Sanchez’s 53.9 100 Free, McIntosh’s 200 Fly NAG Close Out 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

Canadian Olympic hopefuls Kayla Sanchez, Mabel Zavaros and Cole Pratt were among the athletes who had strong performances to close out the 2020 Winter Ontario Swimming Champs from the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough, while 13-year-old standout Summer McIntosh took out a National Age Group Record. The meet concluded finals action on Saturday before having another session on Sunday morning that featured relays, para events and the men’s and women’s 800 free.

Sanchez won the women’s 100 free in a time of 53.92, with training partners Taylor Ruck (54.72) and Rebecca Smith (55.07) second and third. Sanchez, who owns a best time of 53.61 from last summer’s World Championships, ranks 11th in the world this season with her 53.74 from the PSS in Knoxville.

Penny Oleksiak, who was 53.41 in Knoxville, went 54.31 in the prelims before scratching the final.

Zavaros, who is taking a redshirt year from the University of Florida, had back-to-back wins over the two sessions to give her three total for the meet.

The 19-year-old Oakville swimmer put together a pair of impressive 200 fly swims on Saturday, getting down to 2:10.18 in the final which marks her fastest swim since August of 2018. Zavaros owns a PB of 2:08.71, set at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which is just off of the FINA “A’ cut of 2:08.43.

On Sunday, Zavaros won the women’s 800 free in 8:49.66, just over three seconds off her lifetime best set in January (8:46.31). 16-year-old Kenna Smallegange, who won the 1500 earlier, took second in 8:54.06.

In the 13-14 age group of the women’s 200 fly, McIntosh, 13, won in a time of 2:13.58, obliterating the 13-14 NAG held by Oleksiak of 2:15.05 (which was set in 2015). McIntosh owns several 11-12 records and four 13-14 records in SCM, but this is her first LCM 13-14 mark.

Pratt had a standout win on the men’s side in the 200 back, rocketing to a time of 1:58.86 which is just eight-tenths off his best time from last April (1:58.07). The 17-year-old had previously been 2:00.12 this season, so this swim jumps him up from 30th to 16th in the world rankings.

OTHER EVENTS

• Yuri Kisil finished off the sprint double on the men’s side as the 2016 Olympian topped the men’s 100 free in a time of 49.15, just .04 slower than he was in the final at World Trials last year. The 24-year-old lowers his season-best by three-tenths (49.48 in Knoxville) which is a positive sign with the Olympic Trials fast approaching. Joshua Liendo took second in 50.02, and Finlay Knox was third in 50.99. Pratt scratched the final, but was 51.24 in the prelims.
• Kisil’s Whitby Swimming teammate Alexander Axon won the men’s 16 & over 1500 free in 16:01.43, while Quinn Matteis of the Chatham Y Pool Sharks won the 15-year-old event in 16:03.73. Matteis completed the double on Sunday by winning the 800 (8:34.46), while NKB’s David Quirie (8:27.85) picked up the 16 & over title.
• Oakville’s Mack Darragh won the men’s 200 fly in 1:59.76. Darragh ranks 33rd in the world this season after going 1:58.60 at the US Open in December.
• After winning the 200 earlier in the meet, Toronto’s Miranda Stever topped the field in the women’s 100 breast in 1:09.90.
• Kenora’s Gabe Mastromatteo claimed the men’s 100 breast in 1:03.23. Eli Wall clocked 1:02.97 in the morning but scratched out of the final.
• Cascade’s Ella Varga was the victor in the women’s 200 back (2:14.59). Kennedy Goss didn’t race the final but was slightly quicker in the heats (2:14.57).