They鈥檙e young, but the University of Victoria Vikes swim team plans on making a splash at this week鈥檚 U Sports National Swimming Championships in Toronto.
With only one fifth-year swimmer 鈥� Jon McKay 鈥� the Vikes head east looking to use their youthful enthusiasm to their advantage.
Buzz Mallender, Kaitlyn Gervais and Taylor Snowden-Richardson are fourth-year swimmers who will be counted on to carry a heavy load, but so to will national team swimmer Eric Hedlin. Hedlin is the lone medallist returning from last year鈥檚 Vikes team which finished seventh overall at nationals. He will compete in the 200, 400, and 1,500-metre freestyle races, as well as the 400-metre individual medley.
On the women鈥檚 side, Danielle Hanus will be busy. She is the No. 1-ranked butterfly swimmer over 200 metres in U Sports and will compete in that event at nationals as well as the 100-metre butterfly and 50, 100, and 200-metre backstroke events.
Camosun men eye sa国际传媒 volleyball title
The Camosun College Chargers men鈥檚 volleyball team is peaking at the right time, and it鈥檚 a good thing because they鈥檙e hosting the national championship next month.
The Chargers, three-time defending Pacwest champions, head into this week鈥檚 provincial championship tournament at the University of Fraser Valley seeded third among the six teams but they come into the tournament having won seven of their past eight matches.
Head coach Charles Parkinson鈥檚 squad, which finished 13-11 overall this season, opens play at the conference championship today against sixth-seeded College of the Rockies. A victory over the Avalanche would set up a semifinal showdown with second-seed Capilano on Friday. The gold-medal match is slated for Saturday. The Pacwest champion advances to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship March 7-10 at Camosun鈥檚 Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence.
PCHA adds a world title
The Pacific Coast Hockey Academy out of Langford joined some prestigious company last weekend.
The Island squad joined the likes of Shattuck St. Mary鈥檚 and St. Andrew鈥檚 College in a short list of Canadian teams to win the annual World Sport School Challenge in Toronto.
PCHA claimed the title thanks to a 5-2 win over The Hill Academy U-18 team from Ontario in the gold-medal game. Jacob King, Tanner Pochipinski, Gabe Schovanek, Matthew Clark and Sean Ramsey all had goals for PCHA, while Sean Kanervisto made 29 saves for the victory.
Drope runs away with Hatley 8K
Cold temperatures couldn鈥檛 cool off Shelby Drope.
The Bastion Run Club member from Nanaimo won his third Island Race Series event of 2018 when he cruised to victory in last weekend鈥檚 Hatley Castle 8K. Drope, who also won the Cobble Hill 10K and the Cedar 8K, won Sunday鈥檚 race in a time of 27:08. Runner-up was Nick Walker in 28:02, while Robert Johnson finished third in 28:24. The top woman was Melissa Ross with a time of 31:09.
Next up for the Island Race Series is the Port Alberni Paper Chase on March 4.
Another Erg win for Victoria rower
A trip to Virginia was well worth it for Carl Schoch.
The Victoria City Rowing Club member took part in the Erg Sprints World Rowing Indoor Championships in Alexandria, Virginia, and returned home with a bronze medal.
Schoch, who qualified the world championships thanks to his first-place finish in the Masters C+ event at the recent Monster Erg at the University of Victoria, finished third in Virginia in the Veteran C Men鈥檚 2,000 metre sprint with a time of 6:39.5.
