Vikes take third, fourth at Canada West Championships

Swim takes third, fourth at Canada West Championships - University of Victoria Athletics
Alexis Chevalier, Vikes Sports Information
Orginally posted on Vikes website HERE. 

Vancouver, B.C. – The University of Victoria men's and women's swimming teams finished fourth and third at the Canada West swimming championships, Nov. 22-24, at the UBC Aquatic Centre.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes finish in third, fourth as teams

• The Vikes women's side finished third as a team while the men's side finished fourth overall. Both finishes marked a one-spot improvement from the team finishes at the 2023 Canada West championships (W – 4th, M – 5th).

Ogilvie, Agostinelli Stull, men's 800 free relay team pick up medals

• The men's 800 free relay team of Elijah Agostinelli Stull, Keir Ogilvie, Ricky Millns, and Jacob Rambo earned a bronze medal on night one with a time of 7:16.57, also marking a new Vikes record.
• Ogilvie added a second bronze medal on the final night of competition, taking third in the 200 fly at 2:00.99.
• Agostinelli Stull recorded the second individual event medal for the Vikes, clocking in at 3:51.21 in the 400 free for third place.

Millns, Ogilvie set five new Vikes records

• In addition to being part of the 800 free relay team that set a new Vikes record, Ricky Millns and Keir Ogilvie combined for five more school records.
• Millns set new records in the 50 breast at 28.23, the 50 free with a time of 22.41, and the 100 free at 49.70.
• Ogilvie clocked in at 24.16 in the 50 fly for the new Vikes record, as well as 52.94 in the 100 fly to set a new record.

Vikes earn 29 A Final appearances

• Over the three-day event, the Vikes saw 29 swims in the A Finals.
• Keir Ogilvie and Erin Epp led the way for the Vikes, each earning four A Final swims. Ogilvie took sixth in the 50 fly (24.25), fourth in the 100 fly (52.94), seventh in the 200 free (1:49.25), and third in the 200 fly (2:00.99), while Epp finished seventh in the 50 breast (32.40), sixth in the 400 IM (4:52.86), seventh in the 200 IM (2:19.80), and eighth in the 200 breast (2:35.71).
• Ricky Millns swam in three A Finals, posting a ninth place finish in the 50 fly (24.56), fourth in the 50 free (22.47), and eighth in the 100 free (49.74).
• Georgia Romstead and Elijah Agostinelli Stull rounded out the multiple A Final appearances for the Vikes, each swimming in two. Romstead took seventh in the 200 back (2:16.64) and sixth in the 200 fly (2:18.83), while Agostinelli Stull finished ninth in the 200 free (1:50.24) and third in the 400 free (3:51.21).

McKenna, MacDonald, Brunoro and Tierney win B Finals

• Three Vikes picked up wins in the B Final of their respective events: Ashleigh McKenna in the 50 fly (28.43), Matthew MacDonald in the 50 free (23.07), Isabella Brunoro in the 400 IM (4:57.53), and Bryce Tierney in the 200 breast (2:15.92).

Five Vikes earn first U SPORTS qualifications of the year

• Ayiana Gagne's time of 8:59.68 in the 800 free marked her first U SPORTS qualifying mark, while Jayden Bilous hit the U SPORTS qualification standard in the 50 free with a time of 22.95.
• Georgia Romstead and Ryan Murphy each posted 200 back qualifying times, with Romstead finishing in 2:16.64 and Murphy in 2:02.18.
• Bryce Tierney rounds out the new qualifiers for the Vikes, going 2:15.92 in the 200 breast.

FROM THE POOL – Head coach Ryan Clouston
"Overall there were so many best times, so many big drops. We not only had new U SPORTS qualifiers, but had a lot of people that went from not being that close to the U SPORTS standard to now being right on top of them. I think we're swimming quite well. Every session had a lot of awesome swims. It shows that the whole group has been improving quite well this year. On tight turnarounds at this meet, they're coming out and punching in some ridiculously good swims. In terms of improving, this is one of the best meets we've had. Overall, very positive - there's been lots of learnings, but people are also discovering how good they can be. The sentiment is that there's a lot of excitement in the group, but also eager to get back into training and our next steps."

UP NEXT
The Vikes return to Saanich Commonwealth Place for the Christmas Cracker meet, Dec. 6-8.