VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds continued to show mastery in Saturday's mid-length swims on Day 2 of the 2024 Odlum Brown Canada West Swimming Championships at the familiar UBC Aquatic Centre. After breaking two more individual Canada West records, as well as two team records, the 'Birds sit in a good place heading into the third and final day of competition in Vancouver.
"We look like we're firing in all cylinders: all distances and all strokes," said UBC head coach
Derrick Schoof. "I'm really happy with where the team is at, but we still have work to do before U SPORTS. I see lots of errors for improvement, which is a good thing. I think we're set up really well for where we are now, but I want to make sure we don't rest on our laurels."
Through two days of swimming against the top competition in Western Canada, the UBC women continue to head the group with 866 points, followed by Calgary with 719.5 and Victoria with 371.5. Rounding out the women's scoring is Alberta (339) and Lethbridge (253).
On the men's side, the 'Birds continue to hold the lead with 870 points. Calgary sits in second with 728.5, while Alberta is third with 384.5. Victoria and Lethbridge follow behind with 343.5 and 229.5 points, respectively.
Kayla Sanchez kicked off the night by setting another individual Canada West record at 24.43 in the women's 50m freestyle after breaking the previous time once already in the morning session. Ella Howe of the University of Manitoba followed behind, finishing with a time of 25.46, while Calgary's Julianne Moore took bronze in 25.50.
In the men's event,
Joel Blanco claimed the top spot, touching the wall in 22.34. Reigning champ from the Dinos, Stephen Calkins, was second at 22.40, and T-Bird Siu Lun Ho finished just after at 22.41.
The next event saw Calgary star Alexanne Lepage win her second of the competition in the women's 400m individual medley with a time of 4:39.50. The Thunderbirds cleaned up the rest of the medals with
Emma Spence and
Camryn Stannard clocking in at 4:41.85 and 4:45.51, respectively.
In the men's 400m individual medley, gold medalist
Tanner Cole finished just three-tenths of a second off of the Canada West record at 4:12.57. Charlie Skalenda earned points for the Dinos with a time of 4:15.29, while 2023 silver medalist
Hugh McNeill improved on his time to finish in 4:18.48.
The Thunderbirds completed a podium sweep in the women's 100m butterfly, repeating last year's results in the same event.
Sela Wist earned gold in 1:00.05, followed by teammates
Brooklyn Wiens (1:00.46) and
Lora Willard (1:01.83).
Breaking his second individual record of the meet and the second record of the night was Canadian Olympian
Finlay Knox, who claimed gold in the men's 100m butterfly in 51.25. Dinos Nicholas Duncan (52.48) and Thomas Mcdonald (52.81) rounded out the podium.
In the women's 200m backstroke, UBC's
Bridget Burton came one step closer to earning a sweep of the backstroke events with a 2:08.54 finish. Hannah Johnsen continued to put up points for the Dinos, finishing in 2:10.52 to take silver, while T-Bird rookie
Piper Mitchell got third in 2:12.11.
Blake Tierney pulled ahead of the pack in the men's 200m backstroke to claim the top spot with a time of 1:54.83 after qualifying in the third spot in prelims that morning. McNeill was back on the podium with a silver medal finish in 1:58.08.
Joran Orogo was third to hit the wall in 1:59.19 for another 'Birds podium sweep.
After the second medal ceremony of the night, Alexanne Lepage continued to show dominance in the pool with a gold medal performance (1:05.30) in the women's 100m breaststroke. UBC's
Emma Spence was second in 1:08.21, while Dinos swimmer Danika Ethier won the bronze medal with a time of (1:08.78) in the Calgary-heavy finals heat.
In the men's event, Knox earned his second gold of the finals session in 59.56. Duncan finished next in 59.80, and Calgary teammate Ian Cameron was third in 1:00.15.
The top five spots in the women's 200m freestyle went to the swimmers in blue and gold, with
Emma O'Croinin leading the way (1:57.11), followed by
Anna Dumont-Belanger (1:58.99) and Stannard (2:01.23).
The final individual event of the night saw a variety of schools earn valuable points. Alberta's Paul McKenzie finished first (1:48.12) in the men's 200m freestyle. Calgary's Gibson Black was second in 1:48.52, while teammate Calkins was third in 1:48.63. The Pronghorns, Thunderbirds, and Vikes were close behind in the thrilling race.
The Thunderbirds broke Canada West records in both 400m freestyle relays, with the women smashing the previous record at 3:38.39 and the men finishing in 3:15.52.
"These athletes want to swim fast for their teammates and for the team," added Schoof. "Swimming is often thought of as an individual sport, but at the university level, it's very much a team sport. They know that they need to put their best foot forward and their best performance, not just for themselves but for the team."
The 2024 Odlum Brown Canada West Swimming Championships continue Sunday, with prelims beginning at 9 a.m. PT and finals at 4 p.m. PT.
VIEW TICKETS FOR THE 2024 ODLUM BROWN CW SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
A full schedule and live results for the event are available on the
event homepage.
All sessions will be available to stream live on
CanadaWest.TV.
Team Scores
WOMEN
UBC – 866
Calgary – 719.5
Victoria – 371.5
Alberta – 339
Lethbridge – 253
MEN
UBC – 870
Calgary – 728.5
Alberta – 384.5
Victoria – 343.5
Lethbridge – 229.5
