Simon Fraser raced to a strong outing at the Husky Invitational this weekend.
Simon Fraser Press Release
Federal Way, WA – Paced by a pair of spectacular individual performances from Adrian VanderHelm and Jessica Gibson, both the Clan men and women's swim teams secured top-three finishes on the final day of the 68th annual Husky Invitational on Sunday evening.
Two individual wins from MacKenzie Hamill and VanderHelm were key in vaulting the Clan men above the Seattle University Redhawks into the top spot in the team rankings, as SFU finished with 967 points to second-place Seattle's 889.5.
For the women, Gibson's marquee performance in the 200-yard backstroke, earning first place and setting an SFU record with a time of 1:59.92, was a driving force behind the Clan's rise to third in the team rankings. SFU finished with 636 points overall, trailing only the San Diego Toros (800) and the Oregon State Beavers (708). Gibson set four Clan all-time records during the competition.
Amidst several record-breaking performances throughout the tournament, both VanderHelm and Gibson were named the competition's Collegiate Division High-Point Winners.
Both the Clan teams came blazing out of the gate in the 1650-yard freestyle. On the women's side, freshman Kristen Olvet finished in first place with a time of 17:17.46. Senior Claudia Mathieu also finished strong, clocking into ninth-place in 17:45.47.
The SFU men dominated the podium in their 1650-yard freestyle, with Hamill (15:30.73), Tim Woinoski (15:31.11), and James Cormier (15:43.66) going 1-2-3 in the event. Clan rookie Andrew Woinoski (15:52.98) finished in fifth, while Daniel Kilmaster wasn't far back, earning eighth place with a time 16:02.99.
Alongside Gibson's spectacular performance, the men's team also fared well in the 200-yard backstroke. Andrew Woinoski was the top-rated Clan swimmer with a time of 1:53.59, good for fourth place in the 'A' heat. Fellow SFU rookie Andrea Sinats finished seventh, touching the wall in 1:54.28.
Junior Sidney Peake was the Clan's top finisher in the women's 100-yard freestyle, placing fifth in the 'B' heat with a time of 53.51. Another SFU first-year, Miranda Sever, delivered a brilliant performance in the women's 200-yard breaststroke, finishing second in the 'A' heat with a time of just 2:15.82.
Keenan Elliott added a solid chunk to the Clan's point total in the men's 200-yard breastroke, earning a third-place finish in the 'A' heat with a time of 2:04.69. James Cormier placed third overall in the 'B' heat, hitting the wall in 2:09.78.
Senior Lauren Swistak got in on the action in the 'A' heat of the women's 200-yard butterfly, as she raced to a second-place finish in 2:04.22, less than half a second off leader Lizzie Menzmer of Davis Arden (2:03.70).
VanderHelm, in his lone solo race of the day, broke a nine-year old SFU Clan record in the 200-yard butterfly, bettering Niels Mutzenburger's 2007 mark of 1:47.80 and earning top billing with a time of 1:47.73. Gabriel Lee was right behind his teammate, as the junior picked up second place with a finish of 1:48.12.
However, that wasn't VanderHelm's only win of the day, as he, Hammill, Lee, and Kilmaster, led from start to finish in the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing with a time of 3:04.14. Meanwhile, the Clan women finished fifth in their 400-yard freestyle relay, as the foursome of Gibson, Olvet, Peake, and Swistak touched in 3:32.85.
