Parkes Wins Gold, A Total of 19 Vikes Qualify for CIS Championships

Original story by Natalie Wise at vikes.uvic.ca

VICTORIA, B.C. – On the third and final day of the University of Victoria-hosted Canada West Swimming Championships, Jan. 25-27, Vikes sophomore swimmer Zachary Parkes (Victoria, B.C.) took home the gold in the men’s 400-m freestyle, earning UVic's third medal of the weekend. Overall, the Vikes contingent had great success as 19 athletes qualified for the CIS Championships in Calgary, Feb. 21-23.
 
“I’m pleased with how we ended the weekend,” said Vikes head coach Peter Vizsolyi. “We had a couple of athletes that swam really well and just barely missed out on qualification but they will have another opportunity so overall, it’s looking pretty good.”
 
Wrapping up the meet in style, Parkes boasted the best finish for the Vikes as he earned a gold medal and posted a 400-m freestyle time of 3:53.84. Craig Dagnall (Victoria, BC) also competed in the event and swam to a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:59.61, beating the CIS standard of 4:00.16.
 
In the men’s 200-m butterfly, Vikes Mark Grasdal (Calgary, AB) and Will Brothers (Victoria, BC) also qualified for the championship meet in February with times of 2:03.91 and 2:05.75, coming in at sixth and seventh.
 
In the men’s 100-m freestyle, UVic swimmer Keegan Zanatta (Victoria, BC) posted a time of 50.89, coming in sixth and also well within the CIS standard. Competing in the men’s 200-m individual medley UVic swimmer Nicholas Sinclair (Victoria, B.C.) came fifth with a time of 2:07.27, narrowly missing out on qualification with the CIS standard set at 2:06.14.
 
The UVic men came fifth in the 400-m medley relay as Sinclair, Zanatta, Richard Bourgeois (Nanaimo, BC) and Andre Kudaba (Port Coquitlam, BC) raced to a time of 3:51.41.
 
On the women’s side, the final day of the meet was dominated by fourth-place finishes. Rookie Rachael Newman (Victoria, BC) came fourth in the 200-m butterfly, well within the CIS standard with a time of 2:16.70 while Eleanora Dalling (Vancouver, BC) was swimmer number four in the 100-m backstroke, posting 1:05.02. Stephanie Horner (Beaconsfield, Que.) came fourth in the 200-m individual medley at 2:17.58, another qualifying time for the CIS meet in February and the UVic women’s 400-m medley relay team placed just off the podium with a time of 4:24.07.

For more information on overall results of the 2013 Canada West Swimming Championships, including major award winners, please click here.

Results can also be found on the PCS Results page.