By Laura Hanson
For The Cordova Times
Valdez Torpedoes Swim Club hosted its annual Banana Swim Meet on April 8-9.
Thankful for the ferry schedule, 24 Cordova Iceworm swimmers attended the meet with families and coaches, along with YMCA from Anchorage, and Chugiak Athletic Club (CAC) from Eagle River.
Cordova youth swimmers won a team trophy for second place with 41 “Bananas” (heat winners) to CAC’s first place win.
The last time a trophy was brought home was second place in 2014.
Additionally, Bastien Wagner received a first place medal individually in the men’s 9-10-year-old category with top finishes in 50 freestyle, 100 IM, 100 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly, and 100 breaststroke swims.
All Cordova swimmers swam their personal best times and reached their seasonal goals in many events. The team spirit of relay races and cheering the Iceworms on deck and parents cheering from the stands was incredible.
Coaches Laura Hanson, Chatham Warga, Marcela Wagner, Karen Hallquist and Leo Craig have enjoyed this return to the pool and club swim season, after a year away, with COVID mitigation not allowing a season in 2020/2021.
There have been 35 swimmers ages 6-13 years old practicing up to four mornings a week from December through April. Returning swimmers lead the way to grow our team and support the new members.
Thank you to our sponsors Wilson Construction, Edward Jones, Cordova Outboard, J&H Construction, and Unakwik Aquaculture for financial support this season.
We are excited about the future of Cordova swimming! Just keep swimming!
Laura Hanson is a coach for the Cordova Iceworm Swim Team.
