The 2019 Mel Zajac Jr. International kicked off on Friday night in Vancouver, with some fast swimming and Luca Urlando took center stage.
A full slate of events brought out some strong performances across the board.
Here is a look at what happened on Day 1:
Women’s 200 Back
Jade Hannah earned the first victory of the meet, winning the women’s 200 back. She finished in 2:10.62 to finish nearly two seconds ahead of the field.
Ekaterina Avramova finished second in 2:12.25. followed by Regan Rathwell (2:12.39), Caitlin Brook (2:13.90), Kathryn Ackerman (2:15.36), Charlotte Hook (2:15.49), Ella Varga (2:16.32) and Alexandra Crisera (2:16.85).
Men’s 200 Back
Ian Grum took the victory in the men’s 200 back and won by nearly two seconds. Grum won in 2:00.54.
Cole Pratt finished second in 2:012.13, followed by Robert Hill (2:06.55), Josh Zakala (2:02.78), Sebastian Somerset (2:04.12), William Marois (2:04.20), Hugh McNeil (2:04.64) and Anders Klein (2:05.88).
Women’s 100 Breast
Kelsey Wog was the fastest in the 100 breast, winning in 1:08.31.
Rachel Nicol finished second (1:09.00), followed by Faith Knelson (1:09.36), Abby Arens (1:09.48), Avery Wiseman (1:09.97), Bailey Herbert (1:10.30), Kaitlyn Dobler (1:10.37) and Anna Keating (1:10.57).
Men’s 100 Breast
Caspar Corbeau edged Kevin Houseman by two hundredths of a second to win the 100 breast.
Corbeau finished in 1:02.21, just ahead of Houseman (1:02.23).
Josh Matheny was third (1:02.71), Richard Funk (1:03.09), Jimmy Deiparine (1:03.71), Jaren LeFranc (1:03.73), Ethan Dang (1:04.57) and Jason Louser (1:04.66).
Women’s 200 Free
Emma O’Croinin earned a narrow victory in the 200 free, edging Emily Overholt.
O’Croinin won the race in 2:00.34, followed by Overholt in 2:00.46.
Danica Ludlow was third in 2:00.84, followed by Brooklyn Douthwright (2:02.82), Danielle Hanus (2:03.66), Kathryn Ackerman (2:03.82), Torri Huske (2:04.67) and Genevieve Sasseville (2:05.24).
Men’s 200 Free
Luca Urlando started his meet strong with a nearly two-second victory in the 200 free. Urlando won the event in 1:47.81 to hold off Markus Thormeyer (1:49.66).
Jeremy Bagshaw was third in 1:50.56, followed by Alexander Pratt (1:51.32), Cale Murdock (1:52.28), Carson Olafson (1:53.18), Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc (1:53.49) and Connor Daniels (1:53.82).
Women’s 400 IM
Isabel Gormley put together four strong strokes to win the 400 IM, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of anyone else in the field.
Gormley won the event in 4:47.58, followed by Charlotte Hook (4:49.24).
Abby Arens finished third in 4:50.22, followed by Mean Dalke (4:50.33), Avery Wiseman (4:52.37), Bailey Herbert (4:53.05), Allison McCloy (4:54.80) and Catherine Minic (4:57.10).
Men’s 400 IM
Tristan Cote crushed the field in the men’s 400 IM to win in 4:21.60, nearly seven seconds ahead of the field.
Jason Louser finished second (4:27.02), followed by Josh Zakala (4:28.16), Ian Grum (4:29.66), Kevin Keil (4:32.82), Matt Fallon (4:34.11), Ryan Jensen (4:36.26) and Brodie Young (4:36.99).
Women’s 50 Fly
Torri Huske finished the women’s session with a close victory in the 50 fly, winning in 26.57.
Haley Black finished second in 26.73, followed by Olivia Bray (26.83), Jade Hannah (27.31), Danielle Hanus (27.50), Hoi Lam Tam (27.59), Coleen Gillilan (27.65) and Kelsey Wog (27.69).
Men’s 50 Fly
Luca Urlando closed the first night with his second victory, winning the 50 fly in 24.15.
Mehdi Ayoubi finished second in 24.45, followed by Finlay Knox (24.65) and Markus Thormeyer (24.77).
Kyle Robrock finished fifth (24.87), followed by River Wright (24.99), Stephen Valkins (25.02) and Josiah Binnema (25.07).
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