The Merrily Stratten Divisional Championships kicked off yesterday, and it was a day filled with excitement and intense competition. After the first day of the Upper Division Teams of the OUA, the Warrior teams managed to climb up a place on their finishes from last year's competition. With a new school record and several top-three finishes, the Warriors are all set to battle it out on Sunday to maintain their ranking. 

As of now, the University of Toronto holds the top spot in both the Men's and Women's categories, with the University of Waterloo and Western University following closely behind.

 The Warrior Men began the evening with a bang, setting a new school record in the 4x50m Freestyle relay and placing second with a time of 1:31.20. Raymond Duong (Markham/), Allen Zheng (Ottawa/), Cristian Ciorogariu (Waterloo/), and Lukas Wormald (Kitchener/) worked together to break the previous record set at OUA in 2023 of 1:32:02. The Warrior Men also managed to secure top-three finishes in the 400m Individual Medley and the 50m Freestyle, while the Warrior Women grabbed third place in the 100m Fly. Among the top performers from the Warrior teams were Kevin Zhang (Mississauga/), Hannah Gallagher (Waterloo/), Allen Zheng (Ottawa/), Megan Frost (Pointe Claire/), and Aidan Iapicco (St. Catharine's/), who clinched second place in the 800m and 1500m Freestyle, respectively.

 With the competition heating up, the Warriors are all set to give their best shot on Sunday and battle it out with the best teams in the Upper Division. The competition promises to be fierce, and it remains to be seen who will come out on top in the upcoming events.

Team Rankings after 18 events:

Men
University of Toronto 503
University of Waterloo 377
Western University 329
University of Guelph 214

Women
University of Toronto 601
Western University 372
University of Waterloo 256
University of Guelph 208

Warriors Top 3 finishes were also achieved in:

400m Individual Medley
3rd Kevin Zhang (Mississauga/) 4:30.22

100m Fly
3rd Hannah Gallagher (Waterloo/) 1:02.38

50m Freestyle
2nd Allen Zheng (Ottawa/) 22.86

800m Freestyle
2nd Megan Frost (Pointe Claire/) 9:04.97

1500m Freestyle
2nd Aidan Iapicco (St. Catharine's/) 15:57.09