PGL League - Final June 2015
14 Jun 2015
Pershore Swimming Club sent a strong team to the PGL Final held at Gloucester, having qualified in first place after the heats.
With tough opposition from clubs such as Worcester, Cheltenham, Redditch, Northgate, Wyre Forest, Evesham and Stourbridge, Pershore swam brilliantly to finish fourth behind eventual winners Worcester in this development competition which has speeding tickets as part of its format.
Jamie Saunders started well for Pershore with a second place finish in the boys 13/14 50m fly in 37.30. The first win for Pershore came in the boy’s 10/u medley relay 1.21.97 (James Heeks, David Annis, Ollie Smith and Harry Wycherley), while the Girls followed with a third 1.23.10 (Tamara Marsden, Jasmine Hoskins, Amelia Gearey and Georgia Winkley) in the same event. Martha Cross claimed maximum points in the Girls 9yrs 25m free in 18.74 and another first place soon followed in the boys 12/u Medley Relay 1.11.84 (Ronan Williams, Kieran Cooper, Saunders and Cameron Leach).
After 15 events Pershore found themselves in fourth place behind early leaders Worcester.
Sophie Thomas finished second in the girls 11/u 25m free in 16.89 and Georgia Winkley secured another victory in the girls 10/u 25m fly in 20.33. The Boys 13/14 Medley Relay team (Luke Perry, Jamie West, Josh Sharratt and Saunders) and Girls 13/14 Medley Relay team (Charlotte Downey, Hannah Simister, Amy Cooper and Helena Leach) both put in strong performances, with the boys claiming third place in 1.21.97 and the girl’s second place in 1.23.10. Lauren Annis swam to first place in 12/u 50m breaststroke in 46.08 and James Heeks grabbed second place in the boys 10/u 25m freestyle in 17.59.
After 30 events Pershore still found themselves in fourth place but ahead of local rivals, Evesham.
Lewis Cribbin grabbed a second place finish in the boys 9yrs 25m back in 23.87 and Perry also secured second place in the Boys 13/14 50m breaststroke in 40.48. Caitlin Yates claimed another victory in the Girls 13/14 50m breaststroke in 41.90 and Downey produced a strong swim to win the 12/u 50m freestyle in 33.18.
Heeks snatched second place in the boys 10/u 25m back in 21.47 and the boys 11/u Medley Relay (Williams, Owen Kirby, Leo Rendall-Baker and Leach) produced a strong swim to claim first place in 1.16.86 and the mixed 9yrs Medley relay (Gabriella Barry, David Annis, Cross and Ethan Stanley) added to the points total with a third place finish in a 1.29.23.
With a string of superb first place finishes in the girls 12/u 50m fly Holly Winkley 40.10, boys 11/u 25m backstroke Kirby 20.67, Girls 11/u 25m backstroke Yates 19.37, boys 10/u 25m breaststroke Annis 23.62 and the boys 9yr 25m fly Lewis 22.46, this moved Pershore into second place after 45 events, level with Cheltenham but still behind leaders Worcester.
With the final relay events remaining, Pershore were looking to secure more podium finishes. The girl’s 13/14 freestyle relay team (Isobel Cumming, Cooper, Simister and Leach) grabbed second place in 1.01.62 before the boy’s 11/u freestyle relay (Saunders, Leach, Williams and Cooper) claimed another first place finish in 1.04.24. The mixed 9yrs freestyle relay (Cross, Cribbin, Barry and Annis) also added a first place finish in 1.13.35 and the boy’s 12/u freestyle grabbed third place in 1.04.39.
With the final two events the cannon relays the boys finished in fifth place in 2.56.22 and the girls finishing in second place in 2.48.86.
The final positions were Worcester 327, Cheltenham 297, Redditch 284, Pershore 279, Stourbridge 233, Wyre Forest 225, Northgate 219 and Evesham 216.
There were good performances by the whole team with 21 personal bests, numerous speeding tickets and other Pershore Swimmers who competed included Macey French, Luke Drayton, Grace Styler and Jasmine Franks.