Kevin Cordes Opens Mel Zajac International With Win

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

Kevin Cordes’s name seemed to stand out at the 52nd Mel Zajac International, which began Friday night in Vancouver, British Columbia. The meet tends to assemble much of Canada’s top young talent, and this year was no different. But it was Cordes’s name that truly added to the meet’s star power.

And it was no surprise that Cordes was victorious in the men’s 100-meter breast. The short course American record holder won with a 1:02.42. Andrew Poznikoff of Simon Fraser Aquatics couldn’t hang with Cordes after the first 50, and fell to second with a 1:04.17. Mitch Hovis swam a 1:05.36 to take third.

One of Canada’s distance gems Eric Hedlin won the men’s 800-meter free in wire-to-wire fashion, finishing with a time of 8:13.48. Dylan Bunch took second in 8:16.75, while Jon McKay finished a nearby third in 8:18.87.

Emma Schanz took the women’s 200-meter back with a 2:13.16. She finished ahead of Meryn McCann, who swam in 2:15.11. Ingrid Wilm wound up third with a 2:16.58.

Carter Griffin dominated the men’s 200-meter back, winning with a 2:01.00. Despite narrowly trailing Griffin after the first 50 meters, Russell Wood fell behind to finish second in 2:03.21. Anton Locar rounded out the top three with a 2:04.89.

In the women’s 100-meter breast, SMU’s Rachel Nicol moved up one spot to take the crown in 1:08.94. Fiona Doyle (1:10.30) touched out Tera Van Beilen (1:10.35) to take second.

Despite being unable to crack the two-minute mark, Emily Overholt cruised to a win in the women’s 200-meter free. Her 2:01.91 easily prevailed over second-place finisher Molly Gowans (2:04.98). Mackenzie Padington posted a 2:06.51 to get third.

Yuri Kisil took hold early on to win the men’s 200-meter free. His 1:51.96 was too much for second-place finisher Keegan Zanatta (1:52.15). David Woodman ended up third with a 1:53.26.

Allison McCloy clocked a 5:00.96 to win the women’s 400-meter IM. She came back from third place after the fly leg to win comfortably. Hannah Esopenko strung together a solid final 200 meters to finish second in 5:04.02. Laura Laderoute edged Hillary Metcalfe to get third with a 5:05.90.

Tristan Cote swam away with the men’s 400-meter IM crown, winning with a 4:26.93. William Brothers managed to drop nearly two seconds from prelims to get second with a 4:32.79. Hau-Li Fan finished third in 4:33.60.

Canadian national record holder Noemie Thomas popped off a 27.27 in the women’s 50-meter fly to win the event. Rebecca Terejko was the next closest finisher with a 28.32. She finished just ahead of Wendy Yang, who swam a 28.35.

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