The youngsters from Preston Swimming Club showed off their talent as they made a huge impact at this year’s annual North Lancs competition, with 99 of the races having at least one swimmer in the top 3.
The gala, which was held at the new Palatine pool in Blackpool on the 28th and 29th January, saw no fewer then 26 swimmers finish in the top 10 for their respective Bagcat age groups, with those who finished in the top six received a special badge. Some of the swimmers finished at the top of the pile with Florie McLeish, Luke Pool and Joanne Cutler all finishing first overall in their Bagat age groups.
One swimmer who finished in the top six was Cameron Austin who came second in the boy’s 10-year-old age group. Austin managed to finish fifth in the 50m Breaststroke, third in the 50m, 200m and 400m freestyle and 200m Breaststroke, second in the 100m and 200m Individual Medley and 50m Backstroke and first in the 50m Butterfly and 200m Butterfly.
In the girls group there were two swimmers who had not just finished in the top 10, but in the top three. Hannah Pike came third after two fourth place positions in the 200m Freestyle and Backstroke events, five seconds with the 50m and 100m Freestyle and the 100m Individual Medley, Butterfly and Backstroke and two wins in the 50m Breaststroke and Backstroke.
Florie McLeish had left the rest of the competition out to dry as she managed to win an astounding six events to make her finish first in her age group. She won the 50m and 200m Butterfly, 100m and 200m Individual Medley and the 200m and 400m Freestyle. She came second in the 50m and 200m Breaststroke and the 200m Backstroke as well as finishing fourth in the 50m Freestyle and sixth in the 50m Backstroke.
The 11-year-old boys also had two swimmers in the top three as Luke Pool beat the rest of the competition with wins in four events; the 100m Butterfly and Backstroke and the 200m and 400m Freestyle. Pool also got one second with the 50m Free, two thirds in the 800m Free and 100m Breaststroke, two fourths with the 200m Individual Medley and Breaststroke, two fifths in the 50m Backstroke and Breaststroke and finished sixth in the 50m Butterfly.
In second place was Phillip Mason, who managed to come in second in the 200m and 400m Free, third in the 200m Butterfly and Individual Medley, forth in the 800m Free, fifth in the 50m Butterfly, seventh in the 50m Free, eighth in the 50m Backstroke and twelfth in the 50m Breaststroke.
It was the same story for the girls too as they had one girl who finished first and one who finished second. Joanne Cutler had managed to haul in a fantastic seven firsts with wins in the 100m and 200m Free, 100m and 200m Butterfly, 100m and 200m Breaststroke and the 200m Individual Medley. Also with a second in the 400m Free and a seventh in the 200m Backstroke, Cutler had ensured she came out on top.
Madeline Robinson was not far behind however as she achieved three wins in the 100m and 200m Backstroke and the 400m Free. Robinson also got three seconds in the 100m and 200m Free and the 200m Breaststroke and a fourth in the 800m Freestyle.
The 13-year-old boys also saw three lads make the top six mark with Dean Heaps finishing second, Justin Austin in fourth and John Rainford in fifth. Heaps got two seconds with the 200m Breaststroke and the gruelling 1500m Freestyle. He also managed to finish third in the 800m Free, fourth in the 200m of the same event, fifth in the 100m Breaststroke, ninth in the 200m Individual Medley and twelfth in the 100m Free.
Austin managed to finish second in the 200m Backstroke and Butterfly, third in the 100m Backstroke and 400m Individual Medley, fourth in the 100m Butterfly, 400m, 800m and 1500m Free. On top of that he also managed to achieve seventh in the 200m Breaststroke and Free, a twelfth in the 100m Breaststroke and thirteenth in the 100m Free.
Rainford got into the top six with a third in the 100m Breaststroke, fourth in the 200m Breaststroke, fifth in the 200m Free, seventh in the 200m Individual Medley and eighth in the 100m Free.
It was a similar story for the 13-year-old as Lisa Gorton finished second overall with a win in the 200m Butterfly, seconds in the 100m, 200m and 400m Free and the 100m and 200m Backstroke and two thirds with the 100m Butterfly and 200m Individual Medley.
Lois Newton achieved three firsts with the 200m and 1500m Freestyle and the 200m Breaststroke while achieving second in the 200m Individual Medley and the 100m Breaststroke. Newton also finished fourth in the 100m and 200m Butterfly, the 100m freestyle and the 200m Backstroke and fifth in the 100m.
Rebecca Hall finished fifth overall with a win in the 400m Individual Medley, a second in the 200m Breaststroke and 800m Free, third in the 100m Breaststroke and 400m Free, while getting forth in the 200m Freestyle and fifth in the 200m Backstroke and 100m Freestyle. Hall also came sixth in the 200m Individual medley and eighth in both the 100m Butterfly and Individual Medley.
The 14-year-olds Jareth Geoghegan and Jonathan Haggerty came second and third in the male age group. Geoghegan did well in the long-distance events after bagging two firsts in the 400m and the 1500m Freestyle. He also got a second with another long distance event; the 400m Individual Medley, as well as the 100m and 200m Breaststroke. He also came third with the 100m and 200m Backstroke as well as coming in fifth for the 200m Individual Medley, sixth for the 200m Free and eighth for the 100m Free.
Haggerty also did well in the long distance events, finishing behind Geoghegan in the 400m Free to take second spot and finishing third in the 400m Individual Medley, 200m Free and 100m Breaststroke. Haggerty also took the forth spot for the 100m and 200m Butterfly and came seventh in the 100m Freestyle and the 200m Individual Medley.
Other swimmers to make the top 10 in their Bagat age groups were Ben Conain and Abby Huartson who came ninth in their nine-year-old age groups, James Brown and Jamie McLauchian who finished ninth and tenth in the boys 11-year-old age group, Fay Birch who came in at ninth in the 11-year-old girls group, Bethany Shaw and Abbe Fielding who came eighth and ninth in the 12-year-old girls group, Joseph Barnish, ninth in the 13-year-old males, Hayley Smith finished eighth in the girls group and Laren McGinty and Jenna Huartson finished eighth and tenth in the 14-year-old females.
