RECAP: Lemesle shines, swim sweeps seconds at RSEQ Championship
The Gee-Gees swim teams each finished in second place and second overall at the RSEQ Championship, held in Trois-Rivières, Que., this past weekend.
This is the second consecutive year the Gee-Gees have swept second place at the conference championship, having done so last year while hosting the event.
Hugo Lemesle was the star of the meet for Ottawa, collecting six total medals, including four golds. The second year Gee-Gee from Nice, France reached the podium in every event he competed in, and his six total medals ties the program record set by Davide Casarin in 2018 and equalled in 2019.
Lemesle won the 100m and 200m breaststroke and collected a pair of relay golds. He also won silver in the 4x100m medley relay and bronze in the 50m breaststroke. Lemesle won five medals (including two golds) at the 2022 RSEQ Championship and took home bronze in the 50m breaststroke at the 2022 U SPORTS National Championship.
Fourteen other Gee-Gees men collected multiple medals at the championship, led by Allen Zheng's two golds and three silvers. Ryan Jensen and Alexandre Perreault also each took home a pair of golds.
The men's grand total of 867 points was the most they've put up at an RSEQ Championship in the history of the program. Remarkably, the McGill men won the 2022 Championship with 872 total points.
On the women's side, Lauren Shearer and Shaunna Walker-de Jong won three medals, while Isabelle Melanson, Rachel McInnes and Vanessa Thebarge each took home a pair.
The Gee-Gees will now shift their focus to the U SPORTS National Championship, which is set to run from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25. The championship will take place at the Saanich Commonwealth Place and will be hosted by the University of Victoria.
List of Gee-Gees Medallists (complete results can be found here):
Hugo Lemesle: 4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Allen Zheng: 2 gold, 3 silver
Ryan Jensen: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Alexandre Perreault: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Colin Shearer: 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
Brendan Van Herk: 1 gold, 2 silver
Evan Aguiar-Winter: 5 silver
Louis Bertrand: 3 silver
Noah Wagner: 2 silver, 1 bronze
Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc: 2 silver
James Steele: 1 silver, 1 bronze
Judson Nickerson: 1 silver
Nathan Schiffmann: 1 silver
Christophe Lanouette: 1 bronze
Lauren Shearer: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Isabelle Melanson: 2 silver
Shaunna Walker-de Jong: 1 silver, 2 bronze
Rachel McInnes: 1 silver, 1 bronze
Vanessa Thebarge: 1 silver, 1 bronze
Taylor Elliott: 1 bronze
Amy Meharg: 1 bronze
Katie Polley: 1 bronze
Margaret Quinn: 1 bronze
Selin Turan: 1 bronze
Overall Team Standings, Combined
- McGill – 2,010
- Ottawa – 1,506
- Laval – 983.5
- Montreal – 621.5
- Sherbrooke – 295
- UQTR – 61
Women's Team Standings
- McGill – 1,017
- Ottawa – 639
- Laval – 511.5
- Montreal – 220.5
- Sherbrooke – 179
- UQTR – 41
Men's Team Standings
- McGill – 993
- Ottawa – 867
- Laval – 472
- Montreal – 291
- Sherbrooke – 116
- UQTR – 20