RECAP: Busy start of December results in nationally ranked times

A busy December schedule for the swim team has resulted in a batch of new U SPORTS qualifiers. The Gee-Gees were competing at three different events over the last two weekends, with three team members posting U SPORTS qualifying times.

The team travelled to Montreal the first weekend of December for the Neptune International at Olympic Park. There, Gordon Forrest won a silver medal in the 200 backstroke and a bronze in the 100 back. Jack Haycock qualified for U SPORTS with his swim of 2:17.92 in the preliminaries of the 200 breaststroke. Haycock went on to finish fourth in the final and also took fourth in the 100 breaststroke and the 200m IM. Jackson Mailloux took second place in the 1500m freestyle.

Rachel McInnes led the Gee-Gees women by stepping onto the podium for silver in the 200m backstroke and bronze in the 400m IM. Isabelle Dearnaley won the silver in the 200m butterfly and also placed fourth in the 100m backstroke. Samantha Mallon was the silver medallist in the 200m breaststroke, and Kate Neilson and Katie Polley each earned a bronze, in the 200m breaststroke and 100m backstroke, respectively.

The following weekend, eleven Gee-Gees rookies who are still at the U18 level represented the garnet and grey in Toronto at the Ontario Junior International. Alex Strople and Colin Shearer put U SPORTS qualifying times in the books and now rank in the top eight nationally. Strople's time came in the 400 IM where he clocked in at 4:23.54 to place third at the event and fifth so far this season across U SPORTS. Shearer's time of 2:02.89 in the 200 IM was also good for third place and ranks seventh among U SPORTS competitors nationally so far this season. Abigail McKinley put up her season-best time in the 100 fly and now ranks fifth nationally in the event.

At the Gatineau Grand Prix, the Gee-Gees competed against club swimmers from across the Ottawa-Gatineau area, as well as Kingston and Toronto. In all, the team of 25 Gee-Gees captured first place finishes in 15 events. 

Nathan Schiffmann won the 100, 200, and 800-metre freestyle events with Allen Zheng winning the 50 free. William Barrett won the 50m backstroke ahead of James Steele in second, and Steele won the 100m back. Hugo Lemesle won the 50m and 200m breaststroke events while Barrett came first of the four Gee-Gees at the top of the 100m breaststroke event - Noah Wagner, James Steele, and Aleksandar Plackoski rounded out the top four. Braden Vanherk won the 200m individual medley with James Steele in second place, and Steele won the 400m IM.

On the women's side in Gatineau, Abby Moffitt won the 400m freestyle, Talea Claassens won the 50m backstroke, and Morgane Shuster took first place in both the 200m IM and the 800m freestyle.

Heading into the winter semester, Nathan Schiffmann has the second fastest time in U SPORTS so far this season in the 800m freestyle. Adelle Yamashita-Ball ranks third nationally in the 400 freestyle. The Gee-Gees women have the third fastest 800m freestyle relay time so far this season.

Four Gee-Gees men hold fifth-place rankings nationally: Hugo Lemesle in the 200m breaststroke, Will Barrett in the 50m breaststroke, and Alexandre Perrault in the 50m butterfly in addition to Strople's 400 IM time mentioned above. Abigail McKinley ranks fifth place in both the 100 and 200 fly.