There were also those swimmers who came finished in the top three of their individual races but did not make it into the top 10, these are; Abbey Hargreaves, who came second in the 100m Butterfly and third in the 200m for the 13-year-old girls, Jack Bridge, 11, who again came in second for the 100m Freestyle. Claude Kirton, nine, came third in the 200m Free, Beth Hargreaves, also nine, came third in the 200m Backstroke and Nicole Graveson, 20, got a third in the 100m Backstroke.
The swimmers of Preston Swimming Club brought home an impressive medal haul during the Lancashire County Age Group competition.
The event, which ran on the weekends of March 11 and March 18 at the Manchester Aquatics Arena, saw 24 Preston swimmers from the ages of 10 to 18 bring back 22 gold’s, 28 silvers and 29 bronze medals to make a grand total of 79 medals. This tremendous haul of medals helped Preston into 3rd place overall behind Manchester Aquatics and Bolton Metro.
15-year-old Daniel Sliwinski was the clubs most successful swimmer bringing home 10 medals. Sliwinski, who trains with Preston but swam with Manchester Aquatics for the competition, won two gold medals in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1.08.12 and in the men’s open 200m breaststroke with a time of 2.30.10.
Sliwinski also got four silvers, one in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1.02.69, one in the 16 years and under 200m backstroke with a time of 2.17.73, and two in open events, the 400m and 200m I.M. In the 400m Sliwinski got a time of 4.46.29 and in the 200m he clocked in at 2.13.84.
Sliwinski’s medal tally was completed with four bronze medals won in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4.22.24, the 50m freestyle, which he swam in 26.22, the 16 years and under 200m free in 1.59.53 and the men’s open 50m breaststroke which he did in 31.02.
Florie McLeish also gave a stunning performance when she brought home 7 medals. McLeish got one gold, two silvers and four bronze. The 10-year-old won her gold medal in the 50m butterfly with a time of 37.45, while the silvers were won in the 200m and 50m breaststroke with a time of 3.23.23 in the 200m and 44.60 in the 50m.
The four bronze medals were all earned in distance events with McLeish coming in third in the 200m butterfly with a time of 3.16.87, the 200m backstroke, swam in 2.58.39, the 200m I.M which she got in 2.58.82 and the 400m free which she did in 5.34.50. This impressive performance helped McLeish to 2nd place overall in her age group.
There were also four swimmers who did brilliantly to get six medals each. 10-year-old Cameron Austin, 11-year-old Joanne Cutler, 13-year-old Lois Newton and 15-year-old Rachel Armistead all achieved the magnificent feat.
Austin got himself four gold medals in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2.32.60, the 400m freestyle in 5.20.63, the 50m butterfly in 35.18 and the 200m butterfly which he did in 2.54.78.
Austin finished off his medal tally with two silvers in the 200m I.M, which he swam in 2.55.12, and the 50m free with a time of 33.60. This outstanding performance by Austin enabled him to become the overall Lancashire Champion.
Cutler achieved three golds and three silvers. The golds came in the 100m freestyle which she swam in 1.05.73, the 50m butterfly and the 50m breaststroke. In the butterfly she did a time of 33.75 while in the breaststroke she did it in 39.88.
The three silvers were won when she swam the 50m freestyle in 30.20, the 200m I.M in 2.45.63 and the 200m freestyle in 2.23.21. In the overall Championship Cutler finished in a superb 2nd place.
Cutler was also thrilled that her excellent 100m Freestyle swim provided her with her first ever National Qualifying time.
Distance swimmer Newton got herself one gold, two silvers and three bronze. The gold was won in the 400m I.M with a time of 5.19.44, the two silvers in the 200m butterfly which she swam in 2.40.14 and the 800m freestyle which she did in 9.30.64.
She got her three bronze in the 200m backstroke and breaststroke and the 400m freestyle. In the 200m backstroke she achieved a time of 2.35.22, the 200m breaststroke in 2.58.82 and the 400m free in 4.37.41.
Armistead got one gold medal in the 100m free with a time of 1.00.88 and silver in the 800m freestyle which she did in 9.33.37. She also got four bronze medals in the 200m butterfly which she did in 2.28.76, the 50m free in a time of 29.31, the 400m free in 4.36.61 and in the girls 16 and under 200m free which she swam in 2.11.15.
Matthew Clarkson, an 11-year-old new recruit of the swimming club who has just joined from Blackburn, got himself four medals. He got a gold in the 50m breaststroke which he did in 42.02, two silvers in the 200m backstroke which he swam in 2.52.50 and in the 50m butterfly in a time of 35.59 and a bronze in the 200m I.M when he clocked in at 2.49.20. In the overall Championship, Clarkson finished in 3rd place.
He was not the only swimmer to get himself four medals though as Justin Austin, Stephanie Slater and Matthew Greenbank got themselves an array of medals to take their count up to four.
13-year-old Austin swam his 50m backstroke in a time of 34.37 to get gold, he swam the 200m butterfly in 2.32.53 to earn himself silver and the 200m backstroke in 2.35.18 and the 100m backstroke in 1.12.07 to get two bronze.
15-year-old Greenbank got one gold in the 100m butterfly with a time of 1.04.21, two silvers in the 800m freestyle which he swam in the 8.57.71 and the 400m freestyle which he did in 4.18.17 and he got a bronze in the gruelling 1500m freestyle for the 16 years and under age group which he did in 17.22.35.
Slater, also 15, got three of her medals in open events. She got silver in the woman’s Open 200m breaststroke which she swam in 2.11.15, gold in the Open 100m and 50m breaststroke. She swam the 100m in 1.17.58 and the 50m in 34.90 while she got her other gold in another breaststroke event, the 100m, which she finished in 1.16.99.
