A day that began with a big splash from Tim Rahilly, SFU’s associate vice president of students, ended with a Clan swimming team victory over the University of Victoria Vikes in SFU’s final home meet of the season.
Before diving into the races, Rahilly led a ceremony recognizing five Clan swimmers — Nicole Cossey, Kristine Lawson, Alexandria Schofield, Jordyn Konrad, and Carmen Nam — who represented SFU at last year’s NCAA Championships.
That championship pedigree led the Clan to an impressive 226–186 win over their BC rivals. Cossey and Schofield started the day with a win in the 200m-medley relay, and with help from teammates Grace Ni and Katie McEvoy, the Clan quartet finished in just 1:57.78. In the same race on the men’s side, Brandon Bronson, Julian Monks, Ciaran McDonnell, and Hans Heyer also swam their way to a win.
Schofield would earn the day’s first individual race — the 100m-butterfly — in 1:03.77, while sophomore Justin Kiedrzyn won the same event for the men. Cossey would win the 50m-freestyle event, with teammate Katrina Sharpe finishing second. Later in the day, Monks would race in his final event with SFU, a win in the 200m-breaststroke, with a time of 2:18.21.
SFU’s women would dominate the 200m-freestyle race, taking first-, second-, and third-place in the event with strong showings from Meghan Quon, Claudia Mathieu, and Grace Ni, respectively.
The Clan put a stamp on the day with a win in the final event for both the men and women, the 200m-freestyle relay. The men’s squad, featuring Heyer, Kiedrzyn, McDonnell and freshman Igor Gasovic-Varga won in a time of 1:35.57. Meanwhile, the women’s first entry, featuring Schofield, Quon, Cossey, and freshman Lauren Swistak won with a time of 1:49.08.
It was a notable finish for SFU’s home schedule, and another highlight on a strong season. Though the team will finish the season at Margaret and Paul Savage Aquatic Centre, there are still a number of events left to prepare for — not the least of which being the NCAA Championships in March.
