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

2024 Canada West Swimming Championships

• November 22-24, 2024
• UBC, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Short Course Meters (25 meters)
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Full Meet Results (PDF)

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.

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

Men:

Female Canada West 1st Team All-Stars

• Kayla Noelle Sanchez
• Emma O’Croinin
• Bridget Burton
• Alexanne Lepage
• Sela Wist
• Anna Dumont-Belanger
• Jade Lo
• Brooklyn Wiens
• Lora Willar
• Emma Spence

Female Canada West 2nd Team All-Stars

• Ella Howe
• Natascha Borromeo
• Hannah Johnsen
• Alicia L’Archeveque
• Hayley French
• Eliza Housman

Male Canada West 1st Team All-Stars

• Joel Blanco
• Paul McKenzie
• Oliver Risk
• Blake Tierney
• Garrett Brendzan
• Finlay Knox
• Tanner Cole
• Jake Gaunt
• Justice Migneault
• Jack Hayhoe
• Stephen Calkins
• Charlie Skalenda
• Ethan Hemeon
• Siu Lun (Frank) Ho

Male Canada West 2nd Team All-Stars

• Ian Cameron
• Gibson Black
• Kai Lienthal
• Hugh McNeill
• Stephen Moore
• Nicholas Duncan
• Liam Dennett
• Thomas McDonald
• Ethan Fast
• Glen Omielan
• Paul McKenzie