Kayla Sanchez Swims 51.7 in the 100 Free (SCM) As Thunderbirds Dominate with 12 Meet Records

2024 Canada West Swimming Championships

The 2024 Canada West Swimming Championships are one of the most important stopping points for Canadian collegiate swimming en route to March’s U Sports National Championship meet.

The meet featured some of the country’s top collegiate swimmers including national powerhouse teams UBC and University of Calgary.

The UBC Thunderbird women won their 14th title in 15 seasons; the UBC men, meanwhile, won their first Canada West Championship since 2021. UBC swimmers were responsible for 12 out of the 13 Meet Records set throughout the weekend.

Women’s Standings:

  1. UBC – 1,428
  2. Calgary – 1,110.5
  3. Victoria – 625.5
  4. Alberta – 513
  5. Lethbridge – 356
  6. Manitoba – 304
  7. Regina – 147

Men’s Standings

  1. UBC – 1,366
  2. Calgary – 1,143
  3. Alberta – 610.5
  4. Victoria – 588
  5. Lethbridge – 338.5
  6. Manitoba – 215
  7. Regina – 203

Individual Awards

  • Female Rookie of the Year Award – Natascha Borromeo, UBC
  • Male Rookie of the Year Award – Tanner Cole, UBC
  • Female Student-Athlete Community Service Award – Makena Wood, Lethbridge
  • Men’s Student-Athlete Community Service Award – Minh Nguyen, Alberta
  • Female Swimmer of the Year Award – Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC
  • Male Swimmer of the Year Award – Finlay Knox, UBC
  • Coach of the Year Award (Men’s and Women’s) – Derrick Schoof, UBC

A pair of Olympians walked away with Swimmer of the Year honors from the meet. For 23-year-old Kayla Sanchez, a newcomer to UBC, the honor came after winning the 50 fly (25.88), 50 free (24.43), 100 free (51.74), and 200 IM (2:09.75). The 50 free and 100 free each broke records set by her fellow Canadian Olympian Rebecca Smith with marks of 25.10 (2021) and 53.10 (2022), respectively.

Her 100 free ranks 4th-best in the world this season.

2024-2025 SCM Women 100 Free

2Béryl
GASTALDELLO
FRA50.6312/12
3Kate
DOUGLASS
USA50.7312/12
4Siobhan
Haughey
HKG51.4112/12
5Darya
Klepikova
RUS51.6212/12
View Top 26»

Sanchez is the Canadian Record holder in both sprint free events in 23.71 and 51.45, respectively. Those times were done before she switched her sporting citizenship to the Philippines to represent them at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Sanchez won two Olympic relay medals and 10 World Championship relay medals while representing Canada through 2022.

At the 2024 Olympics, Sanchez qualified for the semifinals of the 100 free and placed 15th.

She also swam on all three winning UBC relays: splitting 1:56.85 as part of UBC’s 800 free relay (7:56.38); splitting 52.65 on their winning 400 free relay (3:38.39); and splitting 51.50 to anchor their winning 400 medley relay (3:58.56).

Those were all Canada West Records as well, with the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay clearing the standard by almost three seconds each.

Knox went four-for-four in the men’s meet as well, winning the 50 fly (23.06), 100 fly (51.25), 100 breast (59.56), and 100 back (50.98), a rare display of versatility.

Three of those swims were new Canada West Records: the 50 fly broke Stephen Calkins‘ 2022 record of 23.74, one of three swimmers to match or improve that time; the 100 fly broke Coleman Allen‘s 2014 record by six-tenths; and the 100 back crushed the record of 52.44 co-held by Josiah Binnema (2017) and Blake Tierney (2022).

Calkins also swam at this meet, but skipped the 50 fly. He won the 100 free in 48.66.

Other Highlight Performers:

  • Calgary’s Alexanne Lepage, one of Canada’s top breaststroke prospects for the 2028 Olympics, swept the 50 (30.20), 100 (1:05.30), and 200 (2:22.31) breaststrokes, and also won the 400 IM (4:39.50). Her breaststroke split on the 400 medley relay (1:04.18) was the best in the field by more than four seconds.
  • While UBC’s Blake Tierney had one of his records broken, he replaced it with a new solo standard. Tierney won the 50 back in 23.91, taking more than half-a-second off the record he shared with Olympian Markus Thormeyer coming into the meet. Tierney also won the 200 back (1:54.83) by more than three seconds and was 2nd to Knox in both the 100 free and 100 back.
  • Olympian Emma O’Croinin, part of a stacked UBC women’s team, won the 200 free (1:57.11), 400 free (4:06.25), and 800 free (8:29.61), and was 2nd to Sanchez in the 100 free (54.53). UBC finished at least 1-2-3 in all of those events, took the top five spots in the 200 free, and O’Croinin won the 400 free by nine seconds and the 800 free by more than 14 seconds.

Canada West Record Breakers

Women

Event Swimmer School Time Old Record School Time Year
50 Breast Alexanne Lepage Calgary 30.2 Kelsey Wog Manitoba 30.54 2016
50 Free Kayla Sanchez UBC 24.43 Rebecca Smith Calgary 25.1 2022
100 Free Kayla Sanchez UBC 51.74 Rebecca Smith Calgary 53.1 2021
400 Free Emma O’Croinin UBC 4:06.25 Savannah King UBC 4:06.55 2013
400 Free Relay Wiens, Sanchez, O’Croinin, Dumont-Belanger UBC 3:38.39 Calgary Calgary 3:41.36 2022
800 Free Relay Dumont-Belanger, Lo, Sanchez, O’Croinin UBC 7:56.38 Calgary Calgary 7:56.38 2013
400 Medley Relay Burton, Spencer, Wist, Sanchez UBC 3:58.56 UBC 4:01.54 2014

Men:

Event Swimmer School Time Old Record School Time Year
50 Fly Finlay Knox UBC 23.06 Stephen Calkins Calgary 23.75 2022
1500 Free Olivier Risk UBC 14:56.45 Eric Hedlin UVic 14:58.05 2017
100 Fly Finlay Knox UBC 51.25 Coleman Allen UBC 51.87 2014
100 Back Finlay Knox UBC 50.98 Josiah Binnema/Blake Tierney UBC 52.44 2017/2022
400 Free Relay Tierney, Knox, Gaunt, Blanco UBC 3:15.52 Calgary Calgary 3:17.30 2022
400 Medley Relay Tierney, Migneault, Knox, Ho UBC 3:30.91 UBC UBC 3:33.39 2021

Female Canada West 1st Team All-Stars

Female Canada West 2nd Team All-Stars


Male Canada West 1st Team All-Stars

Male Canada West 2nd Team All-Stars

In This Story

6
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

6 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jim A
29 days ago

Stephen Calkins in his 8th year of varsity swimming?

Cody
29 days ago

Such a shame not having Finlay Knox swim NCAA

Sweet
1 month ago

solid showing from UVIC too with Ryan “Smokey” Clouston in his first year as Head Coach!

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

It’s great that she ended up going there after being delayed with pandemic, living in PHI, etc.

She would have been so great in the NCAA – strong in SC and pretty versatile

OldManSwims
1 month ago

I take it Finlay and Kayla are considered too old for rookie of the year awards despite being in their first year of school?

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
Reply to  OldManSwims
1 month ago

Or it could be that they only want to give each swimmer one award and they were clearly the top swimmers so went with that instead of Rookies.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »