REDS' Kingston Honoured By Sport PEI
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE) Blake Kingston, of the UNB REDS men’s swimming team, has been named Sport PEI’s Male Intercollegiate Athlete of 2024.
Kingston, a Charlottetown native, was honoured Thursday night in a ceremony held in his home city.
“It means a lot,” said Kingston. “It shows just how many people I have supporting me in what I do. My family, Swim PEI, and many other volunteers and people involved with sport on the island all were able to come together and express how thrilled they were that I’m able to compete and succeed with swimming at UNB.”
Kingston, a 5th year Engineering student, won gold medals in the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststrokes at the 2024 Atlantic University Sport Swimming Championships, in Halifax.
He also earned silver and bronze medals in two other events, and in the 100-metre breaststroke final, Kingston established a new conference record. His time of 1:01.75 was 12/100ths of a second better than the previous record.
Kingston was named winner over Theo Hustler, a golfer attending the University of Maine-Augusta, and Joel Gallant, a cross country runner attending STFX.
“The other nominees had great seasons in their own respective sports,” said Kingston. “I think what put me over the top was my success at the AUS Championships last winter.”
“This is a tremendous honour for Blake,” said Marta Belsh, the head coach of UNB’s swimming team. “He had a great season last year, culminating in a fantastic performance at the conference championship meet. I’m excited to see what he can do at the 2025 AUS Championships, which UNB is hosting.”
Kingston and his teammates resume their 2024-2025 AUS season on January 25th, day one of the Dal Tigers Invitational.
The REDS will host the AUS Championships, February 21st through 23rd, at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, in Saint John.
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
FILE PHOTO: Dal Athletics/for Atlantic University Sport