Inverclyde Now Logo SWIMMING — Impressive Mini League Win For Inverclyde

22 April, 2019 | Local

ROUND two of the Clyde Coast Mini League saw Inverclyde Amateur Swimming Club make it two wins out of two with a stunning victory in Ayr.

Inverclyde were competing against Kilmarnock and South Ayrshire. Confidence was high after victory in the first round, but a late change of date meant many of the team were unavailable to compete. Roadworks on the A78 added further travel complications and, in the end, the club was relieved to be able to field a full team.

The additional pressure brought out the best in the swimmers with the team scoring an incredible 212 points out of the 230 available. Once again, the boys were dominant across all age groups, but this time, the girls showed great improvement to boost the points total.

First up were the medley relays, with Inverclyde taking 28 out of the 30 points on offer through some impressive and dominant swimming. Many were swimming up an age category to complete the four-person teams, and coped admirably with the responsibility.

In the individual events, the boys dropped just two points across the entire competition. Even the swimmers competing in the Inverclyde reserve lane were impressive. Although swimmers in the reserve lane cannot earn points, they get valuable racing experience and compete every bit as fiercely as their teammates.

In the eight-and-under category, Blake Herdman, Brodie McArthur and Finlay Morrice each won their individual events: Blake in the 25-metre freestyle and butterfly; Brodie in the 25-metre backstroke and Finlay in the 25-metre breaststroke.

For the nine-year-olds, Scott Brodie won the 25-metre butterfly and freestyle. Josh Docherty won the 25-metre backstroke and took second place in the breaststroke.

In the 10-year-old boys’ category it was another 100 per cent win rate for the team. Archie McArthur won the 50-metre backstroke and butterfly and Ryan Cummings won the 50-metre freestyle and breaststroke.

In the 11-year-old boys’ category, Peter Maloney and Luke Garrity improved on their points score in the first round to make it full marks in their four events. Peter won the 100-metre butterfly and backstroke events and Luke won the 100-metre freestyle and breaststroke.

The reserve swims across all the age groups were equally impressive. Oliver Gibson, Oliver Jones, Cameron Beck and Lukas Kong all did well, beating all other teams on several occasions to record multiple Inverclyde first and second-place finishes. In the girls’ team, there was lots of cause for optimism, with some strong swimming across the age groups.

In the eight-and-under category, the girls matched the boys by winning all the individual events. Nina Spirit Hawthorne won the 25-metre freestyle and breaststroke while Taguen Maloney won the 25-metre butterfly and backstroke.

The nine-year-old girls bettered their male counterparts by recording 100 per cent victories. Sophie Campbell won in the 25-metre butterfly and backstroke, Eilidh Melrose in the 25-metre breaststroke and Isabella McClafferty in the 25-metre freestyle.

The 10-year-old girls also won all their races: Lois Herdman in the 50-metre backstroke, Mirren McConnell in the 50-metre freestyle and butterfly and Alice McClafferty in the 50-metre breaststroke. Competition was toughest for the 11-year-old girls, but Olivia McNally and Charlotte Jones should be positive about the improved times they achieved against strong swimmers.

The reserve girls performed well throughout the afternoon, scoring many more second-place finishes. Mirrin Fay, Ellie Atkinson, Beth Nichol, Skye McLellan and Amy Mearns were among those competing, with a number of new personal bests (PBs) being set.

By the end of the individual swims, the score check showed Inverclyde had a 50-point lead and could not be caught, but there was no chance of the young team taking it easy in the freestyle relays. Once again, they claimed victory in all but one of the races, with more impressive times being recorded.

Race of the day was undoubtedly the final boys’ squadron relay. Despite strong swims in the first few legs, South Ayrshire had a good lead over the Inverclyde team. Each swimmer worked tirelessly to close the gap and by the final 25-metre there was nothing between the teams. With the whole of the Inverclyde team screaming him home, Luke Garrity managed to inch ahead and claim victory by less than a second.

Mini league coach Andrew Hemphill said: “In round one we saw some great individual performances, but in this round we really showed our strength as a team. Holidays meant that some of the team were unavailable so we had to make changes. Some of the swimmers were asked to compete outside their comfort zone, but they managed it with incredible maturity.

“Every swimmer focused on the task in hand and swam incredibly well across all the events. Such a strong team performance reminds us that swimming is not always an individual sport, and such a great team spirit from swimmers, officials, supporters and parents will be a massive advantage as we head into our home round, and hopefully the final!”

The third round will be hosted by Inverclyde ASC in Dunoon (because of the broken floor at the Waterfront pool) on Sunday 19 May.

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