Mel Zajac Jr. International: Two Meet Records Downed During Evening Prelims

VANCOUVER, Canada, May 22. WITH swimmers competing under a morning final schedule, a pair of meet records went down during the first night of prelims at the Mel Zajac Jr. International meet.

Julia Wilkinson started the night off right with a meet record in the women's 200 back when she hit the wall in 2:12.75 to lead qualifying. She cleared the previous record of 2:14.11 set back in 1998 by Danielle Lewis of Australia.

Youngster Lindsay Seemann, 15, qualified second in 2:14.95, while Maggie Meyer touched third in 2:18.45.

In the men's 200 back, Matt Hawes topped prelims with a time of 2:02.99, while Charles Francis took second in 2:03.27 and Tobias Oriwol finished third in 2:04.87.

Next, Annamay Pierse earned the top seed in the women's 100 breast with a time of 1:09.75, while Jillian Tyler touched second in 1:10.23. Taylor Peterson wound up third in 1:11.04. On the men's side of the 100 breast, Mathieu Bois grabbed a center lane with a first-place 1:02.82, while Mike Brown (1:03.36) and Craig Calder (1:04.39) touched second and third, respectively.

Another meet record tumbled in the women's 200 free as Aussies Kylie Palmer (2:00.82) and Bronte Barratt (2:00.95) both eclipsed the 2:00.96 set by Suzu Chiba in 1999. The top eight includes a stocked finale with Stephanie Horner (2:01.87), Erica Morningstar (2:02.04), Ashley McCleery (2:02.44), Audrey Lacroix (2:02.68), Ellen Fullerton (2:03.04) and Amelia Evatt-Davey (2:03.60).

In the men's 200 free, Brian Johns pocketed top billing in finals with a 1:50.73, while Leith Brodie (1:52.31) and Brent Hayden (1:52.31) finished second and third.

In the women's 400 IM, Tanya Hunks placed first in 4:46.67, while Fullerton took second in 4:50.68 and Wilkinson earned third in 4:52.07. For the men, Keith Beavers touched in 4:22.65, while Ryan Cochrane (4:31.03) and Brett Koerten (4:37.70) snagged second and third in prelims.

In the sprint fly, Kendra Chernoff claimed the top seed in 28.16, while Lacroix (28.20) and Erin Campbell (28.50) are second and third for the women. Mitchell Patterson almost broke the meet record of 24.65 set by Mike Mintenko back in 2003 with a first-place 24.67. Sorenson finished second in 25.08, while Garth Kates of Australia grabbed third in 25.12.

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