MAC Spring Invitational 2025 Highlights

MAC Spring Invitational 2025 Highlights

The Barrie Trojans were at the Markham Pan Am Centre May 15-18 racing at the MAC Spring Invitational swim meet. BTSC had 92 athletes competing against 22 other clubs including four from Atlantic Canada. 

***The girls 11-12 year old 4x50M medley relay team of Blayke Taylor, Sam Brundage, Raevyn Maule and Avah-Skye Miller set a new National record with a time of 2:07.70.***  

***Alessa Darby bettered her own provincial record for the 200M IM sm6 classification with a time of 4:24.45.***

Here are some more highlights from the meet.

Thursday Sessions

The meet started with the 800M and 1500M freestyle events with the fastest heats being swum in the Friday and Saturday finals sessions. BTSC swimmers were prevalent in the top 10 with many personal best times achieved.

Will McConachie was fastest in the 13-14 year old boys 800M event and touched the wall with a best time and the gold medal. Blayke Taylor claimed the 11-12 year old girls silver medal with a best time and Taira Vroom was the silver medallist for her age category. Sam Brundage (4th), Kennedy Jackson (5th), Emma Vaughan (7th), Harper Ferguson (8th), Rydaar Watt (4th), Nathan Orava (7th), and William Rupay (9th), were all top 10 finishers. There were notable swims put in by Blayke Taylor, Kennedy Jackson, Emma Vaughan, Maggie Taylor, Clare Pretty, Rydaar Watt, Nathan Orava, William Rupay, Will McConachie, Edwin Huang, Namiid Khan, Cole Harrison and Dylan George, as evidenced by greater than 10 second time improvements.

In the 1500M events, Griff Seguin won the bronze medal. Shea Gillespie (4th), Cassidy Meeuwse (6th), and Finn Taylor (10th) were top 10 swimmers. Finn’s finish time was 53 seconds faster than his seed time.

Friday Sessions

The morning session consisted of preliminary races for the older age groups starting with 400M freestyle.

Will McConachie won the gold medal for his 400M freestyle race taking advantage of a 4 second best time. Scotty Sutton finished 7th overall for the older boys. Keira Hornby claimed the bronze medal for her age group with Emma Vaughan and Harper Ferguson finishing 7th and 10th. Laila Oravsky was the silver medal winner for 15 year old and over swimmers with Shea Gillespie placing 9th. Cassidy Meeuwse had a big best time finishing over 14 seconds faster than her entry time. Similarly, Anton Chaikouski and Namiid Khan reached the end of 400M 17 and 14 seconds quicker respectively. Dylan George and Owen Oatway also had impressive swims logging 9 and 12 second time improvements.

In the next event, 200M IM, Kaia Hornby, Kenzie Sparrow, Taira Vroom and Avery Knight qualified for the A finals. Kaia raced to the bronze medal and Kenzie placed 10th. Taira was the bronze medallist in her age group with Avery placing 8th. Kaelyn Vroom made it to the B final where she was 3rd fastest in that race. In the boys events, Will McConachie and Lucian Vilchez earned A final swims while Ben Millar and Griff Seguin qualified for the B final. Will was on top of the podium again with a gold medal swim and Lucian finished 4th. Harper Ferguson and Reese Anderson swam 14 and 9 second personal bests.

Kenzie Sparrow, Clara Vilchez, Taira Vroom and Laila Oravsky qualified for the 50M freestyle A finals while Julia Denes and Ben Millar gained spots in the B final. Clara and Kenzie were the silver and bronze medal recipients for their respective age groups while Taira and Laila finished 7th and 9th.

Avery Knight qualified for the A final in the 100M backstroke where she earned the bronze medal. Keira Hornby and Julia Denes were B final qualifiers where they finished 1st and 2nd in their respective races. In boys 100M backstroke, Lucian Vilchez claimed a place in the A final while Nathan Vaughan, Evan Beatty and Daniel Eperjessy earned an extra swim in the B final. Lucian was the silver medal winner in his race.