Another 15-year-old, Bethany Kington did well in the open events as she got two gold medals in the Open 200m and Open 400m I.M. In the 200m she got a time of 2.27.90 and a time of 5.10.45 in the 400m. Kington also got silver in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2.11.15.
Other swimmers earned themselves medals were 13-year-old Rebecca Hall, who got a bronze in the 110m breaststroke with a time of 1.13.90, Grace Raines, also 13, who got two silvers in the 100m backstroke which she did in 1.12.21 and the 50m free in 29.74.
Five more 13-year-olds got medals too with Abbey Hargreaves getting a bronze in the 200m butterfly in a time of 2.40.95, John Rainford with a time of 1.16.88 which earned him silver in the 100m breaststroke. Dean Heaps got himself a silver in the 200m breaststroke which he swam in 2.47.71 and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1.17.25 and Joe Barnish got one bronze in the 800m freestyle which he did in 9.37.48.
14-year-olds Lauren McGinty, Jareth Geoghegan and Jonathan Haggerty got one bronze medal each. McGinty in the 1500m freestyle which she did in 20.33.67, Geoghegan in the 50m backstroke in a time of 32.45 and Haggerty swam a time of 31.21 in the 50m butterfly.
In the open events 18-year-olds Richard Hall and Andrew Addison got two medals each while 17-year-old Michael Wilson got a gold in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2.31.02. Hall also got gold in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4.09.36 while he got a bronze in the 800m freestyle which he swam in 8.42.28. Addison got himself two silvers in the 50m backstroke which he finished in 29.35 and the 100m freestyle which he did in 55.34.
Head Coach Dave Fairhurst said “This was an excellent all round performance from our swimmers. We took 53 swimmers to the Championships and to finish in 3rd place overall in the face of some excellent competition was very encouraging. Most swimmers got Personal Bests which is not easy in a 50m pool and hopefully we can build on this for the rest of the season.”
Back to top of articleMembers of Preston Swimming Club enjoyed another successful competition when 18 of their swimmers achieved the necessary qualifying times to compete at the North West Regional Age Group Championships held over 2 weekends at the 50m Manchester Aquatics pool. Some of the Preston swimmers were representing the Gallica squad in this Championship as this is where they carry out most of their training.
This was the first Regional Championships held under the North West banner following a change to the Regional format in British Swimming which saw the English Regions increase by 3 to a total of 8 and as such saw the demise of the much loved Northern Counties.
This level 1 Championship saw the top swimmers from Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester & Districts, Merseyside & Districts, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man taking part
This Championship offers the last opportunity for swimmers from the North West region to achieve National Qualifying times, where the best swimmers from up and down the country race against each other. This makes the gala one of the most competitive and important events in the swimming calendar and Preston triumphed when 14 of their swimmers made it through the heats as one of the top 8 fastest qualifiers to reached the finals before going onto to win a fantastic 23 medals, 4 gold, 9 silver and 10 bronze in the process.
The most successful swimmers were debutants 10-year-olds Cameron Austin and Florie McLeish and the experienced 13-year-old Lois Newton who is on the World Class programme.
Austin reached an unbelievable 10 finals and went onto win 7 medals. He won silver medals in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2.55.60, the 100m butterfly which he did in 1.19.59, the 200m butterfly in 2.59.04 and the 200m freestyle in 2.30.92. He also got three bronze medals in the 100m freesyle which he did in 1.10.65, the 400m freestyle in 5.18.13 and in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1.21.81. Austin also came in fourth in the 200m backstroke, fifth in the 100m breaststroke and sixth in the 200m breaststroke.
McLeish also qualified for an amazing 10 finals and swam in 9 after withdrawing from the 100m Butterfly final. She won three silvers in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1.33.75, the 200m breaststroke in 3.18.86 and the 200m butterfly in 3.04.50. She got bronze medals in the 100m backstroke which she did in 1.22.21, the 200m freestyle in 2.34.65, the 200m individual medley in 2.55.12 and the 400m freestyle when she clocked in at 5.23.44. McLeish also came fourth in the 200m backstroke and sixth in the 100m freestyle.
Distance specialist Newton got herself into five finals, winning 3 gold medals and one bronze. The gold medals were awarded after she won the distance freestyle events, the 400m which she swam in a time of 4.31.84, the 800m in 9.24.82 and the 1500m in 17.58.47. Newton won a bronze medal in the 200m freestyle when she clocked in at 2.17.29 and she also came fifth in the 100m freestyle.
12-year-old Joanne Cutler also did herself proud when she won two silver medals in the 100m freestyle which she did with a time of 1.03.19 and the 200m freestyle in 2.16.56. Cutler also got fourth in the 400m freestyle, sixth in the 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle and 8th in the 100m butterfly.
The 13-year-old boys also did well with all of them getting to finals. John Rainford won gold in the 100m breaststroke, with a time of 1.14.46, he also came eighth in the 200m breaststroke. Joe Barnish also got himself a medal when he finished third in the 800m freestyle with a time of 9.23.51. Barnish also came fourth in the 400m freestyle and fifth in the 1500m freestyle.
Justin Austin also got a bronze in the 200m butterfly when he finished in 2.30.84 and he also fifth in the 100m butterfly, seventh in the 400m individual medley and eighth in the 100m and 200m backstroke.
7 other Preston swimmers also qualified for finals.
11 year old Matthew Clarkson qualified for 3 finals finishing fifth in the 100m Breaststroke, 6th in the 100m Backstroke and 8th in the 400m individual medley whilst 12-year-old Luke Pool came fifth in the 800m freestyle.
13-year-olds Rebecca Hall came fifth in the 100m backstroke and seventh in the 200m backstroke and 200m freestyle and Abbey Hargreaves who came fourth in the 200m butterfly and 200m backstroke and sixth in the 100m butterfly whilst Dean Heaps got himself into three finals, finishing fourth in the 200m breaststroke and seventh in the 100m breaststroke and 800m freestyle.
