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North Lancs Gala Preston third in latest gala.| Inter-Association North Lancs retain title

Sharks Gala at Southport

Five club records were broken as Preston Sharks finished second in their first Micro League fixture of the season. Shauntelle Austin, Harry Murphy, Cameron Austin and debutant Lee Reeder all set new bests as Preston took on hosts Southport, who won the event, Blackburn and Carnforth.

But Cameron Austin was the stand-out performer, breaking two records and swimming a personal best as he won every race he was involved in except one, when he finished second.

His personal best came in the butterfly leg of the 12 and under 4x25m medley relay alongside Matthew Clarkson, Jack Smith and Matthew Greenslade, who also posted a new PB. Austin then broke club records when winning the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle.

Final result:

North Lancs Gala at Lancaster

A STRING of personal bests provided consolation for Preston Swimming Club at the latest North Lancs gala. There was disappointment, Preston only finished third in Lancaster, as they were runners-up in the opening two meets of the season.

But there were some notable performances, starting with the girls.

Charlotte Sinclair swam a new personal best when winning the 12 and under 50m breaststroke. She also recorded a best time when taking part in the 12 and under 4x50m medley alongside Nicole Graveson, Georgia Barton and Sophie Laurence. Barton also achieved a personal best in the relay, and also in the 12 and under 50m butterfly.

Hayley Smith, Ellen Buckley and Rachel Mason also posted new fastest times. Smith’s came in the open 4x50m freestyle relay when swimming alongside Lisa Gorton, Hannah Bridge and Lauren McGinty. Buckley’s best was in the 14 and under 50m medley relay, swam with Abbe Fielding, Bethany Shaw and Faye Birch. And Mason’s record came in the open 50m backstroke, although she only finished in fourth place. Ashley Kirton also impressed when helping her team to second in the 14 and under 4x50m freestyle relay.

For the boys, Jareth Geoghegan was the star performer. He won the open 50m backstroke in a personal best time, and also broke a personal record, competing in the 4x50m medley relay with Stirling Austin, Ben Bailey and Ben Parker. Austin also managed a PB in the open 4x50m freestyle.

Four other boys achieved best times, with Freddie Carter and Mitiku Turnbull’s coming in the cannon. Joseph Wright went faster than before in the 12 and under 4x50m medley relay, swimming with Jake Beatty, Matthew Baron and Carter.

Jamie McLaughlan set a new personal best in the 14 and under 50m backstroke and was second. He was also part of the winning 14 and under freestyle relay team along with Joshua Heath, Turnbull and Jack Bridge Heath was also an individual winner in the 14 and under 50m breaststroke.

Head coach Dave Fairhurst said: “We’re obviously disappointed not to build on our good result from the previous gala, but we will try to get back to our best in next month’s event. We still had some very good swims – there is no doubting that.”

Final result:

Inter-Association at Blackpool

This year's Inter Association competition held at the Palatine Pool, Blackpool saw reigning champions North Lancs retain their title in impressive fashion.

The competition is made up from representative swimmers from the six different associations in the North West Region. To swim in this competition you have to be selected by your association. Preston Swimming Club once again provided the Backbone of the North Lancs team with a total of 21 swimmers being invited to represent North Lancs, plus a further 7 swimmers on the reserve list. And they were equally impressive once the competition got under way winning a total of 5 Gold Medals, 3 Silver & 9 Bronze helping the North Lancs team to a very impressive 144 point winning margin.

Cameron Austin had a fantastic weekend continuing his very impressive season he won Gold in the boys 11yr 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke & 200m Backstroke. Justin Austin won Silver in the boys 14 yr 100m Butterfly, Bronze in the 100m Backstroke & was 10th in the 200m Freestyle.

Georgia Barton won Silver in the girls 11 yr 100m Freestyle. Abby Huartson won Gold in the girls 10 yr 50m Breastroke, 5th in the 200m Breastroke, 9th in the 50m Backstroke, 5th in the 200m Backstroke, 10th in the 50m Freestyle. Dean Heaps won a Bronze medal in the boys 14 yr 200m Breastroke & was 4th in the 100m Breastroke. Jack Smith was 4th in the boys 11 yr 400m Freestyle, won Bronze in the 50m Breastroke, Bronze in the 200m Freestyle, 5th in the 200m Backstroke.

Florie McLeish won Bronze in the girls girls 11 yr 50m Butterfly, & 200m Butterfly, 5th in the 100m Backstroke and Silver in the 200m Backstroke, Abbie Kitcher won a Bronze medal in both the girls 10 yr 50m & 200m Backstroke.Joe Barnish was 11th in the boys 14 yr 200m Backstroke 6th in the 400m Freestyle,

Rebecca Hall was 4th in the girls 14 yrs 200m Freestyle, 9th in the 200m Breastroke, 4th in the 100m Backstroke 4th in the 400m Freestyle, 9th in the 100m Breastroke, Abbey Hargreaves was 8th in the girls 14yrs 200m Freestyle, 4th in the 100 Butterfly, 8th in the 200m Backstroke, 5th in the 200m Butterfly, 4th in the 100m Freestyle, Joanne Cutler was 5th in the girls 13 yrs 200m Breastroke, 4th in the 200m Butterfly, 5th in the 100m Breastroke

Matthew Clarkson was 5th in the boys 12 yrs 200m Backstroke, 9th in 200m Individual Medley, 10th in the 100m Freestyle, 10th in the 100m Breastroke, 4th in the 100m Backstroke, Matthew Greenslade was 9th in the boys 11 yrs 400m Freestyle, John Rainford was 6th in the boys 14 yr 200m Breastroke, 3rd in th 200 Individual Medley, 7th in the 100m Freestyle, Hayley Smith was 5th in the girls 14yr 200m Breastroke, 9th in the 200m Individual Medley, 7th in the 100m Breastroke, Katie Mawdsley was 5th in the girls 10yr 200m Freestyle, 4th in the 50m Freestyle, Bethany Shaw was 6th in the girls 13 yr 200m Butterfly, 7th in the 100m Butterfly, Charlotte Sinclair was 10th in the girls 12 yr 100m Breastroke, 5th in the 200m Breastroke, Harry Murphy was 8th in the boys 10 yr 50m Backstroke. 13 yr old Luke Pool had to pull out of the competition due to illness at the last moment. 14 yr olds Abbey Hargreaves & Dean Heaps were chosen by the North Lancs committee to be Vice Captains for the Team a big honour for both swimmers in their last year of the competition.

North Lancs Team Manager Steve Heaps said "All the swimmers performed to a very high level in what was strong competition. The North West Region is an extremely competitive part of the country for swimming. To win this competition again is a wonderful achievement. My thanks go to all involved in the North Lancs Team & to the Coaches at all the Clubs involved for preparing the swimmers for this event."

Final result:

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