The 4x50M freestyle relay team of Kenzie Sparrow, Laila Oravsky, Kaia Hornby and Taira Vroom raced to the silver medal.

Our 12 year old and under swimmers raced in the afternoon.

Blayke Taylor took the silver medal position on the podium for the 400M freestyle. Emma Mackie was 4th, leveraging a 27 second best time. Kennedy Jackson placed 5th overall and was the fastest 11 year old. For the boys, Chase Turner finished 24 seconds faster than his seed time to reach the podium as the silver medallist. Rydaar Watt, William Rupay and Nathan Orava were top 10 swimmers placing 5th, 8th and 9th.

Of note, all of the BTSC swimmers in these events set a new personal best time. In addition to those already mentioned, Raevyn Maule, Sophie Bowen, Leah Martin, Alexa Mackie, Vladislava Shneider, Amylee Courchesne, Brynn Oatway, and Finn Harrison all made it to the finish quicker.

In the 200m IM, Alessa Darby broke her own provincial record for the sm6 classification with a time of 4:24.45. Sam Brundage swam to a gold medal. Emma Mackie and Kennedy Jackson placed 4th and 5th overall in their respective age groups. For the boys, Chase Turner was the bronze medal winner while Rydaar Watt finished 6th overall. Ben DePiero had a 30 second best time and Vladislava Shneider set a new personal standard 19 seconds faster.

Blayke Taylor set a new 50M freestyle Club record time of 28.18 to earn a silver medal and Avah-Skye Miller dropped 1 second to claim the bronze medal. Sam Brundage finished 5th and Emma Mackie placed 9th. Kennedy Jackson had a 5 second best time. In the boys races, Chase Turner and William Rupay were top 10 finishers, placing 4th and 8th.

Avah-Skye Miller earned the top BTSC placement in the 100M backstroke by finishing 6th overall.

The girls 50M freestyle relay team of Blayke Taylor, Sam Brundage, Alexa Mackie and Avah-Skye Miller broke a 17 year old Club record with a time of 1:56.95 resulting in a gold medal.

Saturday Sessions

Back in the pool starting with 400M IM. Will McCoanchie claimed the gold medal in a Club record time of 4:53.31. Evan Beatty, Anton Chaokouski, Edwin Huang, Finn Taylor, Eva Mankarios, Harper Ferguson, Molly Robinson, and Reilynn Oevering all had very good first swims of the day, improving upon their seed times substantially. Eva placed 5th overall. Laila Oravsky swam to a 4th place finish and Lucian Vilchez, Griff Seguin and Scotty Sutton placed 4th, 5th, and 8th respectively. Lucian and Griff had 18 and 10 second best times.

Keira Hornby, Julia Denes, and Ben Millar qualified for the 50M backstroke final where they ultimately finished 9th, 9th and 10th overall in their age groups.

Kaia Hornby set a new 100M butterfly Club record with a time of 1:03.64 in her preliminary swim. Along with Kaia, Taira Vroom, Avery Knight, Kenzie Sparrow and Clara Vilchez qualified for the A final. Marissa Battrick, Eva Mankarios, Noemi Blake and Sydney Colquhoun earned another swim in the B final. Avery won the silver medal while Clara, Taira and Kenzie placed 5th, 6th and 9th overall respectively. Marissa won her B final race. For the boys, Will McConachie swam to a spot in the A final while Tate Devroom, Edwin Huang, Tyler Millar and Nathan Vaughan qualified to swim in the B final. Will bettered his own Club record time to set a new standard of 1:01.28 on his way to winning the silver medal. Tate Devroom won his B final race.  Of note, Davis Kozanczyn swam to an 8 second personal best time.

