Two Hyack club youngsters went head-to-head all meet long at the Swim B.C. long course provincial championships last weekend.
Ten-year-old Sergey Chernomorchenko and Nichita Spatari, 11, shared six medals between them and set four new club records in the 11-and-under boys’ division after seven A final swims for the up-and-coming pair at the Commonwealth Place pool in Saanich.
Nichita nipped his younger teammate for first place, winning the 400-metre individual medley in a club record time of 5:47.55.
He also edged out Sergey for second place in the 400m freestyle, breaking a 1980 Hyacks record, with a 5:03.80 clocking.
The younger Sergey turned the tables on Nichita in the 200m butterfly, winning a bronze medal in a club record time of 2:46.02, while also placing fourth ahead of Nichita in the 50m fly sprint with a club record 34.43 time.
Nichita and Sergey also finished second and third, respectively, in the 800m free. Sergey bettered his clubmate in A final swims in the 100m fly and 200m free.
Sergey made a separate A final, placing third in the 200m backstroke.
Octavia Lau was another busy Hyack in the pool, winning six individual medals in the 12/13 girls’ division.
Lau won the 200 and 400m free, placed second in the free sprint and third in the 50m back, 100m fly and 100m free.
Lau also shared a silver medal and a club record with Nicole Sue, Victoria Tocheva and Kyra Tamagi in the 200m free relay.
Stella Jin won a pair of gold in fly, winning both the 50 and 100m races in the girls’ 14/15 age group.
Mia Bottrill was a silver medalist for the Hyacks in the 16-and-over girls’ 200m fly.
Bottrill also won a bronze with the Hyack girls’ relay team of Elaine Lam, May Li and the 13-year-old Lau in the 800m free.
Zoe Froh won an individual second-place medal in the 12/13 girls’ 400m IM.
Froh picked up a relay gold with Victoria Tocheva, Carleen Gao and Vivian Truong in the 12-and-under 200m free relay that broke a 1975 club record.
The Hyack foursome also placed second in the 800m free relay.
Sehajvir Singh earned a bronze medal in the boys’ 14/15 200m IM.
Singh also earned three relay medals.
The 14-year-old swimmer joined Brodie Young, Martin Dimitrov and Nicholas Lee for a silver medal in the 14-and-under 200m free relay.
The four boys also took home a second relay silver in the 200m medley.
Singh, Young and Dimitrov teamed up for a third medal, while Kai Wing Kong subbed for Lee, in the Hyacks second-place finish in the 800m free relay.