Zack Chetrat broke three OUA records en route to a triple gold-medal performance on Day 1 of the 2011 OUA swimming championships on Thursday, February 10 in Guelph, Ont.
The Varsity Blues currently lead the men’s standings with 299 points, ahead of the Western Mustangs (225) and the McMaster Marauders (192). Toronto’s women currently sit in second with a combined team score of 245.5, behind the Mustangs (253.5) and ahead of the Marauders (197).
Chetrat bettered Brock’s David Shemilt’s 26-year-old record (3:53.22) in the men’s 400 freestyle with a time of 3:51.59. The Oakville, Ont., went on to break his previous record of 2:00.27 in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.25.
A third-year economics and political science student, Chetrat anchored Toronto’s 800 freestyle relay team of Curtis Samuel, Frank Despond and Andy Townsend to break a McMaster’s 1991 record and earn his third first-place finish on the day.
The Blues 200 freestyle relay team of Steven Hibberd, Geroge Soules, Peter Kruzyk and Luke Hall also earned a gold medal with a time of 1:33.88.
In women’s action, third-year standout Andrew Jurenovskis of Timmins, Ont., bettered Julie Howard’s 2001 OUA record (1:01.90) in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.63 for a first-place finish, while veteran distance swimmer Poppy Ruksys of Kingston, Ont., earned gold in the women’s 400 freestyle with a time of 4:15.46.
Ruksys also anchored Toronto’s women’s 800 freestyle relay team of Heather Maitland, Molly Grove and Melanie Davis to a first-place finish with a time of 8:18.62. The Blues 200 freestyle relay team of Jurenovskis, Joyce Guo, Samantha Poon and Paige Schultz was two-tenths of a second shy of a gold medal with a time of 1:46.75.
Other medalists on Day 1 include second-place finishes from Despond in the 400 freestyle, Samuel in the 200 butterfly and Vanessa Treasure in the 200 butterfly, as well as a bronze-medal finish from Molly Grove in the 400 freestyle.
Day 1 Results
The three-day OUA meet resumes Friday morning with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and finals at 6 p.m. EST.
