By Shayna Lewis

CALGARY – The Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club is not one to shy away from a challenge.

Not only have their 11-12-year-old boys re-written a few relay records in the history books, but they have created a new record of their own.

On July 3, the team consisting of Marcus Beckstead-Holman, Russell Burton, William Beckstead-Holman and Colin Campbell eclipsed the national age group record in the 4×100-m medley relay. This is the tenth national mark that the boys have broken, making them the first team in history to have all five relay records, both short course and long course, at the same time.

Other teammates who participated in this feat were Eamon Hagerty, Tristan Jankovics, Alex Jensen, Ethan Mark, Thomas Mcdonald, Marco Montiero and Thomas Steele.

Some of the boys will be part of the 840 swimmers who will be attending the Canadian Age Group Championships at the Talisman Centre in Calgary from Wednesday through Monday.

The GMAC coaches recognize how much work their swimmers put into reaching this common goal.

“All the swimmers involved were raised in the Guelph program and it has been a process to get them to this point,” said coach Laura McPhie. “Every coach who has worked with them through the years and this year focused on simple skills and the results happened to converge at the right time.”

While the hard work in the pool plays a large role in a swimmer’s performance, it is the unique relay team bonding experience that allows a group to come together and achieve great results.

Kendra Burton, director of swimming development for GMAC, agrees.

“I have coached a long time and wish I had more to do with swimmers’ success, but often it’s the peer group that makes all the difference,” she said. “This group of boys can’t help but have a good time in the pool! They love to race and love being together.”

GMAC will be one of 149 clubs from 11 provinces and territories at this week’s Age Group Championships, the highest national-level competition for swimmers aged 18 years and under. Calgary last hosted the championships in 2012, a meet that featured 12 swimmers who would go on to become Olympians four years later.

There will be plenty of names to watch over the six-day event, including several members of Canada’s team set to compete at Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii this August.

The meet’s opening day features five Junior Pan Pac girls in the 200-m backstroke, with Newmarket’s Danielle Hanus and Calgary’s Ingrid Wilm leading the charge. Hanus and Wilm will face off again as the top two seeds in the 100-m backstroke on Saturday.

Mary-Sophie Harvey from Saint Jérôme, Que., will be a front runner in the distance freestyle and individual medley races, while sprint specialists Rebecca Smith and Kayla Sanchez will challenge one another in the 50-m and 100-m freestyle.

Jade Hannah, Faith Knelson and Octavia Lau, all of whom were Youth Relay Camp members competing in Bermuda last May, will be wearing different caps at these championships. The three girls hold 15 out of 17 individual top seeds in the fourteen-year-old age group.

On the boys side, Markham’s Philip Kay is the one to beat in Thursday’s 400-m IM and Sunday’s 200-m IM, both races featuring his Junior Pan Pac teammates Brian Palaschuk (Regina Optimist Dolphins) and Ryan Telford (Markham). Telford is also one of the highest-ranking breaststrokers at the meet, along with fellow seventeen-year-old Connor Isings (Pointe-Claire).

Stephen Calkins, competing in his hometown, holds top 5 positions across butterfly, backstroke and freestyle disciplines. His No. 1 seed in Thursday’s 100-m freestyle will be challenged by Chena Swim Club’s Tim Zeng and C.N. Neptune’s Tai Long Singh, who trains with the Intensive Training Program – Montreal.

Fourteen-year-old Gabe Mastromatteo has the potential of a breaststroke sweep with his first-place rankings in all three events. Freestyle phenom Alexander Katelnikoff will prove to be a tough competitor in the fifteen-year-old age group, being the top seed in the 200, 400, 800 and 1500-m events.