Ali Baggott, Vikes Communications
VICTORIA – The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds were crowned the Canada West men's and women's champions as the UBC women finished with 1,111 points and won 35 medals, 14 of those gold. The men finished with 838 points and 28 medals, 10 of which were gold, to wrap up the three-day Canada West Swimming Championships, Nov. 24-26, hosted at Commonwealth Pool in Victoria.
"I think the weekend was great overall for a lot of teams," said UBC men's and women's head coach Steve Price. "We obviously had a great meet but I am proud of the great swims coming from everywhere and every program. It makes our league stronger and keeps us honest."
After the three days of competition, 20 new Canada West men's and women's swimming records now stand. The final day of competition had six records fall. In addition, the 1,111 points score meant UBC now hold the highest overall conference points total for a women's team.
Thunderbird Emily Overholt and Dino Frederik Kamminga were named the female and male Rookie of the Meet. Overholt finished with five medals including a gold in the 400-m individual medley and the 4x200-m freestyle relay. Calgary's Kamminga earned two gold medals in the 200- and 100-m breaststroke and also had two silver medals.
"It's really special for me," said Overholt about being named the top female first year. "It's one of my first competitive meets back after taking last year off and it's so exciting and special to do it with UBC."
The Canada West female Swimmer of the Meet, also last season's conference Rookie of the Meet, was Manitoba's Kelsey Wog. This year Wog broke two Canada West records in her gold-medal performances in the 200-m individual medley and 100-m breaststroke. She also had a gold in the 50-m breaststroke and two silver and one bronze medals for a total of six medals.
UBC's Yuri Kisil was named the Canada West male Swimmer of the Meet after helping to break five conference records throughout the weekend and winning five gold and two silver medals including topping the podium in the 100-m and 50-m freestyle and all three relay events.
"It was a surprising weekend," said Kisil about the positive results for both him and his team. "I honestly didn't expect to do as well as I did but it was a pleasant surprise and I was able to ride out the momentum the whole meet. It means the world (to be named Swimmer of the Meet) because getting to race against some of the best swimmers in Canada and being recognized in such a great group of athletes to compete against is a lot of fun."
The 2017 men's title marks the fifth-straight and 18th overall Canada West banner, while for the T-Birds women it is the ninth-straight and 28th overall title. The defending U SPORTS national champions were further honoured as head coach Steve Price was named the men's and women's teams Coach of the Year, as voted by participating coaches.
"I'm very proud of our team," added Price. "Particularly, I'm proud of the women's team who broke the overall points record and that was one of the goals that we had internally."
The Canada West Student-Athlete community Service awards were given to Victoria's Taylor Snowden-Richardson and Calgary's Sterling King. Snowden-Richardson created the project 'Tay's Team' and has knit and crocheted over 150 character hats to give to children in hospitals. The fourth-year Vike volunteers endless hours in the pediatric unit of the Nanaimo General Hospital and is a three-time Academic All-Canadian. Dinos swimmer King has volunteered 400 hours to organizing group study sessions on campus, as well as time spent as a Japanese Language Instructor, a swimming instructor for children with neurological disabilities, a lifeguard at Ness Lake Bible Camp and several other organizations totaling over 1600 of volunteer hours.
The third and final day of the conference championship started with Victoria's Danielle Hanus setting a conference record to win the 200-m butterfly. UBC's Josiah Binnema took gold in the men's event.
New conference records were set in both the women's and men's 100-m freestyle by UBC's Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson and Kisil, respectively. Seltenreich-Hodgson's swim of 54.48 broke a seven-year record from Erica Morningstar set in 2010 (54.51).
Wog set a Canada West record in the women's 200-m individual medley in 2:09.29, while Calgary's Robert Hill took the top of the podium in the men's event in 1:59.28.
UBC's Ingrid Wilm swam her own Canada West record set last year in the 100-m backstroke taking gold in 58.49, ahead of Hanus for silver and Manitoba's Dora Modrcin for bronze. The men's 100-m backstroke was won by UBC's Binnema in a new conference record time of 52.44.
