Kylie Masse Clocks 100 Back Season Best on Final Night At Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet

2026 Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet

• June 5-7, 2026
• UBC Aquatic Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• LCM (50 Meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

The 2026 Mel Zajac Jr meet wrapped up yesterday, with yet more best times for some top-rated U.S. junior athletes and a strong long course season opener from multi-Olympic medalist Kylie Masse.

Women’s Recap

Brinkleigh Hansen won her third individual event of the meet on the final night, lowering her lifetime best in the 800 free to complete a distance free sweep.  She sliced just over a second from her previous best of 8:35.78 which she set at the Pro Swim Series in January, clocking 8:34.75 to win the event by more than four seconds over fellow U.S. junior swimmer Sydney Schoeck.

Hansen negative split her race, going out in 4:18.08 and closing in 4:16.67, pulling away from Schoeck on the second half of the race. She split 4:18.76/4:20.03, hacking three seconds off her best of 8:41.91 from last summer.

Kylie Masse defended her top seed in the 100 back as the only swimmer to break 1:00, winning by just under a second in 59.50. That marks a new season-best for the 2016 Olympic champion, and moves her up to 11th in the world this season. She is the third-fastest Canadian so far, behind Taylor Ruck (58.71) and Ingrid Wilm (59.22), but owns the Canadian record at 57.70.

Masse blasted out to 28.46 on the opening 50 before coming home in 31.04, with Alyssa Sagle taking silver for the third backstroke event in 1:00.48. That is a new lifetime best for the Virginia commit, shaving 0.16 seconds from the 1:00.64 she clocked last July.

Thea Bike, who swims for Saint Charles in Illinois, lowered her best by 0.06 seconds to take bronze in 1:01.73, moving up from 6th in the heats this morning.

Isabelle Angheloni won a close 50 breast in 32.01, just ahead of Maelle Sanborn (32.29) and top-seeded Eloise Allen (32.30). Canadian junior Juliet Nicholsen won the 200 fly in 2:15.83, the only swimmer under 2:17, as she defended her top seed from the heats. Brinkleigh Hansen, who swam a tough 800 free/200 fly double, took 3rd in 2:17.57 , 1.47 seconds slower than her 2024 best.

Liberty Clark set another best time as she won the 100 free in 53.66. That shaved 0.04 seconds from her morning swim, which in turn had been 0.02 seconds faster than she was at the U.S. Open in December. She was out in a strong 25.92, but really showed out on the second 50 as she closed in 27.74.

She remains at 14th in the world this season, but now sits just 0.01 seconds behind Chen Yujie‘s 53.65.

Aria Grossenbach from Illinois lowered her 2024 best by 0.13 seconds for silver, clocking 55.64. She just edged out NC State’s Lily King, who  was about a second and a half off her PB of 54.19 in a time of 55.83.

The U.S. Junior team of Alyssa Sagle (1:00.46), Molly Sweeney (1:12.21), Liberty Clark (59.25), and Lily King (55.52) took the win in the women’s 400 medley relay, touching in 4:07.44. Sagle lowered her newly-minted PB in the 100 back by 0.02 seconds, going out in a much faster 28.69 compared to the 29.22 she opened her individual swim with.

UBC Thunderbirds took silver in 4:10.87, getting a rapid 53.29 anchor leg from Philippine national record-holder Kayla Sanchez.

Men’s Recap

Collin Holgerson, one of the top commits in the class of 2027, took the win in the 100 back to kick things off in the men’s events. He neared his 55.19 PB with a time of 55.30 to lower his season best by nearly three seconds. He became the fastest 17-year-old in history in this event in yards courtesy of the 44.49 he clocked at Winter Juniors East in December, and is set to stay in-state as a Tennessee commit for the fall of 2027.

Indiana Junior David Kovacs took 2nd in 55.81, just off his best of 55.53 from last July. He took the win in the 200 back on the first day of the meet before placing 5th in the 50 back last night, which was won by Holgerson. Thomas McMillan, who like Holgerson is highly ranked in the class of 2027, was 3rd in 56.07, just 0.08 seconds off his PB.

Baylor Stanton (56.61) and Luke Vatev (56.80) were 4th and 6th respectively, split by Canadian Kai Lilienthal (56.72). Cal commit Stanton was half a second off his best of 56.13, while Vatev was seven tenths of a second away from his 56.10 PB.

Kevin Houseman, who swam at Northwestern and Tennessee in the NCAA before graduating in the summer of 2025, edged out 100 breast champ Apollo Hess in the 50 breast, 28.46 to 28.60. This was just Houseman’s second LCM meet since leaving Tennessee, and was significantly faster than the 30.06 he swam at the Sockeye Springtime Madness meet in May. He owns a best of 27.22 from 2022 U.S. trials. Hess, who was denied a breaststroke sweep, was nearly a second off his best of 27.76.

Charlie Cancelmo was the only swimmer to break 2:00 in the 200 fly, dropping the hammer on the third 50 with a 30.21 split to break away from the field. He touched in 1:58.90, lowering his season best of 1:59.53 from the Sacramento stop of the Pro Swim Series, and was just over half a second off his PB of 1:58.23. Cancelmo is the fourth-fastest 15-16 swimmer in this event in yards, one spot ahead of Michael Phelps.

Danny Park was out with Cancelmo at halfway, but fell back to touch in 2:00.98, just 0.06 seconds ahead of David Kovacs, who made his second podium of the evening after placing 2nd in the 100 back.

Yuri Kisil moved up one spot from the 50 free last night as he won the 100 free in 50.14. He was two seconds off his PB of 48.15 from the Tokyo Olympic Games, but this was his third consecutive 50.1 swim this season having clocked 50.15 at the Canadian Open and 50.11 at the Pro Swim Series in Sacramento last month.

Luke Stewart-Beinder got the better of Jake Gaunt for silver, 50.52 to 50.69, courtesy of a 26.26 closing 50 compared to Gaunt’s 26.53. Kenneth Barnicle, who has just finished up his freshman season at Cal, was also under 51 seconds in 50.93, 0.01 ahead of UBC Thunderbirds Kai Lilienthal.

The final event went to the U.S., with the junior team of Holgerson (55.59), Wilson York (1:01.36), Kovacs (53.95) and Barnicle (50.08) winning the 400 medley relay by nearly three seconds in 3:40.98. UBC Thunderbirds took silver in 3:43.95, getting a 53.72 fly split from Wells Ginzer.