Eighteen Whitehorse Glacier Bears returned home last Monday with lots of hardware and ribbons after a competing in the 2008 Wishbone Invitational Swim Meet in Fairbanks, Alaska.

There were numerous personal best times and two new club records were also set.

Felix Bouchard had an impressive meet, setting personal bests in every event and achieving AAA times in both the 100-m freestyle and 200-m breast.

Bouchard finished first overall in the boys' 13-14 age group.

Hayley Braga, Taylor Campbell, Isabel Parkkari and Erin McArthur combined efforts to handily win both the girls' 11-12 200-m freestyle and 200-m medley relay events.

All four took lots of time off their personal bests in nearly every race.

Campbell, Braga and Parkkari swept the trophies in this age group, finishing top three.

McArthur, 10, swam to first place finishes in every event, setting personal bests in each race, and won first place overall in the girls' 10 and under group.

Kirsten Berube finished first in every event she entered, coming away with three AAA times and a first-place trophy in the girls' 13-14 age group.

Berube joined forces with Kate McArthur, Rebecca Leslie and Nadia Petriw to win the 200-m free relay.

Petriw had a number of personal bests, touching the wall first in the 400-m free in the girls' 13-14 category.

A last-minute decision to attend the meet paid off for Tanner Cassidy, who faced stiff competition in the boys' 15 and over age group.

In a race to the wire, Cassidy finished second in the 1500-m freestyle event and came out on top in both the 100 and 200-m back.

He set a new club record in his age group for the 200-m individual medley and swam AAA times in the 200-m back, and the 100 and 200-m butterfly.

Also setting a club record was 12-year-old Craig Berube, who completed the meet with three firsts, two seconds, a third and a fourth place finish.

Erin Oliver-Beebe, 14, placed first in the gruelling 400-m individual medley event, along with second-place standing in the 200-m freestyle, butterfly and back stroke.

She had personal best times in each of these events.

Hayley Bielz, Molly Purser, Patricia Wallingham and Ashley Bray finished second in the senior girls' 200-m individual medley relay.

Wallingham, in her first season with the club, has been in the summer swim program and showed promise and enthusiasm at this meet.

Shannon Holmes persevered to take third place in both the 400-m individual medley and the 200-m butterfly in the girls' 13-14 age group.

Rebecca Leslie swam a strong race and took a huge amount of time off her personal best to grab second in the 1500-m free in this category.

Kate McArthur had three second, two third and two fourth-place finishes, enough to tie team mate Erin Oliver-Beebe for third place in the points in her age group.

Molly Purser also tied for third overall in the senior girls' category on the strength of her first-place showing in her final race of the meet, the 100-m breast stroke.

In his first ever meet away from home, newcomer Christopher Ritchie put in a very creditable performance, showing great enthusiasm and energy and setting new personal best times in each event.

Coach Marek Poplawski was pleased with the overall effort of his swimmers so early in the season.

He is now preparing swimmers for the PCS Christmas Cracker meet to be held in Victoria in December.

Glacier Bears overall points trophy winners included Erin McAthur, who finished first in the girls 10 and under category.

In the boys 11-12, Craig Berube placed second, while it was a clean Glacier Bears sweep in the girls 11-12 with Taylor Campbell coming in first, Hayley Braga second and Isabelle Parkkari came in third.

Felix Bouchard placed first in the boys 13-14 group, while the Glacier Bears had three points winners in the girls 13-14 category.

Kirsten Berube finished first and Erin Oliver-Beebe as well as Kate McArthur both came in third place.

Tanner Cassidy placed third in the boys 15 and over division.

Story provided by Alice Purser, publicist for the Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club.