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HAY RIVER - The Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club was the dominant force at the second annual Hay River Elks swim meet at the Hay River aquatic centre Nov. 15 and 16. Twenty-five swimmers made the trip and didn't disappoint.

"The competition was great," said coach John Colford. "They did their parents proud."

Cassandra Mooney of Yellowknife shows off her freestyle technique during the Hay River Elks swim meet on Nov. 19 - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

A few athletes managed to obliterate their personal bests during the event, Colford said.

"Candace Elatiak shaved about 35 seconds off her personal best in the 400-metre freestyle," he said. "Noah Colford went six for six in his events and TJ Marshman broke the 30-second barrier in the (boys 15+) 50-metre freestyle."

No swimmer stood out amongst the group during the weekend, Colford added.

There were four swimmers in all who went a perfect six for six, including Yellowknife's eight-year-old Neo Gleason.

"It was a pretty good competition," he said. "The hardest event of all was the 100-metre individual medley. The first part is the butterfly and you have to lunge yourself in and out of the water and you have to touch the wall a certain way or else you'll get disqualified. That makes it the hardest."

Gleason came home with the overall gold medal in the boys' eight and under division and almost broke a record in his favourite event, the 25-metre backstroke.

"I missed the record by 30 (hundredths) of a second," he said. "The old record has stood for 11 years. I'm disappointed but I'm happy because I still won the race."

The event was well-run, just like any event in Hay River, Colford said.

"When they put something on, they really put it on," he said. "Everyone there is just great. It's always fun to go to Hay River."

With the Hay River meet in the books, the attention now turns to the upcoming JP Fiset meet in Edmonton in December.