14-year-olds Jonathon Haggerty and Jareth Geoghegan also got themselves into finals and Haggerty finished fourth in the 200m butterfly and eighth in the 400m freestyle while Geoghegan finished eighth in the 200m backstroke.
Other Preston swimmers who competed were 11 year old Philip Mason and 12-year-olds Bethany Shaw, Jessica Jackson and Abbe Fielding.
At the end of the Championship the BAGCAT scores were counted for the best swims in 4 catagories (100m sprints, Individual medley, distance freestyle and the 200m form events) to determine the overall positions in each age group. Cameron Austin and Florie McLeish completed a memorable Championship as they collected further awards for finishing in the top 3 with Austin taking second place in the 10 year old boys and McLeish finishing in third place overall in the 10 year old girls..
Fine top 10 finishes were achieved by Lois Newton who finished in fourth place, Joanne Cutler in fifth place, Jonathan Haggerty in 6th Place, Rebecca Hall in 7th place and Dean Heaps in 10th place.
Back to top of articleSwimmers from Preston Swimming Club came home successfully after they won 54 medals and broke eight records at the second annual Bangor Gala.
The most successful swimmers were 12-year-old Abbe Fielding, 13-year-old Abbey Hargreaves and 14-year-old Jonathan Haggerty. The three swimmers between them won 24 medals and broke six of the eight records
12-year-old Fielding won the most medals for the club, hauling in an impressive tally of nine. One of her medals was a gold, which she won in the 200m I.M with a new gala record time of 2.43.27. She got four silver medals when she finished the 100m breaststroke in 2.29.50, the 100m backstroke in 1.19.08, the 50m breaststroke in 43.14 and the 200m breaststroke in 3.11.58. Fielding also won four bronze medals in the 50m backstroke, which she did in 37.39, the 200m backstroke in 2.44.93, the 50m freestyle in 32.26 and the 50m butterfly in 35.61.
13-year-old Hargreaves can boast of breaking the most records for Preston in the competition, but her medal haul was impressive too with three golds and four silvers to her name. In every event she won she set a new record. These events were the 100m backstroke, which she did in 1.10.55, the 200m backstroke in 2.28.55 and the 50m butterfly in 31.96. She got her silver medals in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2.17.82, the 50m backstroke in 34.13, the 200m butterfly in 2.32.81 and the 100m butterfly in 1.11.71.
14-year-old Haggerty took home the most gold medals for the club, winning five and breaking two records in the process. The event which he set new records in were the 100m butterfly, which he won in 1.06.74 and the 200m butterfly, which he touched in with a time of 2.27.44. The other events Haggerty won were the 200m freestyle in 2.09.18, the 400m freestyle in 4.33.86 and the 100m I.M in 1.11.45.
Haggerty also got himself two silvers and a bronze medal. The silvers were won in the 50m butterfly with a time of 30.63, the 100m freestyle in 1.00.44. The bronze medal was won in the 50m breaststroke which he swam in 36.67.
There were other Preston swimmers who shone brightly at the competition. 13-year-old Josh Heath won six medals, two golds, two silvers and two bronze. The golds came in the 50m breaststroke which he did in 40.54 and the 100m I.M, which was swam in a new record time of 1.18.62. The silvers were won in the 100m breaststroke which was swam in 1.28.04 and the 50m freestyle in 30.50 and the bronze medals were won in the 200m breaststroke in a time of 3.08.50 and the 100m freestyle in 1.06.55.
12-year-old Luke Pool also did well when he went away with five medals. He won a gold medal in the 200m backstroke which he touched in at 2.48.19 and a silver medal when he finished the 100m backstroke in 1.20.09. Pool also won three bronze medals in the 200m freestyle which he swam in 2.23.08, the 50m backstroke in 37.86 and the 400m freestyle in 4.58.21.
Abby Huartson won four medals making her the youngest Preston swimmer to win a medal. The nine-year-old won the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1.41.37, she picked up two silver medals in the 50m breaststroke when she touched in at 47.86 and the 50m freestyle in a time of 36.69. Huartson’s last medal was a bronze which she won in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 3.36.35.
14-year-old Dean Heaps also won four medals and also broke a gala record. He set the new record in the 200m breaststroke which he won with a time of 2.43.22. Heaps also won himself three silver medals in the 100m breaststroke which he swam in 1.17.57, the 50m breaststroke in 35.87 and the 400m freestyle in 4.41.38.
Other swimmers who managed to win medals were 13-year-old Mitiku Turnbull, who won a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke which he did in 1.27.91, a silver medal in the 400m I.M which he was clocked at 5.51.01 and a bronze medal when he finished the 100m I.M in 1.21.06.
11-year-old Phillip Mason won two medals when he came second in the 400m I.M with a time of 6.08.00 and a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly, which he did in 1.22.76.
12-year-olds Eilidh McLeish and Jessica Jackson also won themselves two medals. McLeish got two bronze medals from her 4 races when she came 3rd in the 200m freestyle which she swam in 2.28.29 and the 400m freestyle which she did in 5.13.76. Jackson got herself a silver in the 400m I.M when she clocked in at 5.45.59 and a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly, which she swam in 3.06.04.
For the 12-year-male group Josh Watson and James Brown carried the honours. Watson won himself a gold in the 50m backstroke which he swam in 36.14 and Brown got a silver when he did a time of 2.52.17 in the 200m backstroke.
Another of the Club’s 9 year old medal winners was Eleanor Laurance who won a silver medal in the 50m butterfly in a time of 42.70.
