PGL League Round 3 - May 2014
17 May 2014
Pershore Swimming Club ensured their place in the 2014 PGL League Final with a good performance in Round 3 at Worcester, battling hard against their rivals from Worcester, Stourbridge and Haden Hill.
Pershore had a strong start to the gala, with Callum Sanderson taking second in the boys 13/14 50m fly in 37.21 and Alexandra Barry, swimming up several age groups, also grabbing second in the girls 13/14 50m fly in 38.38.
It wasn’t long before Pershore had notched up their first victory of the evening, with William Clarke delivering maximum points in the boys 12/u 50m backstroke in 41.30. Holly Winkley was unlucky not to win in the girls 12/u 50m backstroke, recording a good time of 42.14 and also grabbed second in the 11/u 25m fly in 19.59. Later in the evening, Winkley then took the top podium with an excellent win in the girls 11/u 25m in 20.44.
In the boys 11/u 25m breaststroke, Luke Betteridge was edged into third place in 23.56, while Isobel Cumming went one better to secure second in the girls 11/u 25m breaststroke in 22.50. Betteridge also grabbed third place in the boys 11/u 25m free in 17.71.
Unfortunately Pershore’s boys and girls 10/u 4 x 25m medley relay fell foul of the PGL’s speeding ticket system and were disqualified for being too fast in both events. Owen Kirby also picked up a speeding ticket in the boys 10/u 25m back with a quick time of 21.35 but managed to grab second in the 25m breaststroke in 25.38. Jack Betteridge, Isobel Cumming and Ronan Williams also picked up speeding tickets in their individual events.
Oliver Smith produced a third place in the boys 9/u 25m free in 20.82 and second in the 25m fly in 24.07, with Georgia Winkley snatching second in the girls 9/u 25m free in 18.99 and third in the 25m fly in 22.38.
Hannah Simister clocked 41.56 in the girls 13/14 50m backstroke and then produced her best performance on the night to secure maximum points in the girls 13/14 50m free in 33.83. Jamie West grabbed an excellent second in the boys 13/14 50m backstroke in 44.73 and was then edged into fourth place in the boys 13/14 50m breaststroke in 47.45.
Ellen Cope made it victory number two for Pershore, with a fantastic first place in girls 11/u 25m free in 17.32, and this was soon followed by another maximum points from Caitlin Yates in the girls 10/u 25m fly in 20.80.
In the boys 9/u 25m breaststroke, Will Mullen came fourth in 32.79, while Annie Garrett managed second place in the girls 9/u 25m breaststroke in 28.13. Garrett also clocked 33.16 in the girls 9/u 25m back for fourth place.
Josh Sharratt and Nerera Othick were both fourth in the boys and girls 12/u 50m breaststroke in 48.39 and 53.74 respectively as was Cameron Leach in the boys 11/u 25m fly in 21.07.
Robert Thorner produced one of the best performances of the night to win the boys 9/u 25m backstroke in 25.93, while Sophie Thomas also produced excellent displays to take second places in both the girls 10/u 25m free in 18.38 and 25m back in 23.33.
Liam Cope managed third place in the boys 10/u 25m free in 19.48 as did Jamie Saunders swimming up an age group in the boys 12/u 50m free in 37.34. Saunders also secured second place in the boys 12/u 50m free with another strong swim in 43.91. Olivia O’Sullivan took silver in the girls 10/u 25m breaststroke in 25.73.
Charlotte Downey looked strong against much older girls in the 13/14 50m breaststroke, fighting hard for the team to claim a well-earned second place in 46.02, with Melissa Radley also battling well to secure good points for Pershore coming second in the girls 12/u 50m free in 37.30.
Several of the relay teams powered to victory too including the girls 11/u 4 x 25m medley relay, the mixed 9/u 4 x 25m medley team, the boys 10/u 4 x 25m freestyle and the girls 10/u 4 x 25m freestyle team.
The final positions saw Worcester win on 146 points, Pershore on 138, Haden Hill on 135 and Stourbridge on 133. Pershore will be going for gold in the PGL Final held at Gloucester on 7thJune 2014.