Alexanne Lepage Breaks Canadian Record, Yuri Kisil Returns to U Sports 8 Years After Going Pro

2026 U Sports Swimming & Diving Championships

• March 12-14, 2026
• Markham Canada
• Short Course Meters (25 meters), Prelims/Finals
• Live Results
• Day 1 Video Replay
• 2025 Results

It was a record-setting bonanza on day 1 of the 2026 Canadian U Sports collegiate championship meet.

A total of five meet records fell, along with dozens of school records, to open the three day meet.

Women’s Meet

Top 5 Team Standings:

1. UBC – 515
2. Toronto – 324
3. McGill – 302
4. Calgary – 242
5. Western University – 165

University of Calgary’s Alexanne Lepage reaffirmed herself as the front-runner of the Canadian women’s breaststroke group on Thursday in Markham. After just-missing the U Sports Record of 1:04.88 in prelims with a 1:04.90, Lepage soared both through that and the Canadian Senior Record in finals.

She posted a 1:04.11 to break the Canadian Record of 1:04.22 and the U Sports Record of 1:04.88, both previously held by Kelsey Wog.

Lepage was Canada’s lone individual sprint breaststroker at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, finishing 22nd in the 50 and 25th in the 100.

Lepage pulled off a double by winning the 400 IM in dominating fashion in 4:35.75; her teammate Sarah Haugen finished 2nd in 4:42.03.

Lepage’s results not withstanding, it was the defending champion and season-long #1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds who dominated the day.

That included Kayla Sanchez, a two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic relay medalist, who won the 200 free in 1:53.63. That set a new UBC Record and defended her title.

UBC finished 1-2-3 in that race to rack up big points in the first final of the night. Emma O’Croinin repeated her runner-up finish from last year (1:54.80) and Ruby Kehler finished 3rd in 1:59.16.

Last year, Sanchez won individual titles in the 50, 100, and 200 free, plus the 50 fly. This year, she did a double on day one with the 200 free and the 50 back, winning the latter in 26.20 to lead another 1-2-3 finish for the Thunderbirds.

In the 100 fly, it was another UBC 1-2 finish led by Sela Wist in 58.59. That’s a UBC Record and a huge breakout swim for Wist, who finished 9th at last year’s championship meet. She had never been under 1 minute before this season and has now done so six times in just a few months.

Brooklyn Wiens finished 2nd in 59.39.

UBC finished off the day with a new U Sports Record in the 400 free relay. Bridget Burton, Eloise Allen, Sanchez, and O’Croining combined for a 3:34.76 which crushed the 2017 record of 3:36.34 held by the University of Montreal.

Men’s Recap

Top 5 Team Standings:

1. UBC – 557
2. Calgary – 279
3. Toronto – 275.5
4. McGill – 263
5. Montreal – 107

Because U Sports has more lenient eligibility rules than the NCAA (even in the new wild west of NCAA eligibility) the door is opened for veterans like 30-year-old Yuri Kisil to compete at this meet.

A three-time Olympian and three-time World Championship relay medalist, Kisil is back and representing the UBC Thunderbirds for the first time since turning pro in 2018.

On Thursday, he split 46.64 to help lead the Thunderbirds to a men’s 400 free relay title and a new U Sports Championship Record. Combined with Joel Blanco (48.24), Jake Gaunt (47.97), and Zach Parise (48.35), they cleared the old mark of 3:12.92 set by UBC in 2017 – when Kisil was also part of the relay.

While he struggled in the 200 free, placing 16th in spite of being the 2017 champion in the event, he has already broken the U Sports Record in the 50 free in prelims on Friday morning (21.38).

Other record-breakers on Thursday included Kai Lilienthal from UBC, who set the 100 fly championship record in both prelims (50.85) and finals (50.79). Both swims cleared the 50.99 set in 2022 by Clement Secchi.

This was a redemption for Lilienthal, an Australian, who was disqualified in finals of last year’s meet.

The fop four swimmers in the 100 fly final all broke school records, including Eric Ginzburg from York (51.13), Benjamin Loewen from Toronto (51.69), and Keir Ogilvie from Victoria (52.41).

Also on the list of record breakers was Andrew Herman, who broke the men’s 50 back record in finals in 23.31. The previous record of 23.39 belonged to Olympian Finlay Knox from last year’s meet.

The University of Toronto 4th year was 3rd in this event last year, and now ranks 3rd all-time in Canadian history behind Knox (23.03) and Javier Acevedo (23.05).

The rest of the day’s wins on the men’s side went to UBC. Zach Parise won the 200 free in 1:45.25 as part of an A-Final that was more Thunderbirds (6) than not (2). In total, UBC scored 183 points in that event alone – more than all but three other schools scored in the entire day.

Justice Migneault swam his first best time in the 100 breaststroke since 2022 to win in 58.58, knocking about half-a-second off his previous best. That’s his second career individual U Sports title after winning the 200 IM in 2022.

Last year’s winner Nicholas Duncan from Calgary finished 6th this year.

Tanner Cole from UBC won the 400 IM in 4:09.72, beating out Montreal’s Raphael Blamart, who was 2nd in 4:10.95 in a new school record.