File photo of University of Lethbridge Pronghorns swimming head coach Peter Schori, March 29, 2022. The U of L hosts the 2022 Canada West Swimming Championship Friday, November 25 to Sunday, November 27, 2022. (File photo: LNN)

By Justin Goulet

U of L Pronghorns host 2022 Canada West Swimming Championship this weekend

Nov 23, 2022 | 11:19 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Swimmers at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) have a big weekend ahead.

From Friday, November 25 to Sunday, November 27, 2022, the U of L Pronghorns host the 2022 Canada West Swimming Championship, presented by the Lethbridge Lodging Association.

In a release, Pronghorns manager of athletics Spencer Pommells said, “Welcoming the best swimmers in Western Canada to our campus and to our pool for three days will be outstanding because these kids are ones who are hoping to qualify for the Olympics and aren’t too far off.”

Pommells added, “The idea of having our pool packed with fans, the kids are excited and our coaching staff is thrilled. [Pronghorns head coach] Peter Schori has done one heck of a job with the program.”

“The team is looking really good.”

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Pommells noted that early season rankings have the Pronghorns ranked fifth in all of Canada.

He said, “They’re young, so we’re excited about the future.”

“We have a couple young swimmers who have already qualified for U SPORTS, include Ryenne Katterhagen, who is sitting number two in the country in the 100 [metre] breaststroke. The program is doing quite well right now.”

This weekend’s championship event is expected to bring roughly 200 swimmers to Lethbridge.

The Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club will assist in operating the event by providing some on-deck officials, meet managers, rules officials and chairs.

Pommells stated, “They’re going to bring 40 to 50 volunteers for the weekend.”

This will be the first time since 2019 that the U of L has hosted the championship.

Among some of the highlights at the 2019 event was Lethbridge swimmer Chris Alexander winning a bronze medal in the 100-metre backstroke, his first individual Canada West medal.

Alexander also broke his school record in the 50-metre backstroke by finishing in fourth place. Additionally, the U of L men’s relay team won the program’s first-ever relay silver medal in 2019.

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