Other swimmers who represented Preston were nine-year-olds Katie Mawdsley, Emma Keany, Abbie Kitcher, Molly McManamon, Harry Holden, Hayley Graveson and Matthew Rosbottom. 10-year-olds Lena Turnbridge, Emma Heaps, Beth Hargreaves, Sarah Buckley, Laura Joyce, Freddie Carter, Claude Kirton, Jake Beatty, Ben Conlan, Matthew Greenslade and Sam McIlwaine. 11-year-olds Shannon McGinty, Sophie Laurence and Nicole Graveson. 12-year-olds Frances Haggerty, Jack Holden, Keira Hill, Eve Johnson and 13-year-old Hayley Smith.
Back to top of articleA truly remarkable performance was witnessed by all, when, for the first time ever Preston Swimming Club qualified for a place in the National Final. After finishing 4th in the North West Premier final at Manchester, Preston will go to Ponds Forge, Sheffield in April to compete against other regional finalists.
A first class display was given by every member of the team who competed in the final and the two qualifying rounds. Numerous records were broken and an abundance of Personal Best’s gained along the way. Team Captain Bethany Kington said “I was very proud to be Captain of such a good team.” Head coach Dave Fairhurst said “I would like to thank all the swimmers who took part, finishing in 4th place in the North West Premier final is a first class performance, it was well deserved”.
First place was achieved in the girls 13 & under 50m Butterfly by Joanne Cutler and by Stephanie Slater in the 15 & under, & Open 100m Breaststroke with both girls attaining New Club Records.
The boys first place success was obtained in the15 & under 100m Freestyle by Thomas Booth.
Slater went on to help achieve two other New Club Records in the open 4 x 50m Medley relay with Bethany Kington, Emma Billington & Lisa Gorton (4th) and the 15 & under 4 x Medley relay with Natalie Murray, Grace Raines & Lisa Gorton (2nd).
In the boys team the 9-11 year olds stole the limelight when it came to breaking club records. Matthew Greenslade, Jack Smith, Cameron Austin & Matthew Clarkson achieved a double whammy in the 50m Medley relay (2nd) and the 50m Freestyle relay (3rd). Austin also went on to break the club record in the 11 & under 50m Butterfly (2nd), and Daniel Sliwinski in the open 100m Breaststroke (2nd).
Further results were as follows;
Overall team position was;
Following re-organisation of the Amateur Swimming Association, the North West Region held its inaugural Synchronized Swimming Competition & Championships at Radcliffe Pool where Preston Swimming Club’s Shauntelle Austin was awarded the Gold Medal in the Novice Figure Competition - open to beginners in the sport of any age. Her coach Sylvia Todd said “I was apprehensive for Shauntelle at the age of 9, but on the day she was extremely serious and focussed, maintaining her cool in front of the two panels of five judges. She remembered all the corrections we had been working on together and her performance on the day was a delight.” An excellent result with more where that came from!
Shauntelle trains several times a week for Preston Swimming Club in Synchro and Swimming.
Preston Swimming Club recently held their annual Club Championship competition. The competition is a chance for the swimmers to race against their fellow team-mates, to test themselves and for the younger swimmers to get a taste of what swimming competitions are like. The competition had over 115 events, with 19 new club records being set.
In the girls’ eight-year-old age group, Kathryn Greenslade stole the show when she won all four events, the 25m frontcrawl, 25m backstroke, 25m butterfly and the 25m breaststroke, in which she broke a club record. In second place in the 25m freestyle was Ella Brown, who also finished second in the 25m breaststroke, while in the backstroke Holly Mawdsley came second, as did Charlotte Gornall in the butterfly. Mawdsley and Gornall got themselves back on the podium again when they finished third in the butterfly and backstroke events respectively, while Francesca Wright got a bronze in the freestyle and Sheena Patel in the breaststroke.
For the boys it was Lee Reeder who was top dog, with wins in all the events and two records broken, one in the freestyle and one in the breaststroke. In second place for the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke was Andrew Davison while in the butterfly it was Patrick Hill who secured the second spot. Hill also got himself two bronze medals in the backstroke and freestyle events, Davison got his fourth medal with a bronze in the butterfly and Joseph Cunningham Connolly came third in the breaststroke.
For the nine-eleven year-olds there were six events to race in, the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 100m individual medley and the 200m freestyle. In the nine year old girls, there were three swimmers who finished in the top three for all the events, Shauntelle Austin, Eleanor Laurence and Abbie Kitcher. Austin finished first in all six events, breaking four records on the way, the backstroke, fly, IM and the 200m free. Laurence finished second in the backstroke, breaststroke, fly, IM and the 200m free and she finished third in the 50m free. Kitcher got herself a silver medal in the 50m free and 5 bronze medals.
For the boys, Matthew Rosbottom dominated with four gold medals in the 50m breaststroke, fly, IM and the 200m free, and two silvers in the 50m free and backstroke. Harry Murphy got himself medals in all the events when he finished first in the free and backstroke, second in the fly, IM and 200m free and third in the breaststroke. Marco Santalucia got himself two medals with silver in the breaststroke and a bronze in the 50m free while Joshua Watson got himself four bronze medals in the backstroke, fly, IM and 200m freestyle events.
In the 10-year-olds girls it was Abby Huartson who took the majority of the gold medals with wins in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m fly, 100m IM and the 200m free, she also got a silver in the 50m free. Katie Mawdsly raced to a gold medal in the 50m free, while in the backstroke, fly, breaststroke, IM and 200m free events she won silver medals. Three other girls got themselves bronze medals in the age group. Ashleigh Wareing came third in the 50m free, fly and IM events, Laura Joyce in the backstroke and breaststroke and Sarah Buckley in the 200m free.
In the boys events there was a mixture of results. Claude Kirton got himself two gold medals in the 50m and 200m free and two silvers in the backstroke and breaststroke events. Joseph Brass won himself three medals. A gold medal in the backstroke, a silver in the fly and a bronze in the free. As did Ben Conlan who won a gold in the IM, and two bronze medals in the backstroke and 200m free. Robert Lavelle got himself four medals including a gold medal in the breaststroke event, silver in the 50m free and IM events and a bronze in the fly. Sam McIlwaine hauled in the same amount of medals with a win in the fly event, a silver in the 200m free and two bronze medals in the breaststroke and IM.