Seltenreich-Hodgson picked up another gold in the 200-m breaststroke winning in a time of 2:24.43 after edging silver medalist Hog, of Manitoba, and bronze medalist Hillary Metcalfe of UBC.
Calgary first year Kamminga won his second gold medal of the weekend in the 200-m breaststroke in 2:10.49.
"The 200-m breast is something that I train for a lot so I knew not to rush in, you have to stay calm and collected but still have a plan to go fast," described Kamminga. "In that race I executed everything very well."
Calgary took the top of the podium in both 400-m freestyle events, as Danica Ludlow of Calgary took the women's event in 4:07.11, while Tristan Cote won the men's race in 3:48.49.
The final races of the day were the 4x100-m medley relays and in exact fashion as the opening two days, UBC swept both relays. The Thunderbirds women, anchored by Seltenreich-Hodgson won in 4:02.87 ahead of silver medallists Regina and bronze medallists Manitoba. The T-Birds men had an exceptional race with Markus Thormeyer, Jonathan Brown, Binnema and anchor Kisil winning in a conference record time of 3:35.24. The men's race shattered a 3:37.06 record that was previously held by Calgary from 2013.
Qualified swimmers will now gear up for the 2018 U SPORTS national swimming championships hosted by the University of Toronto in Feb. 22-24.
2017 Canada West Award Winners
Swimmers of the Meet
Women: Kelsey Wog, Manitoba
Men: Yuri Kisil, UBC
Rookies of the Meet
Women: Emily Overholt, UBC
Men: Frederik Kamminga, Calgary
Student-Athlete Community Service
Women: Taylor Snowden-Richardson, Victoria
Men: Sterling King, Calgary
Coach of the Year
Women: Steve Price, UBC
Men: Steve Price, UBC
FINAL STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. UBC, 1111
2. Calgary, 512
3. Regina, 347,5
4. Victoria, 298
5. Lethbridge, 289
6. Alberta, 261,5
7. Manitoba, 254
8. Thompson Rivers, 82
MEN
1. UBC, 838
2. Calgary, 672,5
3. Victoria, 433
4. Alberta, 384
5. Regina, 300
6. Lethbridge, 150,5
7. Manitoba, 90
8. Thompson Rivers, 5
DAY 3 RESULTS (SUNDAY)
Women's 200 Butterfly
1. Danielle Hanus, VIC (2:09.77)*Canada West Record
2. Emily Overholt, UBC (2:10.64)
3. Georgia Kaluznick, REG (2:12.28)
Men's 200 Butterfly
1. Josiah Binnema, UBC (1:56.44)
2. Connor Wilkins, UBC (1:59.17)
3. Christian Ng, CGY (1:59.82)
Women's 100 Freestyle
1. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (54.48) *Canada West Record
2. Quincy Brozo, UBC (55.52)
3. Hoi Lam Tam, UBC (55.54)
Men's 100 Freestyle
1. Yuri Kisil, UBC (47.31)*Canada West Record
2. Luke Peddie, UBC
3. Bjoern-Ole Schrader, ALB
Women's 200 IM
1. Kelsey Wog, MAN (2:09.29)*Canada West Record
2. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (2:10.14)
3. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC (2:16.43)
Men's 200 IM
1. Robert Hill, CGY (1:59.28)
2. Araya Therrien, UBC (2:00.42)
3. Jonathan Brown, UBC (2:00.49)
Women's 100 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (58.49)*= Canada West Record
2. Danielle Hanus, VIC (59.34)
3. Dora Modrcin, MAN (1:01.78)
Men's 100 Backstroke
1. Josiah Binnema, UBC (52.44)*Canada West Record
2. Markus Thormeyer, UBC (52.55)
3. Anders Klein, CGY (54.00)
Women's 200 Breaststroke
1. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (2:24.43)
2. Kelsey Wog, MAN (2:27.86)
3. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC (2:29.54)
Men's 200 Breaststroke
1. Frederik Kamminga, CGY (2:10.46)
2. Jonathan Brown, UBC (2:14.31)
3. Bailey Espersen, VIC (2:14.36)
Women's 400 Freestyle
1. Danica Ludlow, CGY (4:07.11)
2. Megan Dalke, UBC (4:11.60)
3. Emily Overholt, UBC (4:12.19)
Men's 400 Freestyle
1. Tristan Cote, CGY (3:48.49)
2. Eric Hedlin, VIC (3:49.37)
3. Josh Zakala, VIC (3:50.19)
Women's 4x100 Medley Relay
1. UBC (Ingrid Wilm, Hillary Metcalfe, Jacomie Strydom, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson) 4:02.87
2. REG (Georgia Kaluznick, Bree Crookshanks, Eva Madar, McKinley Penner) 4:11.71
3. MAN (Gio Wickett, Kelsey Wog, Dora Modrcin, Alexandria Miko) 4:14.18
Men's 4x100 Medley Relay
1. UBC (Markus Thormeyer, Jonathan Brown, Josiah Binnema, Yuri Kisil) 3:35.24*Canada West Record
2. CGY (Anders Klein, Frederik Kamminga, Christian Ng, Tristan Cote) 3:39.33
3. REG (Noah Choboter, Noah Wasyliw, Etienne Paquin-Foisy, Jean-Philippe Dufresne) 3:43.00
DAY 2 RESULTS (SATURDAY)
Women's 50 Freestyle
1. Quincy Brozo, UBC (25.69)
1. Eva Madar, REG (25.69)
3. Hoi Lam Tam, UBC (25.72)
Men's 50 Freestyle
1. Yuri Kisil, UBC (21.78)* Canada West Record
2. Luke Peddie, UBC (22.74)
3. Owen Guyn, LET (22.80)
Women's 400 IM
1. Emily Overholt, UBC (4:39.71)
2. Megan Dalke, UBC (4:41.96)
3. Maia Brundage, UBC (4:44.57)
Men's 400 IM
1. Tristan Cote, CGY (4:12.22)* Canada West Record
2. Josh Zakala, VIC (4:14.93)
3. Mark Thormeyer, UBC (4:17.69)
Women's 100 Butterfly
1. Danielle Hanus, VIC (59.09)*Canada West Record
2. Jacomie Strydom, UBC (1:00.19)
3. Eva Madar, REG (1:00.22)
Men's 100 Butterfly
1. Josiah Binnema, UBC (52.29)
2. Bjoern-Ole Schrader, ALB (54.50)
3. Darian Fry, UBC (55.07)
Women's 200 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (2:06.98)*Canada West Record
2. Olivia Ellard, UBC (2:11.62)
3. Mckenzie Summers, UBC (2:12.68)
Men's 200 Backstroke
1. Robert Hill, CGY (1:55.83)*Canada West Record
2. Anders Klein, CGY (1:57.54)
3. Noah Choboter, REG (1:57.62)
Women's 100 Breaststroke
1. Kelsey Wog, MAN (1:05.59)*Canada West Record
2. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC (1:09.03)
3. Christy Dashko, LET (1:09.74)
Men's 100 Breaststroke
1. Frederik Kamminga, CGY (1:01.01)
2. Jonathan Brown, UBC (1:01.32)
3. Jaren LeFranc, UBC (1:01.66)
Women's 200 Freestyle
1. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (1:57.23)*Canada West Record
2. Danica Ludlow, CGY (1:58.54)
3. Emily Overholt, UBC (2:01.49)
Men's 200 Freestyle
1. Markus Thormeyer, UBC (1:45.29)*Canada West Record
2. Yuri Kisil, UBC (1:46.80)
3. Brian Palaschuk, REG (1:49.32)
Women's 4x100 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Ingrid Wilm, Quincy Brozo, Meredith Levorson, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson) 3:41.46*Canada West Record
2. MAN (Kelsey Wog, Dora Modrcin, Alexandria Miko, Gio Wickett) 3:50.14
3. CGY (Helena Neise, Danica Ludlow, Hayley Sartain, Robyn Lee) 3:50.82
Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Markus Thormeyer, Luke Peddie, Jonathan Brown, Yuri Kisil) 3:17.98*Canada West Record
