UVic-PCS Swimmers Show Well at Canadian World Swimming Championship Trials

Last weekend, Pacific Coast Swimming and the University of Victoria hosted the Canadian Swimming World Trials at Saanich Commonwealth Pool, bringing together the best that Canada has to offer in Swimming.

PCS sent a total of 10 swimmers to the trials which resulted in some great personal achievements.

Leading the way was Craig Dagnall, who was considering retiring at the end of last season. In the 800 Free, He swam to a third place finish with a time of 8:15.06, a best time not in the now banned suits. He also came top 16 in his other two races, the 1500 Fr with a time of 15:54.34 which was good enough for 11th place as well as the 400 free which netted him a 15th place finish with a time of 4:01.23.

Another standout of the weekend was high school senior, Jon Mckay. He broke club records in every event he swam, the 200 Fly, 400 Free and the 1500. His times in the 200 Fly( 2:03.44) and 1500(16:05.39) earned him 11th and 14th place finishes respectively. In addition to his new club records, Jon, based on the criteria set by Swim BC, has earned himself a place on team BC for the upcoming Canada Games! He will have to wait until the team is actually announced, but there is a high chance he is selected.

Rounding out the top performers of the weekend was Tyler Smith who up until as recently as 3 weeks ago didn't even qualify for the meet. However, Tyler swam his way into the meet at a time trial 2 weeks before the meet and his hard work payed off when he swam to 9th place in the 800 Free with a time of 8:32.93

On the female side, Rachael Newman led first time Senior National qualifier Rosie Moulton who swam a personal best in her 100 Fly (1:06.67). Another first time qualifier, Evan Letkeman swam a BT in his 400 IM (4:41.58) and was also a vital member of the men's relay team. Ryan Howe swam two best times; his 100 Back (58.83) and 200 IM (2:10.05). Another swimmer who took a year off, Richard Bourgeois, swam best times in the 50 (30.72), 100 (1:06.88) and 200 breast (2:22.27). Lastly, Mattock swam to a best time in his 50 fly (26.71)

The men's relays also had very strong showings, being competitive with some of the best clubs in Canada. The best showing of the weekend was the 4X200M freestyle relay, consisting of Dagnall(1:54.66), Ian Mattock(1:58.33), Nick Sinclair (1:52.70) and anchored by Letkeman (1:55.34) which resulted in a 6th place showing with a time of 7.41.03. Next in terms of placing was the 4X100m Medley relay consisting of Howe(58.83), Bourgeois(1:06.16), Mattock(56.72) and anchored by Sinclair(52.09) who came in with an 8th place showing and a time of 3:53.80. Lastly, the 4X100m Free relay team made up of Sinclair(52.63), Dagnall(53.39), Howe(53.02) and Letkeman (53.59) swam to an 10th place finish.

Next up for Pacific Coast Swimming is the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Cozumel, Mexico on April 20th as well as the annual PCS Wave maker invitational meet occurring April 26th to April 28th!

Good job everyone and good luck to everyone down in Mexico!