For the 11-year-old girls Hannah Pike won all the events with Georgia Barton finishing second in the backstroke, fly, IM and 200m free and third in the 50m free. While Aimee Gallagher came second in the free and the breaststroke and third in the backstroke, fly, IMM and 200m free. However one girl did break into the top three in one event with Lena Tunbridge finishing third in the breaststroke.
For the boys Cameron Austin hauled in all the gold medals and broke a record in the 200m free. Jack Smith swam to four silvers and one bronze medal. He won the silver medals in the 50m free, the backstroke, fly and breaststroke events and got the bronze medal in the 200m freestyle. Matthew Greenslade also got himself five medals with a silver in the 200m freestyle, and bronze medals in the 50m freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events. Matthew Clarkson also got on the podium with silver in the individual medley as did Freddie Carter who won the bronze in the event.
The 12-year-old age group had to swim a few more events than the younger age groups with the events being the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley.
For the girls Faye Birch ran the show with a dominating six gold medals and a silver medal haul. She achieved the gold medals in the 50m freestyle, backstroke butterfly and in the 200m freestyle, backstroke and individual medley. The silver medal she won in the 50m breaststroke. Frances Haggerty also took home seven medals which included two gold medals in the 50m and 200m breaststroke. She also took away three silvers in the 50m butterfly, the 200m freestyle and individual medley and two bronze medals in the 50m freestyle and backstroke. Shannon McGinty got herself three medals, all in the 200m events. Silver in the 200m backstroke and two bronze medals in the 200m freestyle and individual medley. Eve Johnson, Keira Hill and Emma Chestnutt all got two medals each. Johnson got two silvers in the 50m freestyle and backstroke, Hill silver in the 200m breaststroke and a bronze in the 50m breaststroke and Chestnutt two bronze medals in the 50m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.
For the boys it was Luke Pool who took home the majority of the gold medals with wins in all the 50m events and the 200m freestyle and individual medley. Pool was also the only 12-year-old to swim in the 200m butterfly and broke the club record when he clocked in on 2.49.51. The winner in the 200m backstroke was Jack Holden, who also got three silvers in the 50m backstroke, the 200m freestyle and the individual medley and a bronze in the 50m butterfly. Jamie McLauchlan was the other gold medallist when he sped to a win in the 200m breaststroke. McLauchlan also got himself two bronze medals in the 50m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley. Philip Mason also won himself three medals when he won two silvers in the 50m butterfly and 200m breaststroke and a bronze in the 50m freestyle. Jack Bridge and Nathan Loftus managed to win themselves two medals with Bridge winning a silver in the 50m freestyle and a bronze in the 200m freestyle. While Loftus won himself silver in the 50m breaststroke and a bronze in the 50m backstroke.
The events for the 13 years and older age group got a little bit tougher with all the four strokes being raced as 100 and 200m races as well as a 200m individual medley race.
Bethany Shaw was the star for the 13-year-old girls after she walked away with seven out of nine medals. Five gold medals with wins in the 100m and 200m freestyle, 100m and 200m butterfly and the 200m individual medley and two silvers in the 100m backstroke and breaststroke. The other four gold medals went to Abbe Fielding and Ellen Buckley with two each. Fielding won the two breaststroke events and also won two bronze medals in the 100m backstroke and butterfly. Buckley won her two gold’s in the backstroke events while also achieving three silvers in the 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle and 200m medley and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.
Eilidh McLeish got herself on the podium three times with two silver medals in the 100m freestyle and 200m backstroke and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Jessica Jackson also won three medals with silver in the 200m butterfly and a bronze in the 200m freestyle and 200m medley while Ashley Kirton and Laura Carter won themselves a medal each with Kirton winning a silver in the 200m breaststroke and Carter a bronze in the 200m backstroke.For the boys it was the two Joshua’s that dominated. Joshua Heath won himself eight out of nine medals and Joshua Watson wasn’t that far behind him with seven.
Heath won four events, the 100m and 200m freestyle and the 100m and 200m breaststroke, came second in the 100m backstroke and 200m medley and third in the 100m and 200m butterfly. Watson meanwhile came first in the 100m and 200m backstroke and 100m and 200m butterfly, second in the 100m and 200m freestyle and third in the 100m breaststroke. However Mitiku Turnbull was not that far behind with a haul of eight medals of his own. He broke the two Joshua’s winning streak by claiming victory in the 200m medley while coming in second place in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and the 100m and 200m butterfly and third in the 100m and 200m freestyle and the 100m backstroke. Jack Cooper and Anthony Moss also won themselves medals with Cooper winning a silver medal in the 200m backstroke and a bronze in the individual medley and Moss coming in third in the 200m breaststroke.
For the 14-year-old girls, Abbey Hargreaves won the majority of the events with four gold’s and a new club record. She won the 100m backstroke and butterfly, the individual medley and swam to a new record in the 200m butterfly. Hargreaves also won two bronze medals in the 100m and 200m freestyle. Rebecca Hall won one more medal than Hargreaves when she finished first in the 200m freestyle and backstroke, second in all the 100m events and third in the 200m medley. Lisa Gorton was another girl who won seven medals with a win in the 100m freestyle, three silvers in the 200m freestyle, backstroke and medley and three bronze in the 100m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The other two swimmers to take medals home were Hayley Smith who won both the breaststroke events and Ruth Van Mierlo who came third in the 200m backstroke.
