SWIMMING — Success For Inverclyde ASC Squad At Bellshill
TWENTY Inverclyde ASC swimmers took to the pool at the Bellshill Sharks Open and achieved an impressive set of results.
Completing almost 100 individual swims, they secured 40 top-six finishes and 19 medals -– nine gold, five silver and five bronze.
Seven of those were won by nine-year old Archie McArthur, who earned medals in each of his events. Archie swam his way to five gold and two silver medals and recorded new personal best (PB) times in all but one event. Competing against boys up to two years older, Archie won gold for the 50-metre, 100-metre and 200-metre butterfly, 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre freestyle. His silver medals came in the 100-metre breaststroke and 100-metre freestyle.
His 200-metre butterfly triumph was one of the most exciting races of the competition. Having led for most of the race, a strong surge from Archie’s 11-year old rival threatened his win in the final few metres, but Archie dug deep to secure his impressive victory by a fraction of a second.
Fellow nine-year old, Cameron Beck, secured two medals and eight PBs. Swimming in nine events, Cameron made all four finals for the 50-metre events in the eight to 10-year-old categories and won gold for the 50-metre backstroke and silver in the 100-metre butterfly. His PBs ensured he placed highly in his other events, with four more top-six finishes.
Oliver Patton made it three medals and three PBs from three events when he secured gold for the 100-metre freestyle and two bronzes for the 50-metre and 200-metre backstroke in the 11 to 12 years age group. Competing in the same age category, 11-year old Luke Garrity brought home a gold for the 400-metre individual medley and a bronze for the 100-metre breaststroke. Luke also recorded three new PBs in his other events.
The final gold medal came from Mirren McConnell in the eight to 10 age group 100-metre butterfly. Despite being ill all week, Mirren still managed to record a PB to take the victory. She also gave strong performances to secure a further two top-six places.
Aaron Gray had a successful competition picking up an impressive silver in the 200-metre butterfly and a bronze in the 50-metre butterfly and recording PBs in every event. Aaron also recorded another two top-six finishes in his 15-and-over category.
With three new PBs, Ryan Cummings secured a silver in the 50-metre breaststroke and a fourth and fifth place in the 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre freestyle events in the eight to 10 age group. The final medallist of the day was Adam Brooks. Swimming in the 13 to 14 category, Adam won a bronze for his 100-metre backstroke and secured new PBs in three of his other events.
Outside of the medals, everyone else achieved impressive personal results with high place finishes and new PBs. Nine-year-old Scott Brodie continued to improve with five new PBs and six top-10 finishes, including the finals of the eight to 10 category 50-metre backstroke and breaststroke. Ashleigh Blyth, Eve Morrison and Ben Skinner secured fourth places in the 200-metre individual medley, 100-metre breaststroke and the 50-metre backstroke respectively. Cammy Kerr also got a fifth place and a new PB in the 400-metre freestyle.
Four swimmers achieved 100 per cent PBs across a number of events. Holly Beck made it seven out of seven and secured impressive top-10 placings for her 200-metre individual medley and freestyle events. Darren Macleay made it four out of four and a top-10 place for his 50-metre breaststroke. Both Alice McClafferty and Nathan Peoples recorded two PBs each, with Alice getting top-10 finishes for her 50-metre breaststroke and 50-metre freestyle and Nathan for his 100-metre butterfly.
Sam Sharkey, Katherine Simpson and Anna McClafferty also improved on their times in a number of different events. Sam recorded top-10 finishes in the 200-metre freestyle and 50-metre breaststroke, where he also swam a PB. Anna achieved new PBs in her 100-metre backstroke and 100-metre and 200-metre freestyle events, while Katherine improved her times in the 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre freestyle.
The coaching team for the competition was delighted with all of the performances -– but singled out the high number of PBs, the two 200-metre butterfly medals and having three swimmers in the eight to 10 boys’ 50-metre breaststroke final (Ryan, Cameron and Scott) as their top highlights. Having medallists and finalists from across a wide range of age groups and events shows how the club is growing and improving in strength and depth.
