey off her back and grabbing a best time on Saturday night. Look for a strong 50m Freestyle coming in after the holiday break as she is determined to get under :28.
Sellors swims a speedy (& busy) PWI weekend. Aden shared in the 13-swim chaos of the 3.5-day event. He started the meet off strong on Thursday night by getting under 30s in 50m Butterfly for the first time. He continued his strong momentum by getting under 2:10 in 200m Freestyle on Friday night and swimming to big personal best times in the 400m Freestyle & 200m IM. He was on the right side of a friendly teammate wager in the 200m IM final as there was a race within the race against Max Wiebe, avoiding the 400 IM punishment with an outstanding closing freestyle leg.
Sharma swam a fantastic full weekend in his PWI debut. Arjun kicked off Friday morning with a bang, swimming a best time in 200m Freestyle by almost 7s. He continued his successes on Saturday morning with a personal best of over 10s in 100m Backstroke! Arjun was a member of the Boys 14-15 200m Freestyle Relay on Friday night, holding his own at 12, swimming under his 50m freestyle personal best by over a second!
Thiessen continues to surprise herself as the weekend went on, the faster she got! Fatigue was no factor for Asha as she swam at or under best times throughout the weekend. She smashed her 100m IM and 200m Breaststroke personal bests on Friday and Saturday, going out like a rocket on Saturday night in the latter. Asha continued her strong performances in the evening with great relay legs and either holding or improving her seed in every final.
Varchuk “locked in” on the weekend on his way to personal bests at PWI. Arsenii took on the grueling 200m Butterfly on Saturday, swimming 2 consecutive best times between prelims and finals. He also continued to lower his 50m Freestyle, swimming 3 straight best times between Friday’s lead off relay leg and Saturday’s prelims & finals. He closed off the meet by breaking 1:03 in the 100m Butterfly for the first time. Arsenii was a member of both 15&O Boys Relays who raced to 2 club records.
Wiebe was the most decorated Seal this weekend taking home 2 individual medals at PWI. Max kicked off Thursday night by swimming in the middle of the lane, leading him to a gold medal in the 50m Backstroke. He continued his great form in the 100m Backstroke, finishing with a bronze medal in the final. Even though he lost his friendly wager with Aden, Max swam his way to 2 best times in 200m IM, dropping over 6s throughout the day. He took advantage of a great lead off leg in the 14-15 Boys 200m Freestyle relay, breaking the 28s barrier for the first time with a 2 second personal best.
Yang finally took in PWI for the first time after having to scratch the full meet last year with an illness. Jayden started off strong in the 50m Breaststroke on Thursday night, as he continues to lower his personal best towards the Man/Sask standard. He saved his best for Sunday however where he had outstanding swims in both the 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle events by over 13 seconds between the two races. Jayden was also a member of the boys 14-15 relay teams where he swam at best times in both of his relay legs!
Kowbel & Towse make the most of their PWI relay opportunities! Mya swam her best under the bright lights on Saturday night by crushing her 50m Backstroke personal best by over 2 seconds in the lead off leg of the Girls 13-14 Medley relay. The time not only qualified her for her first Junior Provincials this February, but also qualifies her until she’s 15! Rowan rebounded with a great 50m Butterfly leg in the same 13-14 Girls Medley relay. She swam a sub 40s relay leg, which was under her best time by over half a second. Both girls played a key part in that relay team dropping over 5s on the night!
Congratulations to all who competed this weekend! 17 Seals came and swam their absolute best of the season with every swimmer taking home at least 1 best time. PWI 2024 saw the return of “We Eat Fish For Breakfast” for the first time in over 10 years, as well as the debut of our sparkling red diamond letterman caps. Both Cam & Josh were thrilled with the success of our athletes as they worked their way through a long and challenging championship weekend!
