A summer of SFU athletics updates

Recruitments, news, and awards for the swimming and track team

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photo of SFU swimmer midrace
PHOTO: Garrett James / SFU Athletics

By: Isabella Urbani, Sports Editor

Swimming 

Women’s Recruitments 

  • Abigail Andrews: backstroke and freestyle swimmer from St. John’s, Newfoundland, who won seven events at her high school’s provincial championships. 
  • Grace Arnott: breaststroke and backstroke swimmer from Calgary, Alberta, who competed at the 2023 Western Canadian Championships. 
  • Kayla Houlder: sprint freestyle swimmer from Milton, Ontario, who won two medals at the 2023 Eastern Canadian Championships.
  • Chloe Mcara: freestyle swimmer from Montréal, Québec, who competed at the 2019 Eastern Canadian Championships.
  • Laine Perry: freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Comox, BC, who won four medals at the 2023 Vancouver Island Regional Short-Course Championships.
  • Nicole Petrisor: sprint freestyle and individual medley swimmer from Richmond Hill, Ontario, who won the 50-metre freestyle at the 2023 Winter Ontario Youth-Junior Championships. 
  • Rachel Tong: butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Burnaby, BC, who won two medals at the 2023 Swim BC Winter Provincial Championships.

Men’s recruitments 

  • Thomas Caruso: backstroke and individual medley swimmer from Lindell Beach, BC, who won the 2023 Bell Canadian Swimming’s 200-metre backstroke junior national championship.
  • Gaspar Lazure: butterfly and freestyle sprint swimmer from Windsor, Ontario, who won three events at the 2023 Eastern Canadian Championships.
  • Mateja Mesic: backstroke, individual medley, and breaststroke swimmer from Belle River, Ontario, who competed at the 2023 Eastern Canadian Championships.
  • Peter Morch: freestyle swimmer from Lantzville, BC, who won two bronze medals at the 2023 Winter Provincial Championships.
  • Owen Nicholson: distance freestyle and individual medley swimmer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who won a bronze medal for Canada at the 2023 Best Fest Open Water Festival. 
  • Jordan Raume: freestyle and breaststroke swimmer from Comox, BC, who holds nine records for the Comox Valley Aquatic Club. 
  • Lochlan Rogers: freestyle sprint swimmer from Victoria, BC, who is a two-time Canadian Junior Swimming Championships award winner. 
  • Luka Tomic: butterfly swimmer from Kitchener, Ontario, who was the sole member of his swim team to compete at the 2022 Eastern Canadian Championships. 
  • Hayden Visscher: breaststroke swimmer from St. Albert, Alberta, who competed for Canada at last year’s Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

News 

  • The swim team will make the switch to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to begin the season.
  • Sophomore, Monyo Maina, competed for Kenya at the 2023 FINA World Aquatics Championships in the 100 and 200-metre freestyle. He was joined by SFU coach, Demone Tissira.
  • SFU assistant coach, Dexter Bligh, resigned after one season to become the head coach of Camana Bay Aquatic Club.

Awards 

  • Sophomore, Randon Hall, was a recipient of the Academic Achievement Award, winner of his second Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award, and Nadine Caron Top Scholar-Athlete for the highest GPA with a 4.31 CGPA as a mathematical physics student.

Track and Field

Recruitments 

  • Jacob Hall: sprints runner from North Bend, Washington, who has competed for the US at the Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships.
  • Liam O’Donnell: sprints runner from Surrey, BC, who won the 100-metre in the U-20 BC Championship Jamboree. 
  • Kerlinda Chatwin: sprints and triple jump athlete from Surrey, BC, who competed at the 2022 Canadian Track and Field Championships. 
  • Gemma Dumas: middle distance and distance runner from Delta, BC, who will compete for SFU in both track and cross country. 
  • Serena Kennedy-Hailu: sprints runner from Port Coquitlam, BC, who finished third at last year’s 100-metre high school provincial championships. 
  • Grace Mack: middle distance and distance runner from St John’s, Newfoundland, who competed at last year’s Canada Summer Games. 
  • Steph Millar: middle distance runner from Lake Country, BC, who won the 2023 800-metre Okanagan Zone championship.

Awards 

  • Gibbs and Paugh were two of 10 recipients of the Nadine Caron Top 10 Scholar-Athletes Award. 
  • Gibbs, Lenton, Paugh, Schmidt, and Voloshin win the the Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award for having a 3.85 CGPA or higher.
  • Last year’s GNAC Rookie of the Year, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, was named 2023 Outdoor Track and Field Female Athlete of the Year. She is also the SFU women’s individual sport Athlete of the Year.
  • Women’s track and field team was named President’s Team of the Year.
  • Javelin thrower Jarrett Chong was the SFU men’s Freshman of the Year.
  • Women’s track and field team earned NCAA Div. II All-Academic Team honours. 

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