For the boys there were mixed results with four lads dominating the podium and three club records broken. Joe Barnish won five events, the 100m freestyle and backstroke and the 200m freestyle, backstroke and medley. He also got silver in the 100m butterfly and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Dean Heaps won himself a gold medal and set a new record time in the 200m breaststroke, while in the 100m of the same event he got a silver medal and then won four bronze medals in the 100m freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and the 200m freestyle. The other two records were broken by Justin Austin, who maintained the trend of breaking club records like his two younger siblings. Austin broke records for both the 100m and 200m butterfly. Austin also came second in the individual medley. Joe Rainford won himself six medals with a win in the 100m breaststroke, four silvers in the 100m freestyle and backstroke, the 200m freestyle and the 200m breaststroke and a third in the individual medley. The only other person to win a medal was Christopher Smith, who won a silver medal in the 200m backstroke.
The last age group was the Championship, which was swum by swimmers over the age of 15. For the girls’ events, seven out of the eight races had records broken. Bethany Kington broke the most of these with three new records in the 100m freestyle, the 100m backstroke and the 200m freestyle. Kington also won the 100m butterfly and the individual medley while also finishing second in the two breaststroke events. Jenna Huartson was another record breaker when she broke the records for the two breaststroke events. She also won a silver medal in the 100m butterfly and a bronze in the 100m backstroke. The next record breaker was Natalie Murray who broke the 200m backstroke record with a fine winning swim. Among her other medals were two silvers in the 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle, and three bronze medals in the 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and the individual medley.
The last record breaker of the day was Alex Todd who was the only senior female swimmer at the event and so she competed against the juniors. She broke the senior record for the 200m individual medley when she finished second as well as coming in second in the 100m freestyle and third in the 200m of the same event.
There were not as many records broken for the boys with Byron Hall being the only to set a new club record in the 100m backstroke. Hall also won five silver medals in the 100m and 200m freestyle, the 100m and 200m butterfly and the individual medley and two bronze medals in the 100m breaststroke and 200m butterfly. Jareth Geoghegan won six events, which were the 100m freestyle, breaststroke and butterfly, and the 200m freestyle, backstroke and butterfly and he also came second in the 100m backstroke. Ben Brass won himself with six medals, one silver and five bronze. The silver medal he won in the 200m butterfly while the bronze medals were won in the 100m freestyle and butterfly and the 200m freestyle, backstroke and individual medley.
Like the senior girls group, the senior boys only had one swimmer, Stephen Davison who won himself four medals. Two gold’s’ in the 200m breaststroke and individual medley, a silver in the 100m breaststroke and a bronze in the 100m backstroke.
Overall Age Group Winners:
| Age Group | Girls | Points | Boys | Points |
| 8 | Kathryn Greenslade | 24 | Lee Rider | 24 |
| 9 | Shauntelle Austin | 36 | Matthew Rosbottom | 34 |
| 10 | Abbey Huartson | 35 | Robert Lavelle | 25 |
| 11 | Hannah Pike | 36 | Cameron Austin | 36 |
| 12 | Faye Birch | 41 | Luke Pool | 42 |
| 13 | Bethany Shaw | 40 | Joshua Heath | 38 |
| 14 | Rebecca Hall | 36 | Joseph Barnish | 39 |
| Junior | Bethany Kington | 40 | Byron Hall | 36 |
| Senior | Alex Todd | 18 | Stephen Davison | 30 |
Age Group Winners: Kathryn Greenslade, Lee Rider, Shauntelle Austin, Matthew Rosbottom, Abbey Huartson, Robert Lavelle, Hannah Pike, Cameron Austin, Faye Birch, Luke Pool, Bethany Shaw, Joshua Heath, Rebecca Hall, Joseph Barnish, Bethany Kington, Byron Hall, Alex Todd, Stephen Davison.
Back to top of articleStourbridge Crystal open meet at Wolverhampton Central Baths was attended by 14 of Preston Swimming Club’s swimmers. This was an extremely popular meet hence the low numbers from Preston attending. Even though Preston swimmers were thin on the ground this was not reflected in the overall results of the day. Out of 42 clubs that attended Preston finished in a phenomenal 2nd place even beating the home team who had over 3 times as many swimmers. Out of a total of 68 swims Preston achieve some astonishing results; 41 Personal Best times, 13 Bronze medals, 6 Silver medals and 9 Gold medals plus an astounding 41 Lancashire Qualifying Times, 9 North West Region Qualifying Times and 1 National Age Group Qualifying Time.
Coach Steve Heaps said “Officials and coaches from other teams commented on the teams swimming ability and the impeccable behaviour of the team”, they were a credit to their parents, the club and themselves.
by Diane Graveson
Back to top of articlePreston Swimming Club won a staggering 61 gold, 38 silver and 48 bronze medals at the North Lancashire Age Group and Youth Championships.
In three days of competition at Blackpool’s Palatine pool, 34 Preston swimmers finished in the top-10 in their respective age groups.
And leading the way were nine-year-olds Matthew Rosbottom and Shauntelle Austin, 11-year-olds Cameron Austin and Florie McLeish, and Justin Austin, 14, who all won their sections.
Head coach Dave Fairhurst said: “The implementation of our new programme a couple of years ago is now starting to pay off.
“My thanks go to all the swimmers who have worked so hard. Their achievements and the personal best count is a fantastic result.
“We now look forward to next month’s Lancashire Championships.”Shauntelle Austin won her age group title by winning nine golds in the 50m and 200m breaststroke, 50m and 200m butterfly, 50m and 200m freestyle, 50m and 200m backstroke and the 200m individual medley (IM). Another successful debutant in the same age group was Eleanor Laurence who finished second overall, and took gold in the 100m IM.
For the boys, overall winner Rosbottom struck gold in the 50m butterfly, 200m backstroke and 200m IM. Harry Murphy finished in the top-10 after winning gold in the 50m backstroke.
In the 10 years girls, there were top-10 finishes from Abbey Huartson (fifth), Katie Mawdsley (sixth) and Abbie Kitcher (eighth). Huartson won gold in the 50m breaststroke and silver in the 200m breaststroke.
