Galen Zhang sets school record in Cougar debut

First-year swimmer clocks 29.13 seconds in 50 breast at Norm Banfield meet

10/5/2026 12:51:00 PM

QUICKLY

University of Regina first-year swimmer Galen Zhang broke the school record in the 50-metre breaststroke as the Cougars opened the season at the Norm Banfield Memorial Meet over the weekend at the Lawson Aquatic Centre.

ZHANG DEBUTS WITH RECORD

Zhang opened his U SPORTS career with a strong time of 1:03.81 in the 100-metre breaststroke on Saturday morning before rewriting the record book on Sunday. He won the 50 breast in 29.13 seconds, breaking the previous U of R record of 29.24 set by Chris Myers in 2016. Zhang competed in six events over the weekend and won five of them.

SIX WOMEN'S SWIMMERS CLAIM WINS

Six Cougars combined for 11 first-place finishes on the women's side, led by Mekayla Erpelo with victories in the 50-metre backstroke, 100 back, and 200 individual medley.
Chloe Hegi won both the 50 and 200 free, Beatrize Mabalay took first in the 100 and 200 breast, and Sadie Anderson won the 50 fly and 100 IM. Kelsey Jones added a victory in the 50 breast, while Jocelyn Murguly took first in the 100 free in a personal-best time of 1:01.03, improving her previous best by more than two seconds.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Isaac Currie won four races for the Cougars, highlighted by a personal-best time of 53.06 seconds in the 100-metre freestyle. Currie also won the 200 back, 100 fly, and 200 fly.
Logan Milman earned two victories in his Cougar debut, winning the 200-metre freestyle and clocking a personal-best 4:06.87 to take first in the 400 free.
Ethan Elliott and Mason Hickman also earned victories for Regina, winning the 50 free and 100 back, respectively.
The Cougars recorded 35 personal-best performances over the weekend, including 22 on the men's side and 13 on the women's.

NEXT UP

Regina has two meets remaining before the Canada West Championships in late November in Victoria. The Cougars will compete at the Mike Brough Memorial Cup in Regina in mid-October before heading to UBC for the University Cup Pacific in early November.