On an individual basis, it honestly wasn't all that hard for Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club (SLSC) head coach Dean Henze to pick out a highlight from his 14-swimmer trek to the 2023 Age Group International Meet at the Etobicoke Olympium earlier this month.

With a nine medal performance (five gold, four silver), Daxton Hester captured the Boys 11/12 High Point Trophy at the event, establishing new personal best times in all nine races in which he appeared.

"He's big and strong and he's not afraid to dive in and rip it - so it's kind of fun to watch," said Henze. "Is he a technical marvel yet? No - but he is significantly better than he was six months ago."

Hester would earn a clean sweep in the freestyle discipline, finishing first in the 50m (28.89), 100m (1:03.33), 200m (2:17.84), 400m (4:53.18) and 800m (10:06.91) distances, earning silver in both the 100m/200m backstroke as well as the 100m butterfly and 100m individual medley.

He is also part of a age bracket that also features SLSC teammates Jack Smith (4th - 800m freestyle - 9:50.01) and Hudson Green, the trio separated by less than a year in age.

"There is a crew of 12 and 13 year old boys that every time they hit the water, they get better and better," said Henze. "It's to the point where they've got my attention."

Alexandre Landry (age 20 - bronze in the 50m breaststroke - 29.10) was the only other SLSC swimmer to reach the podium while top eight performances came courtesy of James Bertrim (age 17 - 4th in 400m freestyle; 5th in 200 I.M.; 6th in 50m breaststroke; 7th in 100m breaststroke), Ben Schell (age 17 - 6th in 50m backstroke; 8th in 200m backstroke), Brooke Herranen (age 13 - 6th in 50m breaststroke; 8th in 100m butterfly) and Blake Gough (age 14 - 8th in 800m freestyle).

"We wanted to see them respond to racing in southern Ontario and see how close to their PB's they can get while still being in the middle of a pretty decent training load," suggested Henze. "I wanted to see how they react to that environment."

Rounding out the SLSC contingent were Matthew Abbott (15), Jacob Guillet (15), Jayda Hartley (15), Lauren LaPrairie (12), Noah Rioux (17) and Kiana Smith (14).

Following an invitational meet in North Bay, the SLSC will head to compete at the Murray Drudge Invitational (December 1st to 3rd at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre) followed by the BAC (Brantford Aquatic Club) Team Showdown on the weekend of December 15th to 17th, with James Bertrim representing the club at the Ontario Junior International event that same weekend, also at TPASC.

"I felt it was important to get everyone on a bus and get them excited about a team travel event," suggested Henze, referencing the mid-December trip to Brantford.

"It's kind of like a team championship meet there."