Podium finishes prove Sudbury Synchro has moves

Members of the Sudbury Synchro Club — athletes, parents, coaches — are excited. Understandably so.

The Northern Ontario synchronized swim club, which struggles more often than not to remain competitive with the larger, more established southern Ontario teams, recently returned from the 2015 Hilton Worldwide Invitational with three top six podium placements.

Competing in a field of 15 teams, the girls ranked fourth overall with a score of 61.3667, trailing only Kitchener-Waterloo Synchro, Toronto Synchro and Gloucester Synchro.

The team of 10 swimmers performed exceptionally well for coaches Chelsea Wandziak and Courtney Stasiuk.

Laurel Duguay and Georgia Speck then doubled their podium count, finishing sixth in a field of 21 in the 13-15 duet competition. Their score of 59.80 was just enough to edge out pairings from Guelph Synchro (59.70), Granite Synchro (59.43) and Gloucester Synchro (59.37).

Matched up against 16 competitors, Stacie Kohan placed sixth in the 11-12 solo final, earning a score of 57.1667, half a point back of Niah Marshall of Durham, and half a point ahead of Anna Doneva of Mississauga.

The 11-year-old Sudbury crew (Anya Dowe, Maeve Caddel, Rebecca Haferer, Alexa Bates, Noelle Tiangco, Sofya Mishchenko, Madison Hood, Amy Lacelle) also cracked the top 10, finishing eighth.

Results from other events are as follows:

13-15 Duet: Kamryn Butler/Mya Duguay (12th)

16-20 Duet: Katherine Caddel/Megan Sarmatiuk (12th)

10 And Under: Kaydence Aubin/Lily Burns/Ava Hodgins/Emilie Ladouceur/Maxine Lafleur/Lana Squires (14th)

11-12 Duet: Emily Binks/Sarah Ieropoli (17th)

In addition to Chelsea Wandziak and Courtney Stasiuk, the Sudbury coaches included Dana Yawney, Lindsay Wandziak, Candace Larochelle and Amy Mitchell.

Sudbury Synchro swimmers are Sarah Ieropoli, Kamryn Butler, Stacie Kohan, Emily Binks, Georgia Speck, Laurel Duguay, Mya Duguay, Katherine Caddel, Megan Sarmatiuk and Bronwyn Ashley.