After a Canadian record was set last night at the Canadian Age Group Championships in Winnipeg, MB., the stakes were high on night two for a fast finals session.
GIRLS 100 FREE
12&Under
The first race of the night was won in the slimmest margin possible as PPO’s Raphaelle Dandois-Samson out-touched Kyla Leibel 1:00.82 to 1:00.83 in the girl’s 12&under 100m freestyle final. Leibel was ahead at the 50m mark with a split of 28.99, but wasn’t able to hold on as a charging Dandois-Samson beat her to the wall by a fingernail splitting a 31.44 on the last 50.
13-Year-Olds
Kayla Sanchez from AJAX won the girls 13-year-old 100m freestyle final in 58.88, being the only swimmer under 59 seconds. AJAX was able to get two swimmers on the podium in the event as Janelle Gursoy managed to pick up a third place finsih with a time of 59.64. Ahead of her was Kendra Polewski in 59.57.
14-Year-Olds
Penny Oleksiak who had to settle for a silver and bronze last night, but finally completed the set with a win over Mary-Sophie Harvey in the 14-year-old girl’s 100m freestyle final. Oleksiak was a 56.75 to trump Harvey’s time of 57.00. The two were just about even at the 50 but Oleksiak was able to work up a lead and take the win. Rebecca Smith who also picked up a silver and bronze last night earned herself another piece of hardware with a third place finish in 57.32.
15-Year-Olds
The winner of last night’s 200m backstroke, Meryn McCann, added another win tonight after posting a 57.57 to win the 100m freestyle. Danika Huizinga from AJAX finished behind her in 57.98 followed by Sarah Darcel in 58.60. Huizinga finished third in the 200m backstroke final against McCann last night and a gold in the 100m fly final making this her third individual medal thus far.
16-18-Year-Olds
Kennedy Goss finished a beautifully split 100m freestyle in first place tonight despite being behind by a huge deficit at the first 50. Goss’ splits of 27.77 and 29.19 gave her the win in 56.96 over second place finisher Heather Lam who was well ahead at the 50 but had to settle for silver in 57.07.
BOYS 100 FREE
13&Under
Joshua Young dropped a 55.41 tonight to win his race by exactly a full second. Alexander Katelnikoff finished second in 56.41 behind him. Third was Marco Bagnasco in 56.91.
14-Year-Olds
Tai Long Singh came very close to an ancient Canadian age-group record tonight putting up a 53.50 in the 100m freestyle. The 14-year-old was off of Yannick Lupien’s 1994 record of 52.91 that is currently still standing today. Last night, Long Singh broke an age-group record in the 100m fly.
15-Year-Olds
Stephen Calkins won the 15-year-old final in a swift 52.75. Finishing second was Colin Gilbert in 53.15 followed by Sam Boily-Dufour just behind in 53.25.
16-Year-Olds
Another AJAX swimmer stepped it up tonight to take home an age-group national title as Javier Acevedo was a 51.17 to win the 16-year-olds 100m free final. Acevedo had a stellar Eastern Nationals this year, coming home with multiple wins and even a meet record. Tonight’s performance solidified his dominance.
17-18-Year-Olds
GMAC’s John Fauteux was a 51.50 to trump Toronto Swim Club’s Oliver Straszynski in the men’s 100m freestyle final tonight. The two 17-year-olds were with each other for most of the race, but ultimately it was the touch that gave Fateux the win as Straszynski finished behind him in 51.51.
GIRLS 400m IM
12&Under
Ellie Maradyn won the first of the 400m IM finals tonight with a 5:07.59. There were huge divisions in the final as Rebecca Reid finished way back in 5:13.04 for second and third place finisher Jade Hannah was well behind her in 5:25.12 to finish third.
13-Year-Olds
Ireland’s Atooinette Neamt took the Canadians to town in the 400m IM final breaking the five-minute barrier with a 4:59.76. In second place was Rachael Anderson in 5:10.47 followed by last night’s 100m fly winner Victoria Kwan in 5:13.66.
14-Year-Olds
Rebecca Smith was able to finally take home a gold medal by beating Penny Oleksiak in a battle for gold in the 14-year-olds 400m IM final. Smith swam a 5:00.64 to beat Oleksiak’s time of 5:01.20. Even with a charge from Oleksiak during the freestyle leg, Smith was able to hold her off due to her impressive backstroke leg which gave her the lead after the fly.
15-Year-Olds
Danika Huizinga came back swinging and ended up taking the 15-year-olds 400m IM title over Island Swimming’s Sarah Darcel. Darcel ended up finishing the race in 4:55.20, but just couldn’t get in front of Huizinga who was a 4:54.62 to grab the victory.