2. ALB (Caleb Vander Leek, Skyeler Kerr, Daniel Stayer, Bjoern-Ole Schrader) 3:22.34
3. CGY (Tristan Cote, Robert Hill, Sterling King, Connor Matthezing) 3:23.75
DAY 1 RESULTS (FRIDAY)
Women's 800 Freestyle
1. Megan Dalke, UBC (8:31.35)
2. Danica Ludlow, CGY (8:37.18)
3. Maia Brundage, UBC (8:39.09)
Men's 1500 Freestyle
1. Eric Hedlin, VIC (14:58.05)* Canada West Record
2. Hau-Li Fan, UBC (15:08.65)
3. Josh Zakala, VIC (15:12.02)
Women's 50 Butterfly
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (26.88)* Canada West Record
2. Kirsten Douglas, UBC (27.11)
3. Hoi Lam Tam, UBC (27.23)
Men's 50 Butterfly
1. Luke Peddie, UBC (23.91)
2. Mark Thormeyer, UBC (24.05)
3. Darian Fry, UBC (24.84)
Women's 50 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (27.15)*Canada west record
2. Danielle Hanus, VIC (27.59)
3. Dora Modrcin, MAN (28.34)
Men's 50 Backstroke
1. Robert Hill, CGY (24.72)
2. Josiah Binnema, UBC (24.73)
3. Darian Fry, UBC (25.23)
Women's 50 Breaststroke
1. Kelsey Wog, MAN (31.01)
2. Christy Dashko, LET (32.05)
3. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC (32.05)
Men's 50 Breaststroke
1. Joel Robinson, LET (28.20)
2. Frederik Kamminga, CGY (28.42)
3. Jonathan Brown, UBC (28.43)
Women's 4x200 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, Emily Overholt, Maia Brundage, Megan Dalke) 7:58.64
2. CGY (Danica Ludlow, Allison McCloy, Stefanie Schmidt, Robyn Lee) 8:10.44
3. VIC (Danielle Hanus, Kara Wilson, Taylor Snowden-Richardson, Kaity Gervais) 8:22.10
Men's 4x200 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Yuri Kisil, Markus Thormeyer, Jonathan Brown, Colin Eriks) 7:10.73 *Canada West Record
2. CGY (Sterling King, Peter Brothers, Teddy Kalp, Tristan Cote) 7:21.93
3. REG (Brian Palaschuk, Etienne Paquin-Foisy, Jacob Lee, Noah Choboter) 7:25.15
CANADA WEST RECORDS BROKEN
• Eric Hedlin, VIC, Men's 1500 Freestyle (14:58.05)
• Ingrid Wilm, UBC, Women's 50 Butterfly (26.88)
• Ingrid Wilm, UBC, Women's 50 Backstroke (27.15)
• UBC Men's 4x200m Relay (Yuri Kisil, Markus Thormeyer, Jonathan Brown, Colin Eriks) 7:10.73
• Yuri Kisil, UBC, Men's 50 Freestyle (21.78)
• Tristan Cote, CGY, Men's 400 Individual Medley (4:12.22)
• Danielle Hanus, VIC, Women's 100 Butterfly (59.09)
• Ingrid Wilm, UBC, Women's 200 Backstroke (2:06.98)
• Robert Hill, CGY, Men's 200 Backstroke (1:55.83)
• Kelsey Wog, MAN, Women's 100 Breaststroke (1:05.59)
• Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC, Women's 200 Freestyle (1:57.23)
• Markus Thormeyer, UBC, Men's 200 Freestyle (1:45.29)
• UBC Women's 4x100m Relay (Ingrid Wilm, Quincy Brozo, Meredith Levorson, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson) 3:41.46
• UBC Men's 4x100m Relay (Markus Thormeyer, Luke Peddie, Jonathan Brown, Yuri Kisil) 3:17.98
• Danielle Hanus, VIC, Women's 200 Butterfly (2:09.77)
• Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC, Women's 100 Freestyle (54.48)
• Yuri Kisil, UBC, Men's 100 Freestyle (47.31)
• Kelsey Wog, MAN, 200 Individual Medley (2:09.29)
• Josiah Binnema, UBC, Men's 200 Backstroke (52.44)
• UBC Men's 4x100m Medley Relay (Markus Thormeyer, Jonathan Brown, Josiah Binnema, Yuri Kisil) 3:35.24