PGL League Round 1 - 20th Feb 2015
22 Feb 2015
Pershore Swimming Club travelled to West Bromwich for Round 1 of the PGL League, taking on teams from Oldbury, Northgate and Warley, looking for a strong start to help secure a place in the Final as they did in 2014. The PGL is an exciting, development competition for swimmers aged between 9 and 14 years old and also includes speeding tickets as part of its format.
Josh Sharratt got Pershore off to the best possible start, with maximum points in the boys 13/14 50m fly (35.69) and Charlotte Downey soon added another first place in the girls 13/14 50m fly winning in 37.22. Roan Williams pushed hard for victory in the boys 12/u 50m backstroke, winning in 40.56, while Lauren Annis also won easily in the girls 12/u 50m backstroke in 40.72. Pershore’s excellent start continued with back-to-back victories in the boys and girls 11/u 25m breaststroke. Owen Kirby won the boys event in 22.81 and Olivia O’Sullivan took victory in the girls in 22.25.
The boy’s 10/u 4 x 25m medley relay were just edged into second place by Oldbury, while the girls 10/u team got Pershore back to winning ways. Ethan Stanley swam hard in the boys 9 years 25m free with a time of 19.94 and Lily Mullen impressed with a 23.47 in the girls 25m event.
After ten events, Pershore had built a sizeable lead over Northgate, with Oldbury back in third and Warley in fourth place.
Calum Sanderson grabbed second in the boys 13/14 50m backstroke in 36.20, while Jasmine Taite picked up the team’s first speeding ticket in the girls 50m backstroke (35.44). Pershore didn’t have to wait long for another victory, with the girls 12/u 4 x 25m relay team winning in 1.16.45, the boys team grabbed third place in their race in 1.18.47.
Two more wins came courtesy of Max Aris and Oliver Smith. Aris looked strong for the win in the boys 11/u 25m free (16.19) while Oliver Smith grabbed first place in the boys 10/u 25m fly (2.93). Caitlin Yates was unlucky not to take victory in the girls 11/u 25m free (16.69) and Georgia Winkley was also just edged into second in the girls 10/u 25m fly (20.18). David Annis secured maximum points in the boys 9 year 25m breaststroke in 26.40, while Grace Styler took second in the girl’s event in 29.65. Aris also won the boys 11/u 25m backstroke (21.75) and Robert Thorner easily won the boys 10/u 25m breaststroke (26.40).
After 20 events, Pershore had extended their lead (64 points) to 12 points over Oldbury (52), Northgate (44) and Warley (30).
Kieran Cooper won the boy’s 12/u 50m breaststroke in 45.32, while Macey French picked up the team’s second speeding ticket in the girls event (45.75). Kirby was back in action in the boys 11/u 25m fly, taking third in 20.33, while O’Sullivan managed to grab second in the girls 25m fly (20.12).
Smith made it two wins from two, with another dominant performance in the boys 10/u 25m free (19.53), while Isabel Fairchild secured second in the girls 25m free (19.38). Lewis Cribben came third in the boys 9 year 25m back (24.89) and Leah Meredith also came third in the girls 25m back (26.98). Luke Perry got Pershore back to winning ways, with a great display in the boys 13/14 50m breaststroke (41.56) and Holly Winkley picked up a third place in girls event (43.97). Isobel Cumming came close to snatching the win in the girls 12/u 50m free (35.03) just being beaten on the touch.
James Heeks produced an excellent swim for the win in the boys 10/u 25m back (22.00), while Fairchild also took maximum points in the girls 10/u 25m back (21.82). Hannah Simister produced a dominant performance in the girls 13/14 50m free, winning easily in 33.00. Olivia Howard picked up the team’s third speeding ticket in the girls 12/u 50m fly (38.97) and Gabriella the fourth ticket in the girls 9 year 25m fly (19.85). There were also victories for the girl’s 10/u 4 x 25m freestyle relay team, the boys and girl’s 11/u 4 x 25m freestyle teams, the girl’s 12/u 4 x 25m freestyle team and the girl’s 10 x 25m cannon.
The final scores saw Pershore clear winners on 173 points, with Oldbury second on 163 points, Northgate 142 points and Warley on 96 points.
Commenting on the performance, Pershore’s head coach, Tom Naughton, said: "There were some great swims tonight and I’m extremely pleased to get the win under our belt. Our target is to reach the 2015 PGL Final so this is a good start. Victory in the next round will certainly put us in a good position to challenge for a place in the final.”