Durham Synchro Swimmer Selected to Provincial Team!

A successful Provincial Trials meet for Durham Synchro was topped off on January 23 by the selection of Durham's Katie Cornish to the Canada Games - Team Ontario 2005 team.

Cornish, a third-year Tier 7 national level swimmer, was chosen fifth overall from 18 athletes who qualified to try out for the team during the province-wide Provincial Trials meet at Waterloo's Wilfred Laurier University. In meet competition, Katie's solo routine placed sixth, and her duet with Lindsay Maclean finished fourth.

The Canada Games - Team Ontario team was established to prepare for the 2007 Canada Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, where synchronized swimming is a participating sport. The new team hopes to attend an international invitational competition this year.

Durham Synchro's 23 competitive athletes stepped onto the podium a dozen times at the Provincial Trials meet, which is a prelude to Ontario's provincial championships later this month. Durham's Tier 6 athletes took first place in team (Alaina Wade, Allie Mear, Carrie Mouck, Brianna MacLellan, Julia Maclean, Katie LePage), as well as the top three spots in solo (J. Maclean, LePage, Mouck). Tier 6 duet routines also placed first and third on the podium (LePage/MacLellan; J. Maclean/Mouck). The Tier 7 team (K. Cornish, L. Maclean, Sophie Baetz-Dougan, Chelsey Matthews) took home a fourth place ribbon.

In figures competition, Ali Young took third place in a field of 99 Tier 2 athletes. This was Ali's first competition since moving up from the recreational stream. In Tier 3 figures, Stephanie Geller secured first place again out of 65 competitors, while Tier 4's Christa Hutton had a solid 5 th place performance in a field of 46.

Durham Synchro will compete at Ontario's provincial championships at The Olympium in Etobicoke on February 25 - 27.

Katie Cornish (right) with her coach Leslie Wickens. Leslie, a former Durham Synchro swimmer, was on Canada's National Junior B Team from 1999-2002.