CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos kicked off the 2023 Canada West Championships at home by picking up 11 medals – including two gold – in a strong first day of action from the UCalgary Aquatic Center Friday.
Powered by a win in the final relay of the night and new conference championship record, the Dinos men hold a lead in the overall team standings with 265 total points through the first five events. UBC sits in second at 165, followed by the Golden Bears in third at 129. On the women's side, UBC leads with 280.5, followed by the host Dinos at 211 and the Alberta Pandas third with 83 points.
Emily De Jager and senior
Marit Anderson were first in the water for the Dinos on night one of the Canada West Swimming Championships. De Jager found herself in a tight battle with Anna Dumont Belanger and Rosalie Davidson of UBC and held on for the bronze in the women's 800 freestyle with a time of 8:51.49 with teammate Anderson touching behind in fourth.
In the evening session of the men's 1500 freestyle,
Xavier Pimentel held on to claim bronze behind UBC's Oliver Risk and Diago Paz of Alberta in 15:40.86. Calgary teammate
Paul McKenzie had a strong showing during the preliminary session, posting 15:42.75 to take fourth overall. The Dinos also had
Charlie Skalenda,
Matthew Syrgiannis and
Liam Dennett in the top ten, with Mark Mckenzie and
Jett Verjee rounding out the field in 11th and 12th, respectively, to bring in some big points for the Dinos.
After setting a new lifetime best of 28.12 in the preliminaries, fourth-year
Sarah Corson was the lone Dino to advance to the women's 50 butterfly A final where she hit the wall in 28.25 for seventh place.
Eliza Housman threw down to win the B final of the 50 butterfly, followed by teammates
Hayley French and
Julianne Moore finishing 11th and 12th overall.
Stephen Calkins was on fire on Day 1 of the CW Championships where he broke his own conference record twice within a two-hour time span. In the preliminaries, the Pan American Games multi-medallist swam 23.68, eclipsing his previous record of 23.74 set at the 2022 championships. Then Calkins hit the wall in 23.56 to defend his championship title. Calgary's
Thomas McDonald wanted in on the action and threw down a huge personal best time of 23.96 to join Calkins on the podium, claiming the bronze.
Ian Cameron and
Addison Butler raced to sixth and seventh, respectively.
Thunder Bay native
Hannah Johnsen posted a new lifetime best of 27.88 to win the bronze medal in he women's 50 backstroke behind a pair of Thunderbirds, with
Nadine Daoud and
Sarah Corson racing home to fourth and fifth place.
Eliza Housman represented the Dinos from the B final, finishing 13th overall.
In the men's 50 backstroke, Calkins once again climbed the podium to pick up his second medal of the meet after touching for bronze behind Lethbridge swimmer Chris Alexander and Hugh McNeil of UBC. Senior
Richie Stokes and McDonald rounded out the A final in seventh and eighth while Calgary's
Mark McKenzie raced to eleventh overall.
After setting a new personal best time of 32.31 in the preliminaries, senior
Madison Macor threw down another best time of 32.11 to grab bronze in the women's 50 breaststroke, her first individual CW hardware since winning the bronze in the 200 breaststroke in Lethbridge four years ago. Calgary teammates
Isabella Duncan and
Mackenzie Wallich hit the wall fourth and fifth for the DInos and
Julianne Moore rounded out the B final, touching for 16th.
In the men's 50 breaststroke
Stephen Moore set a new lifetime best of 27.66 to take the silver behind Tristan Bennett of Lethbridge and Calgary teammate
Ian Cameron broke the 28-second barrier for the first time to join Moore and Bennett on the podium, claiming the bronze.
Aiden Luykenaar rounded out the A final in eighth, while rookie
Jett Verjee finished 16th overall.
Calgary closed out the night with two more medals in the 800 free relay.
Emily De Jager,
Alexanne Lepage,
Hannah Bennett and
Marit Anderson teamed up to claim silver on the women's side with a time of 8:19.69.
The men's squad then followed that up with an emphatic win to close out the night on an incredibly strong note. Stokes, Calkins,
Nathan Versluys and P. McKenzie combined for a winning time of 7:13.90 – over three seconds ahead of UBC's four swimmers to secure the team lead after day one.
The three-day meet continues Saturday from Calgary, with preliminary action starting at 10 a.m., while the evening finals are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
DAY 1 MEDALLISTS
Women's 800m Freestyle
1. Anna Dumont-Belanger, UBC (8:50.36)
2. Rosalie Davidson, UBC (8:51.30
3.
Emily De Jager, CGY (8:51.49)
Men's 1500m Freestyle
1. Olivier Risk, UBC (15:29.16)
2. Diego Paz, ALB (15:38.50)
3.
Xavier Pimentel, CGY (15:40.86)
Women's 50m Butterfly
1. Eloise Allen, UBC (26.63)
2. Sela Wist, UBC (27.47)
3. Alicia L'Archeveque, UBC (27.51)
Men's 50m Butterfly
1.
Stephen Calkins, CGY (23.56) CW Record
2. Siu Lun Ho, UBC (23.82)
3.
Thomas McDonald, CGY (23.96)
Women's 50m Backstroke
1. Eloise Allen, UBC (27.49)
2. Bridget Burton, UBC (27.84)
3.
Hannah Johnsen, CGY (27.88)
Men's 50m Backstroke
1. Chris Alexander, LETH (24.54)
2. Hugh McNeill, UBC (25.03)
3.
Stephen Calkins, CGY (25.05)
Women's 50m Breaststroke
1. Alicia L'Archeveque, UBC (31.51)
2. Delaney Lehman, LETH (31.80)
3.
Madison Macor, CGY (32.11)
Men's 50m Breaststroke
1. Tristan Bennett, LETH (27.59)
2.
Stephen Moore, CGY (27.66)
3.
Ian Cameron, CGY (27.93)
Women's 800m Freestyle Relay
1. Dumont-Belanger, Stannard, Lo, Davidson, UBC (8:11.37)
2. De Jager, Lepage, Bennett, Anderson, CGY (8:19.69)
3. McCallum, Crisp, Howse, Wilson, VIC (8:29.00)
Men's 800m Freestyle Relay
1. Stokes, Calkins, Versluys, P. McKenzie, CGY (7:13.90)
2. Gaunt, McNeill, Ho, McRae, UBC (7:17.57)
3. Przyswitt, Savelev, Roos, Paz, ALB (7:25.56)
TEAM SCORES
WOMEN
1. UBC, 280.5
2. Calgary, 211
3. Alberta, 83
4. Lethbridge, 80
5. Victoria, 79
6. Manitoba, 68.5
7. Regina, 32
MEN
1. Calgary, 265
2. UBC, 165
3. Alberta, 129
4. Lethbridge, 94
5. Victoria, 70
6. Manitoba, 53
7. Regina, 47
8. Thompson Rivers, 1
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