In the 11 years boys, Cameron Austin won five golds in the 50m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m IM and 50m freestyle, silvers in 50m and 200m backstroke and 400m freestyle, and bronzes in the 200m and 800 freestyle. He also achieved five National Qualifying Times (NQTs) to reach the National Championships in July at Sheffield. In the same category, Matthew Greenslade finished in 10th place.
In the 11 years girls, McLeish continued her dominance from last year by winning eight golds, a silver and a bronze. Her golds came in the 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m and 200m butterfly, 100m and 200m breaststroke, 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley. Her silver in the 400m IM was in a NQT and she will also be swimming in Sheffield.
In the 12 years old boys, there were five top-10 finishes by Luke Pool (third), Jack Holden (fourth), Matthew Clarkson (fifth), Jamie McLaughlan (sixth) and Jack Bridge (ninth).
Pool won gold in the 400m, 800m and 150m freestyle, silver in the 200m butterfly and bronze in the 100m butterfly and 100m IM. Holden won bronze in 200m backstroke and 400m freestyle and Clarkson won silver in 200m backstroke and bronze in 100m backstroke and 200m butterfly.
The 12 years girls saw Charlotte Sinclair finish ninth overall, taking silver in the 200m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m breaststroke.
In the 13 years boys, Mitiku Turnbull gained several personal best swims for seventh overall.
For the girls, top-10 finishes went to Beth Shaw (third) – who won silver in the 200m butterfly and bronze in the 200m, 400m and 800 freestyle and 100m butterfly – Ellen Buckley (eighth); Eilidh McLeish (ninth) and Abbe Fielding (10th).
In the 14 years boys, Justin Austin was the overall winner after taking six golds in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, and the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, the last in a NQT. He also won silver in the 400m IM and bronze in the 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle.
John Rainford was second overall after silvers in the 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle and 200m IM and a bronze in the 200m breaststroke. Dean Heaps (third) notched up gold in the 100m breaststroke, silver in the 200m breaststroke and bronze in 50m breaststroke, 400m and 1500m freestyle. Marathon man Joe Barnish (fourth) landed gold in the 800m and 1500m freestyle, silver in the 200m and 400m freestyle and bronze in the 100m and 200m backstroke, and 200m and 400m IM. Joshua Heath was ninth overall.
In the girls 14-17 years girls, Jenna Huartson, 15, was third overall, taking silvers in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
Rebecca Hall, 14, was 4th overall and won golds in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, 50m backstroke and the 200m freestyle, silvers in 100m and 400m freestyle and 200m IM, and bronzes in the 50m freestyle and 100m and 200m backstroke.
Lisa Gorton, 14, was fifth and landed golds in the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke, silvers in the 200m freestyle and 50m and 200m butterfly, and bronzes in the 100m and 400m freestyle and 200m IM.
Abbey Hargreaves (seventh) also won four golds in the 100m freestyle, 200m backstroke and the 100m and 200m butterfly, silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 200m freestyle.
Also medallists were Beth Kington with golds in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, Stephanie Slater with golds in the 50m butterfly and 200m IM, Hayley Smith who won gold in the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke, and Lois Newton who won gold in 400m IM and silver in 50m freestyle.
In the boys 15-18 years group, there were three top-10 finishes. Jareth Geoghegan (second) claiming silvers in the 50m and 200m backstroke and 200m breaststroke, and bronze in the 100m backstroke. Sterling Austin (fifth) collected bronzes in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m backstroke, while Jonathan Haggerty (seventh) took bronzes in the 50m and 100m butterfly.
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Preston Seals had to settle for third place in their first Micro League fixture of the season.
Team Coach Ian Laurence said: “This is only the first gala of the season so we still have plenty of time to build on this and I’m sure we will post higher scores as the season goes on”.
The best performance came from Hayley Graveson who won the 10 years 50m backstroke and set a personal best for the league.
Other first places were gained by Hannah McGill in the 10 years 50m breaststroke and Liam Marrows in the 12 years 50m freestyle.
Micro League newcomers Joseph Cunningham-Connolly, Alex Brandwood, Ethan Fielding and Toby Seers started well with a second-placed finish in the nine years freestyle relay, and Oliver Lucas replaced Brandwood to take second in the medley.
The 10-year-old boys of Joshua Rennie, Bill Cooper, Henry King, Nigel Standing and Joseph Ellis only managed relay fourth spots.
But the boys 11 years 4x25m freestyle relay team of Harry Holden, James Shuttleworth, Ben Conlon and Jake Beatty set a new club record for third place.
The 12-year-old team saw Marrows joined by Freddie Carter, Matthew Baron and Joe Wright to take second in the freestyle and medley relays.
For the 10-year-old girls, Graveson was joined by Olivia Baron, Ella Huskisson and Keara Mulvaney-Slater to take second in the medley relay, a position repeated when Graveson was replaced by McGill in the freestyle relay.
In the 11 years freestyle relay, Beth Hargreaves, Emma Keany, Gemma Rennie and Sarah Buckley were second and, with Chloe Brown replacing Keany, they were fourth in the medley.
The 12 years medley relay team of Shannon McGinty, Nicole Graveson, Lena Tunbridge and Sophie Laurence were second and Aimee Gallagher replaced Graveson for a third spot in the medley.
Other newcomers to the Micro League were nine-year-old girls Charlotte Gornall, Rachel Davis, Lucy Worswick and Charlotte Flynn who were fourth in the medley and freestyle relays.
Individually, Cunningham-Connolly set a new club record with a second in the boy’s nine-year-old 25m butterfly and was also runner-up in the breaststroke.
A double second place was also taken by Carter in the 12 years 50m butterfly and backstroke.
For the girls, Huskisson was second in the 10 years 50m freestyle, as was Hargreaves in the 11 years 50m backstroke, Shannon McGinty in the 12 years 50m backstroke and breaststroke, and Sophie Laurence in the 50m butterfly.
Results:
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Diane Graveson
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