Van Herk Named Guelph Athlete of the Week, Wins OUA Bronzes

Cedar Springs swimmer Shania Van Herk won a pair of bronze medals at this week’s OUA swimming championships, earning her recognition as the University of Guelph Female Athlete of the Week, and a spot at the USports Swimming Championships later this month.

Below is the news release from Gryphons.ca

“Fifth-year swimmer Shania Van Herk takes home Athlete of the Week honours after a strong showing at the 2020 OUA Swimming Championships in Toronto. Shania Van HerkThe human kinetics major took home a pair of bronze medals from the conference championship meet, earning a bronze in the women’s 50m backstroke, as well as another bronze in the women’s 200m medley relay.

The Cedar Springs, Ontario native posted a time of 28.71 in the women’s 50m backstroke, making her the fastest female Gryphon ever in that event (breaking a decade-old school record). In the relay, Van Herk teamed with Samantha Anderson, Sasha Kennedy and Meaghan Kearney to reach the podium in the 200m medley relay, helping the Gryphon women finish 4th in the overall team standings out of 11 schools.

Van Herk, who was named a team captain prior to the start of the 2019-20 season, will cap off her varsity swimming career in Victoria, B.C. as she is one of five Gryphon swimmers who have currently qualified to compete at the 2020 U SPORTS Swimming Championships (Feb. 20-22 at the University of Victoria).“