Sending a two-swimmer delegation to the recent Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal, the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club essentially went two for two.

While there were certainly other mini-goals when you are dealing with a sport as numerically inclined as swimming, there is little doubt that Alexandre Landry and Owen Baas were definitely on target when it came to their big takeaway goals.

A veteran of the Sudbury swim team who is heading to study and swim with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees in the fall, Alexandre Landry was looking to work his way back into top-ten territory in the country in his signature breaststroke event.

With swims of 28.74 and 28.75 (prelim and finals) in the 50m breast and 1:03.17 and 1:03.01 at the 100m distance, Landry would not only complete his meet against the very best swimmers in the country with 9th and 10th place performances, but also personal best times in the process.

"It was a long time coming," said the 23 year-old Valley East resident with a laugh. "I had not PB'd in that race (50m breast) since March of 2025. I think it's mostly just from extra strength, gym training. I'm more explosive off the blocks - and there's more strength on every pull."

About the only downside to the meet for the young man who completed his undergraduate degree at Laurentian University was the fact that a slight core injury forced him to sit out the 200m breaststroke that was scheduled for day three of the five day event, right between his two other races.

"This was a good boost for my ego."

Just 17 years of age, Owen Baas will join Landry at Ottawa U, fresh off a Trials meet where he qualified for the "A" finals of the junior age bracket competitors. The North Bay native who decided to attend Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury in order to swim with the SLSC the past two years had his best showing in the 400m individual medley.

From a previous PB of 4:42.46, Baas lowered his time to 4:35.13 in his heat swim, ranking sixth and was just off that pace (4:35.53) in placing eighth in the final. He also chopped time off his 200m individual medley best of 2:09.80, swimming 2:09.10 and 2:09.19 in earning an 11th place showing in a top-12 showdown.

While he did not hit the Trials standard in the 200m butterfly, Baas was allowed to swim in a time trial event (just to keep busy racing), placing first in the 200m butterfly and shaving nearly four seconds off his time, down to 2:08.28.