BTSC had 3 swimmers qualify for the 13-14 year old 200M freestyle A final. They were Kaia and Keira Hornby, and Marissa Battrick. Kaia established a new Club record time of 2:08.12 to take the gold medal. Marissa and Keira finished 5th and 10th. Laila Oravsky and Taira Vroom raced in the over 15 year old A final where they placed 7th and 9th. Kenzie Sparrow, Emma Vaughan, Julia Denes and Shea Gillespie were B final qualifiers. Maggie McConachie had a 9 second best time. Scotty Sutton and Griff Seguin earned berths in the boys A final where they finished 7th and 8th. Ben Millar and Evan Beatty made it to the B final.

The 100M breaststroke preliminary races saw Kaelyn Vroom and Julia Denes qualify for the A final and Kylie Sarabura gain entry into the B final. Kaelyn finished 5th and Julia 9th while Kylie won the B final. In the boys races, Nikita Manziy claimed an A final spot and finished 10th overall. Daniel Eperjessy was a B finalist. Lucien Vilchez had a 10 second personal best time.

The girls 4x50M medley relay team of Avery Knight, Laila Oravsky, Taira Vroom and Kaia Hornby raced to a gold medal finish in a very tight race. The boys team of Lucian Vilchez, Scotty Sutton, Ben Millar and Griff Seguin jumped one seeding placement with a best time to grab the bronze medal.

In the afternoon session, Rydaar Watt swam 12 seconds faster than his 400M IM seed time to grab the silver medal. Kennedy Jackson had a 13 second best time to finish her 400m IM in 6th place. Leah Martin and Sophie Bowen also had excellent swims taking off 9 and 42 seconds to set new personal standards.

The 50M backstroke saw Blayke Taylor win the gold medal with Avah-Syke Miller finishing in 4th in that race. Chase Turner was also the gold medallist in this event using a personal best time to climb two seed positions to the top of the podium. Finn Harrison had an over 5 second best time.

A 1:08.17 clocking gave Blayke Taylor the gold medal and new 100M butterfly Club record. Raevyn Maule and Kennedy Jackson were top 10 finishers placing 6th and 9th. Emma Mackie placed 6th in the 10 year old and under races. Rydaar Watt finished in 5th place.

Avah-Skye Miller used a best time and jumped 4 seed positions to win the 200m freestyle bronze medal. Chase Turner improved his best time by 8 seconds to earn his own bronze medal in the 10 year old and under boys event. Raevyn Maule finished 9th overall and William Rupay placed 6th.

There was more BTSC hardware in the 100M breastroke where Sam Brundage and Rydaar Watt swam to gold medals. Alexa Mackie and Blayke Taylor were top 10 finishers placing 6th and 9th. Chase Turner finished 10th overall and Finn Harrison had an excellent swim dropping 6 seconds off his seed time.

Blayke Taylor, Sam Brundage, Raevyn Maule and Avah-Skye Miller claimed the gold medal and set a new Canadian record (and Ontario and Club record) time of 2:07.70 in the 4x50M medley relay. 

Sunday Sessions

The last day of competition started with Avery Knight, Will McConachie, Lucian Vilchez and Evan Beatty qualifying for A finals in 200M backstroke. Avery and Lucian swam to silver medals in their finals. Evan placed 7th. Matt Creasor, Ben Millar, Nathan Vaughan, Maggie Taylor, Sam Takacs and Shea Gillespie earned spots in the B finals. Shea won her B final race. 

Clara Vilchez, Kaia Hornby, Kenzie Sparrow, Avery Knight and Julia Denes qualified for the girls 50M butterfly finals. Clara set a new Club record in her preliminary race of 29.46. She bettered it in the finals with a time of 28.89 which also earned her the gold medal and is a Canadian Trials qualifying time. Kaia won the bronze medal and Kenzie placed 10th overall. Avery took 4th spot in her finals race.Tate Devroom qualified for the boys A final where he finished in 5th.. 