16-18-Year-Olds
Backstroke star Danielle Hanus showed her versatility tonight by grabbing a title in the 400m IM to match the 200m backstroke title she won last night. Sixteen-year-old Hanus was a 4:53.66 to beat a field that boasted several 18 and 17-year-olds. Second was Laura Massicotte in 4:57.07.
BOYS 400m IM
13&Under
Ray Yang won the first boys 400m IM final in a quick 4:57.19. The Etobicoke swimmer added another gold to his tally after winning the 100m fly on night one. Yang’s teammate Richie Strokes ended up finishing second behind him in 4:59.29.
14-Year-Olds
ELITE’s Guillermo Cruz Zuniga was the winner of the 14-year-old final with a time of 4:43.08. That time was over three seconds faster than second place finisher Connor Skuse who touched in at 4:46.01 to take silver.
15-Year-Olds
AJAX added yet another win as 15-year-old Phillip Kay dominated his race with a 4:33.15 performance. That time was over 13 seconds faster than his prelims swim and beat second place finisher Ryan Telford by over five seconds as he finished in 4:38.41.
16-Year-Olds
ELITE added a second boys 400m IM title as sixteen-year-old Etienne Paquin-Foisy took home the gold with a time of 4:33.16. Josh Zakala and Andrew Moore were not far behind them was they finished second and third respectively with times of 4:35.02 and 4:36.47.
17-18-Year-Olds
Tristan Cote who just finished his freshman season as a University of Calgary Dino took advantage of his last age-group championships with a big win in 4:27.55 to be the only male under 4:30 at this meet. Montana Champagne finished second in 4:30.95. Behind him was James guest in 4:31.35.
GIRLS 50 BACK
12&Under
Renne Liu from WEST took home her second win of the meet after winning the 200m backstroke last night with a win in the 50m backstroke. Liu’s time of 31.71 sealed her second backstroke win which sets her up perfectly for the backstroke sweep. The 100m backstroke will be swum on Saturday.
13-Year-Olds
The 13-year-old final went to Madison Broad in 29.77 as she was the only one to break the 30 second barrier. Second was AJAX swimmer Kayla Sanchez in 30.21.
14-Year-Olds
Layne Guidinger was a 30.25 to win her 50m backstroke over second place LAC swimmer Maggie MacNeil. MacNeil finished behind her in 30.58. MacNeil’s teammate Jessica Allen rounded out the top three with a 30.87 finish to earn her the bronze.
15-Year-Olds
For her third medal of the night which included a second gold, Danika Huizinga from AJAX dipped under the 30 second barrier in the 50m backstroke to win the event in 29.31. She was well ahead of the rest of her competition ad Daphne Danyluk finished second far behind her in 30.03.
16-18-Year-Olds
In the fastest 50m backstroke of the night, 16-year-old Ingrid Wilm swam a 29.29 to take home an age-group title. Second to Wilm was Emma Ball from GMAC who finished the race in 29.50. Behind Ball was Mackenzie Glover in 29.74.
BOYS 50 BACK
13&Under
The top three in the first boys 50m backstroke final were all under the 30 second barrier was GO’s Dylan Byers managed to snatch up a win in 29.55. Marco Bagnasco wasn’t far behind Byers in 29.74. Bagnasco was being closed in on by Jimmy Zhang who finished the race in 29.81 unable to beat Bagnasco to the wall.
14-Year-Olds
Ireland’s Conor Ferguson won his second event here in Canada with a 26.87 performance in his 50m backstroke final. Tai Long Singh who won the 100m freestyle tonight came second behind Ferguson in 27.03.
15-Year-Olds
Liam Veregin took home the 15-year-old final in a much slower race than the 14-year-old one with a winning time of 27.84. Skyeler Kerr and Sam Boily-Dufour rounded out the top three with swims of 28.02 and 28.03. Kerr just barely out-touched Boily-Dufour to the wall, beating him in the smallest margin swimming has to offer.
16-Year-Olds
100m freestyle winner from AJAX Javier Acevedo earned himself his second gold of the night dropping a 26.77 to Markus Thormeyer’s 26.79. The two finished first and second over Irish swimer Rory Mc Evoy who grabbed the bronze medal in 27.30.
17-18-Year-Olds
The last final of the night went to 17-year-old Josh Dow with a 26.66 in the boy’s 17-18-year-old 50m backstroke final. Dow was challenged mostly by Morrgan Payne who grabbed the silver in 26.88. Third was Mitchel Ferraro in 27.11 followed by Island Swimming’s Peter Brothers in 27.21.
For full meet results click here.
