Masse Hits A Pair Of 59-Second 100 Backs On Day 1 Of Winter Ontario Champs

2020 WINTER ONTARIO SWIMMING CHAMPS

• March 5-8, 2020
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Scarborough, Ontario
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Two-time defending world champion Kylie Masse continued to show her patented consistency in the 100 backstroke on the opening night of finals at the Winter Ontario Swimming Champs in Scarborough, breaking the 1:00 barrier in both prelims and finals.

Masse, the former world record holder in the event (58.10), clocked 59.94 in the heats to lower the 1:00.70 meet record held by Kayla Sanchez. The 24-year-old was slightly faster in the final, clocking 59.90 to win the race over Taylor Ruck (1:00.53). Masse (59.48) and Ruck (59.84) rank eighth and 10th in the world this year, respectively.

The two swims for Masse mark her 57th and 58th time breaking a minute in the race.

Also setting meet records on Thursday night were Yuri Kisil, Cole Pratt and Eli Wall.

Kisil won a close race with Joshua Liendo in the men’s 50 free, touching in 22.49 to break Liendo’s 22.66 record from the prelims. That time for Liendo lowers his 15-17 National Age Group Record of 22.71, and he did it again in the final in 22.51.

Pratt broke a five-year-old record in the men’s 100 back, recording a time of 54.96 to lower Javier Acevedo‘s 55.24 from 2015. Pratt, 17, was just over three-tenths off his NAG of 54.63.

Pratt was also the runner-up in the men’s 200 IM, as Finlay Knox threw down a 35.24 split on breast and 28.85 on free to solidify the win in 2:00.84. That time stands up as the second-fastest of Knox’s career, only trailing his 1:59.44 from last summer’s World Juniors. Pratt, who led at the 100, took second in 2:02.15.

In the men’s 200 breast, Toronto’s Eli Wall lowered the meet record by a tenth in 2:14.77, just .06 off his season-best from the US Open in December.

OTHER EVENTS

• Oakville’s Mabel Zavaros won the women’s 200 IM in 2:17.30, breaking away from Nepean’s Megan Wheeler (2:18.30) on the freestyle leg. Zavaros’ best time is 2:16.67 from July of 2018.
• Hanna Henderson of Etobicoke topped the women’s 50 free in 25.84, her fastest time of 2019-20.
• Miranda Stever of the Toronto Swim Club dominated the women’s 200 breast in 2:30.03, winning by over five seconds while missing the meet record by just .02.
• Kennedy Goss of the Granite Gators, who was also third in the 100 back, won a tight race in the women’s 400 free, putting up a time of 4:16.26. 16-year-old Kenna Smallegange of the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays was a close second in 4:16.59, well under her best of 4:19.42.
• Ian Friesen of the Club Warriors won the men’s 400 free by close to four seconds in 4:00.08.