In the next event, 200M breaststroke, Emma Vaughan, Reese Anderson, Laila Oravsky, Kaelyn Vroom and Julia Denes earned a lane in the A final. In the final, Laila touched the wall in 3rd to win the bronze medal while Kaelyn placed 5th. Reese and Emma finished 9th and 10th overall. Kylie Sarabura, Julia Logan and Reilynn Oevering qualified for B final swims. In the boys preliminary races, Anton Chaikouski and Scotty Sutton made the A finals, while Nikita Manziy and Finn Taylor grabbed spots in the B finals. Scotty earned the bronze medal in his final.

Kaia Hornby sped to a 1.5 second best time to set a Club record time of 59.98 in the 100m freestyle preliminary racing. Along with Kaia, Kenzie Sparrow and Clara Vilchez qualified for the 13-14 year old A final. Kaia won the silver medal at finals and Kenzie and Clara finished 6th and 10th. Marissa Battrick and Keira Hornby qualified for the B final. For the older age group category, Taira Vroom and Laila Oravsky were A final qualifiers. In the final, Taira raced to the gold medal and Laila placed 9th. Lucian Vilchez qualified for the boys A final and Tate Devroom swam in the B final. Lucian finished 5th overall.

Anton Chaikouski, Nikita Manziy, Scotty Sutton and Laila Oravsky were 50M breaststroke A final qualifiers. Scotty finished his final in 5th and Laila was 10th.

In the last event of the session, 200M butterfly, Marissa Battrick, Taira Vroom, and Sydney Colquhoun gained places in the girls A finals. Marissa and Taira finished 5th in their respective age groups and Sydney was 6th. For the boys, Will McConachie, Ben Millar, Tyler Millar, and Griff Seguin made it to the A finals. Will claimed the silver medal in finals. Tyler, Ben and Griff finished in 4th, 7th and 8th in their races. Maggie McConachie and Nathan Vaughan were B finals qualifiers where they both finished 2nd in that race.

The boys 4x100m freestyle relay team of Ben Millar, Lucian Vilchez, Griff Seguin and Nathan Vaughan established a new Club record time of 3:44.77 and earned a bronze medal. The girls team of Laila Oravsky, Taira Vroom, Clara Vilchez and Kaia Hornby were also bronze medallists.

In the afternoon session, Chase Turner was the fastest 10 year old swimmer in the 200M backstroke resulting in the gold medal. Emma Mackie placed 10th and Jessica Enwright had a 16 second best time. 

The 50M butterfly saw BTSC 11-12 year old swimmers take lots of spots in the top 10. Blake Taylor and Avah-Skye Miller shared the podium with a gold and silver medal respectively. Sam Brundage and Raevyn Maule placed 5th and 6th. Kennedy Jackson had a 36 second best time. Emma Mackie placed 10th in the 10 year old and under races. In the boys racing, Chase Turner is the bronze medallist for this event.

Emma Mackie won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke in a very tight race where the top 3 swimmers were separated by just over one second. Rydaar Watt was also a 200M breaststroke gold medalist. Finn Harrison had an excellent swim, bettering his seed time by 13 seconds.

The 100M freestyle silver medal was awarded to Blayke Taylor. Avah-Skye Miller placed 4th with a 9 second personal best followed by Sam Brundage, Kennedy Jackson and Alexa Mackie in 5th, 8th and 9th. Kennedy was the fastest 11 year old. Jessica Enwright and Brook Ross had very good swims, shaving 6 and 5 seconds off their seed times. 

Raevyn Maule used a 7 second best time to finish 4th in the 50M breaststroke. 

Chase Turner won the 10 year old and under gold medal in 200m butterfly while Rydaar Watt earned the silver medal in his age group going 8 seconds quicker than his entry time. Chase’s time of 3:28.79 is a new Club record. 

Well done swimmers and coaches!

Congratulations to Laura Vaughan for achieving her Level IV Official certification! Thank you Laura for all of the hard work required to reach this milestone.

Thank you to our Club sponsors for their support for our swimmers. They are Brandy's Cove Yachting Centre, Georgian BMW and Jackson’s Toyota.

Go Trojans!