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Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
The Western University women took down a four-month-old Canadian relay record at last weekend’s OUA Swimming Championships in Toronto, becoming the first club team to break 1:50 in the event.
The Western quartet of Leah Butler (28.65), Shona Branton (30.18), Sydney Hardeman (26.43) and Zea Wetzlaugk (24.43) combined for a time of 1:49.67, winning the Ontario University title by three and a half seconds over Brock University (1:53.29).
The Mustangs’ performance lowered the Canadian club record of 1:50.22, which was established by the University of British Columbia (UBC) at the University Cup in November.
Western also broke the OUA Record of 1:50.39—also the national record prior to UBC breaking it—set by the Kylie Masse-led University of Toronto team at the 2016 OUA Championships.
Split Comparison
| Toronto, 2016 | UBC, 2025 | Western, 2026 |
| Kylie Masse – 26.65 | Bridget Burton – 27.37 | Leah Butler – 28.65 |
| Victoria Wicks – 31.66 | Eloise Allen – 30.85 | Shona Branton – 30.18 |
| Sherry Patel – 26.34 | Sela Wist – 26.80 | Sydney Hardeman – 26.43 |
| Heather Lam – 25.74 | Emma O’Croinin – 25.20 | Zea Wetzlaugk – 24.43 |
| 1:50.39 | 1:50.22 | 1:49.67 |
After trading national records, Western and UBC will go head-to-head in the 200 medley relay at the upcoming U SPORTS Championships in Markham.
The University of Toronto swept the team titles at OUAs, while Western finished in the runner-up position for both men and women.
In addition to the 200 medley relay triumph, Branton also won the women’s 50 breast (31.01) and 100 breast (1:06.19) titles individually for the Mustangs, with her victory in the 50 breast giving her the career Grand Slam after winning it four years in a row.
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This was a 4×50 medley relay oops
Congrats Western!
Sadly… UBC and Western nor any other school will go head-to-head in the 200 medley relay at USPORTS in Markham because the 200m relays are not contested at USPORTS… but I would cast a vote in favour of adding those relays.