VANCOUVER – The Calgary Dinos swim team brought home another 15 medals in another outstanding showing at Day 2 of the 2024 Canada West Championships from the UBC Aquatic Centre Saturday.

Calgary's women put their best efforts forth to bring their score up to 719.5 points, behind only the Thunderbirds at 866 points. Calgary's men made some major moves to tighten the score between them and UBC, now sitting at a total of 728.5 points, with the T-Birds in the lead with 870 points.

The night started off strong for the men and women with the 50-meter freestyle. Sprint life was dominated by Julianne Moore, who earned bronze, with teammate Eliza Housman closely behind in fourth. Stephen Calkins also added another silver medal to his rapport. The B final was represented by Myriam Hickey (12th), Isabella Duncan (14th) and Claire Duncan (15th). The men's 50 free B final starred Liam Dennett, who placed third in the heat, and Addison Butler who placed fourth.

Alexanne Lepage led the way from the start in the 400IM and pushed through the hardships of one of the hardest races to earn yet another gold medal, finishing with a new best time of 4:39.50. Hannah Bennet put her best-efforts forth to finish fifth overall, swimming two seconds faster than her morning swim, while Isabella Mastroianni finished seventh, as the Dinos continued to load up the points.

Xavier Pimentel had an outstanding swim in the men's 400 IM B final, particularly in the last 50 meters when he outswam his competitors to touch first in his heat and 11th overall. In the A final, Charlie Skalenda started off strong and held his own throughout the race to finish second overall, followed by first-year Carter Scheffel, who placed fourth and furthered his life time best for the second time today. In all, Calgary finished with five individuals in the top nine, as Matthew Syrgiannis (fifth), Patrick McCloy (eight) and Aiden Luykenaar (ninth) all also finished strong.

First-years Myriam Hickey and Monica Oleszczuch swept their heat in the 100-meter butterfly B final by placing second and third. The 200 butterfly specialist Hayley French placed fourth overall while setting a new lifetime best with a time of 1:01.97.

Nicholas Duncan and Thomas McDonald had knockout swims in the men's 100 butterfly. Duncan swam to his second lifetime best of the day and placed second overall with a time of 52.48. McDonald earned yet another podium spot by bringing home bronze in 52.81.

Rookie Brooklyn Avey's 200 backstroke had everyone impressed as she swept her competitors under the rug to place first in her heat with a time of 2:16.50. The A final was well represented by the Scarlet & Gold, with Hannah Johnsen bringing home the silver medal, followed closely by Hannah Bennett (fifth) and Isabella Mastroianni (10th). 

Lepage had another standout race in the 100 meter breatsroke swimming to first place, as did Danika Ethier who had a career best of 1:08.78 and got her first ever Canada West bronze medal. The women also had Isabella Duncan place sixth, Brooklyn Pickford seventh and Abigail Gebhardt eighth in another dominant showing of the Dinos' depth.

Nicholas Duncan was a powerhouse in 100 meter breastroke and nearly pulled off the upset of the meet. The rookie broke one minute for the first time, touching the wall in 59.80 in a photo finish with Olympian Finlay Knox at 59.56 as Duncan settled for his second silver medal of the evening. Ian Cameron also earned a podium spot, bringing hom bronze in 1:00.15.

Stephen Calkins and Gibson Black once again gave the Dinos a pair of podium finishes in the final individual event of the night. Swimming the 200 freestyle, Calkins proved that outside smoke is no myth with his bronze medal, and Gibson Black proved the power of a world class finish to claim the silver medal with a time of 1:48.52. Carter Scheffel paved the path for the teammates to follow in the heat before, placing first in the heat for 11th overall.

Both Dino's 400-meter freestyle relays faced a tough field against the Thunderbirds but were able to hold off the other competitors and place second overall. Eliza Housman started off strong for teammates Julianne Moore, Hannah Bennett and Alexanne Lepage to follow. On the men's side, Thomas McDonald got a good lead for Ethan Fast, Gibson Black and Stephen Calkins to finish. In the last 50 meters of the race, Calkins closed a major gap between the Dinos and the Thunderbirds.

Calgary head coach Mike Blondal says that there was "great swimming from the team," speaking to their "total commitment to the grit".

Speaking to this too, Nicholas Duncan said: "I'm incredibly proud of the team and what we've all accomplish this far. I know I needed to step up into a new level of grit," and is "really enjoying the new atmosphere and taking it into each race".

The third and final day of the conference championships gets underway Sunday with prelims at 10 a.m. MT. Finals are slated to start at 5 p.m. MT, with champions crowned at approximately 7 p.m. MT.

MEN'S TEAM SCORES - DAY 2
1. UBC - 870
2. Calgary - 728.5
3. Alberta - 384.5
4. Victoria - 343.5
5. Lethbridge - 229.5
6. Manitoba - 153
7. Regina - 117

WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES - DAY 2
1. UBC - 866
2. Calgary - 719.5
3. Victoria - 371.5
4. Alberta - 339
5. Lethbridge - 253
6. Manitoba - 205
7. Regina - 101

-UC-