Axemen and Axewomen finish second in respective team standings at AUS Championship

The third and final day of 2023 AUS Swim Championships, hosted in St. John's NL, concluded with the Dalhousie University Tigers claiming both the Men's and Women's AUS Championships following an action-packed day in the pool.

The evening began with a women's 200m butterfly final that saw Allison McCloy of Dalhousie university win her fourth gold medal of the weekend in a time of 2.17.93. Heidi Perry of Memorial University claimed the silver, followed by Hannah Casey of the University of New Brunswick.

On the men's side of the 200m butterfly finals, Dalhousie displayed dominance, sweeping the podium. Freddy Chandler-Bass narrowly overcame his teammate Isaac Bahler with a gold-medal time of 2:03.83. Will Myrer captured the bronze, finishing in 2:07.90

Dalhousie's gold medal success continued in the women's 100m freestyle final, as Regan Crowell came out on top with a U-SPORTS-qualifying time of 56.67. Taking the silver was Jennifer Moore of UNB, followed by Elaine Gentleman of Dalhousie.

In the Men's 100m freestyle final Noah Mascoll-Gomes (Dalhousie) flirted with his own AUS record, winning gold with a time 49.68. A fierce battle for silver saw Bo Stokesbury-Price (Acadia) edge out Thomas Chafe (Memorial) by two hundredths of a second, finishing in 51.26.

Allison McCloy's dominance continued in the women's 200m breaststroke final, claiming another gold medal for the Dalhousie Tigers with a time of 2:34.87. Not far behind McCloy was the Acadia Axewoman Ella Collins with a timeof 2:35.70, with Dalhousie's Kate Tuck capturing the bronze. Both McCloy and Collins recorded times below the U SPORTS qualifying standard.

In the men's 200m breaststroke final, Blake Kingston of UNB and Gordon Shortt of Acadia battled until the very last meter. In the end, it was Kingston coming out on top, winning gold with a time of 2:18.30. Matty Whelan of Memorial closed the gap in the final lap but had to settle for bronze with a time of 2:20.02.

Rookie phenom Sophie Rooney of Acadia University added to her medal total with a comfortable win in the women's 200m backstroke final in a time of 2:13.62. Taking the silver was Kate Williams of Memorial, followed by Emilie Schofield of Dalhousie rounding off the podium. Rooney's gold-winning time was good enough to beat the U SPORTS qualifying time of 2:17.86.

On the men's side of the 200m backstroke final, Dean Sangster (Acadia) put forth a U SPORTS-qualifying effort to claim gold in a time of 2:00.52. Sangster's teammate Aaron Day captured silver in a time of 2:06.36, followed closely by Alex Dalessio of Dalhousie (2:06.45).

In the women's 800m freestyle final Regan Crowell of Dalhousie proved why she is a U SPORTS qualifier, taking home the gold in a time of 8:54.71. Alongside Crowell on the podium are her Dalhousie teammates Ella Dobson and Sophie Idle, winning the silver and bronze, respectively.

The men's 1500m freestyle finals marked the final individual event of the 2023 AUS Swim Championships. After a grueling 60 laps in the pool, Logan Sparkes finished strong to capture the gold in an impressive time of 16:04.03. Myles McTavish of Acadia claimed silver in a time of 16:37.78, followed by Ewan Maclean of Dalhousie taking the bronze in 16:47.60.

In the women's 4x100m freestyle relay very little separated the medalists. Dalhousie's Regan Crowell, Allison McCloy, Elaine Gentleman, and Kate Tuck finished first in a time of 3:54.08. In second place with a time of 3:55.67 was UNB's Jessie Collett, Hannah MacLeod, Elodie Martin, and Jennifer Moore. Taking the bronze was Acadia's Emma Hamlyn, Kassidy Hamilton, Sara Bennett, and Sophie Rooney with a time of 3:56.75.

The final event of the night was the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. Acadia and Dalhousie battled back and forth for the top spot, however in the end it was Acadia'steam of Gordon Shortt, Shane Kenny, Dean Sangster, and Bo Stokesbury-Price seizing the gold medal in a time of 3:22.99. Dalhousie's contingent of Noah Mascoll-Gomes, Cole Mitchell, Freddy Chandler-Baas, and Ethan Boyle placed second in 3:24.33.

Memorial University's Matty Whelan, Logan Palmer, Dylan Morawski, and Thomas Chafe won the bronze medal in a time of 3:29.68.

Final team standings are as follows:

Women's
Dalhousie – 930.5
Acadia – 692.5
Memorial – 623
UNB – 460
Mount Allison – 265

Men's
Dalhousie – 968
Acadia – 860.5
Memorial – 519.5
UNB – 374
Mount Allison – 195