The Burnaby Barracudas Aquatic Club will be sending a strong team to the B.C. summer swimming championships in Nanaimo this weekend.
The Barracudas won more than 60 medals at the recent Simon Fraser regional qualifying championships at Central Park pool, including 24 gold medals.
Among the gold-medal winners were four-event winners Katrina Heinonen, Gareth Jones, Octavia Lau and Kiana Stark.
Heinonen, a Division 6 swimmer, placed first in the girls' 50 and 100 metre butterfly, 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley.
Jones won four Div. 4 races, including the 50 and 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 200m IM.
Div. 2's Lau won the 50 and 100m free, 50m fly and 100m IM. Stark finished first in the 50 and 100m free, 50m breast and 100m IM in O Cat. 1.
Leo Shen won 50m free and 100m breast in Div. 6. He was also runner-up in the 50m fly and 200m IM.
Other big winners included Div. 5 Randy Ho and Div. 3 boys' Garrett Yeo.
Ho won the 100m free, placed second in the 50m free and 200m IM, while finishing third in the 100m breast. Yeo took gold in the 100m IM and was second in the 50m fly, back and breast.
Kelly Pickthall also won gold in Div. 6, placing first in the 100m back. She placed second in both the 50m fly and 200m IM.
Ivan Phung and Edward Wong also qualified for the provincials with gold-medal swims.
Nicole Ticea, Meredith McKenzie and Markus Wong each qualified in four separate stroke disciplines.
Ticea was second in Div. 4 girls' 50m fly and 200m IM and third in 100m free and back.
McKenzie was a Div. 7 runnerup in the 100m breast and 200m IM and third in the 50m free and fly.
Wong was second in the Div. 2 boys' 50m free and 100m IM, and third in the 50m breast and 100m free.
Rowan Cheung and Xavier Lau also had multi-medal qualifying swims.
Pheby Yeung, Emi Wong, Jakub Vincalek, Alexa Tran, Jacky Tat, Henry McKenzie, Kurtis Li, Cayden Liang, Becky Liang, Brian Huynh, Ricky Dang, Deanna Dang and Martina Blazevic also medalled for the 'Cudas.
