PGL League Round 1 - Redditch 8 Feb 2014
08 Feb 2014
Pershore Swimming Club grabbed second place behind Redditch in Round 1 of the 2014 PGL League pushing local rivals Evesham into third and also beating Wyre Forest.
Despite picking up over ten speeding tickets in this development gala format, Pershore youngsters battled hard to take second spot with 140 points, with Redditch eventual winners on 148 and Evesham back in third with 132 points.
Pershore started the gala by picking up speeding tickets in the first two races, and it wasn’t until the fourth race that the team’s challenge really started. Helena Leach picked up third place in the girls 12/u 50m back in 42.59, and then Luke Betteridge and Isobel Cumming both secured third places in the 11/u 25m breast stroke.
The team’s first victory came from the boys 10/u 4 x 25m medley relay, with Patrick Heeks, Leo Rendall-Baker, Hamish Cross and Jamie Saunders securing maximum points for Pershore. Not to be outdone, the girls 10/u 4 x 25m medlay team of Sophie Thomas, Macey French, Alexandra Barry and Caitlin Yates then took first place too with a strong performance.
Oliver Smith managed third place in the boys 9 year old 25m free in 20.98 which was soon followed up by back-to-back first places from Jasmine Hoskins and Calum Sanderson. Hoskins secured maximum points in the girls 9 year old 25m free in 18.53 while Sanderson claimed first place in the boys 13/14 year old 50m back in 37.17.
After ten events, Pershore were in second place only three points ahead of Evesham, with Redditch already establishing a clear gap.
Another victory from a relay event came Pershore from the boys 12/u 4 x 25m medley team, with James Thomas, Chris Vizard, William Clarke and Josh Sharratt proving too strong for the opposition. Thomas then added second place in the boys 11/u 25m free in 17.49, while Ellen Cope went one better by securing victory in the girls 11/u 25m free in 17.22.
Pershore then picked up two more speeding tickets in the 25m fly events, with Robert Thorner helping to get the team back into the points with a third place in the boys 9 year old 25m breast in 31.79. Lauren Annis took first place in the girls 9 year old 25m breast in 24.04, helping to maintain the team’s second place position behind Redditch. After 20 events, Evesham has closed the gap on Pershore to just two points.
Josh Lane, Jack Betteridge joined Vizard and Sanderson with a dominant victory in the boys 13/14 4 x 25m medley relay, while the girls 13/14 4 x 25m medley team of Hope Rochell, Hannah Simister, Jasmine Taite and Mia Du Toit were just edged into second place by Wyre Forest.
Sharratt took second place in the boys 12/u 50m breast in 47.03 and Pershore newcomer Imogen Harper took third in the girls 11/u 25m fly and William Mullen gra bbed third place in the boys 9 year old 25m back in 26.71. The team then picked up several more speeding tickets meaning after 30 events, Pershore found themselves in fourth place behind Redditch, Evesham and Wyre Forest.
Jack Betteridge showed good form in the boys 13/14 50m breast recording 41.66 to take second, Cope came third in the girls 12/u 50m free in 38.22 while Hamish Cross and Caitlin Yates both grabbed silvers in the 10/u 25m backstroke.
The boys 11/u 4 x 25m medley team of Ronan Williams, Luke Betty joined Heek and Thomas to a third place whilst the mixed 9 year old 4 x 25m medley quarter of Mullen, Annis, Thorner and Jasmine Franks produced a strong team performance just beaten into second by Redditch.
Despite Sanderson making it two individuals wins from two races, with an excellent victory in the boys 13/14 50m free in 32.05, Pershore still found themselves back in fourth place after 40 events with it all to do.
Du Toit started Pershore’s comeback, with second place in the girls 13/14 50m free in 35.84, while Heeks stormed to victory in the boys 12/u 50m fly in 39.94 and Williams also came first in the boys 11/u 25m back. Rebecca Phillips added silver to Pershore’s tally in the girls 11/u 25m back in 23.13 whilst Cameron Leach and Macey French both won their races in the 10/u 25m breaststroke. The boys 13/14 4 x 25m freestyle relay of Sharratt, Sanderson, Betteridge and Josh Lane easily won victory in 59.97, while the girls 13/14 freestyle team of Hope, Du Toit, Taite and Simister grabbed third place.
And after 50 events, Pershore had managed to haul themselves back into contention, claiming back the second spot overall on 109 points just one point ahead of rivals Evesham and just the team relays left to sort out the positions.
Pershore managed to win five of the relay events and three second places to pile the pressure on the other teams. Alexandra Barry, Sophie Thomas, Caitlin Yates and Macey French dominated the girls 10/u 4 x25m freestyle relay and the mixed 9 year old team of Robert Thorner, Jasmine Hoskins, Oliver Smith and Tamara Marsden also secured maximum points. The boys 12/u team of Williams, Vizard, Sharratt and Clarke proved too strong for the opposition with another clear victory for Pershore and the last two events of the evening, the 10 x 25m freestyle cannon, saw the team’s strength in depth by victories in both.
The final positions saw Redditch on 148 points, Pershore on 140, Evesham on 132 and Wyre Forest on 125.