Stourbridge Open Meet 2013
06 Jun 2013
Pershore Swimming Club sent a 19-strong squad to compete at
the Stourbridge Junior Level 3 Open Meet held at Wolverhampton, coming away
with an impressive haul of 11 medals and 54 personal bests.
Stourbridge Crystal Open Meet has become one of the most
popular events on the MidlandÆs swimming calendar and offers up-and-coming
talent the perfect opportunity to compete in shorter, sprint distances.
There were some new faces on the podium for the Pershore
team, with the most notable performances coming from Patrick Heeks, Jamie
Saunders and Cameron Leach.
Jamie Saunders (9) came away with two medals and and
smashing four pbs on the way. Saunders
won the boys 50m fly in 47.54 seconds, taking a staggering 12 seconds off his
previous best time, and took bronze in the boys 9 year old 50m backstroke in
48.56, again in a massive pb by nearly seven seconds. He also edged closer towards the County
Qualifying Time in the 50m freestyle, coming fourth in 40.12 (pb) and notched
up another pb in the 100IM in 1.49.97 seconds.
Heeks (9) stormed to victory in the boys 9 year old 50m
freestyle, smashing his pb in a time of 38.67 and dipping under 40 seconds for
the first time. Heeks also recorded a
new pb in the boys 50m backstroke with a time of 44.16 but unfortunately
received a speeding ticket for his effort!
Leach (9) grabbed two silver medals and posted three new pbs
in the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Leach was just beaten into second place by team mate Heeks in the 50m
freestyle in 39.82 seconds (pb) and picked up silver in the boys 50m backstroke
in 48.11 (pb). He also posted a massive
ten second pb in the 50m breaststroke in a time of 57.71 seconds.
Saunders and Heeks are both hitting form at the right time,
with the age group County Relay Championships coming up in June.
Charlotte Downey (10) took gold in the girls 10 year old 50m
breaststroke in 48.99, knocking four seconds off her previous best time. Downey also swam 38.20 in the 50m freestyle and
45.48 seconds in the 50m fly to record pbs in both events.
Lizzie Vizard (14) secured three podium finishes, getting a
gold, silver and bronze. Vizard took
gold in the Girls 14 year old 50m breast stroke in 40.05, silver in the 100m IM
in 1.17.99 (pb) and rounded her weekend off with a third place in the 50m
freestyle in 32.12 and another pb. Younger brother added to the family medal collection, taking silver in
the boys 11 year old 50m fly in 44.52 seconds.
The final medal on the day went to Luke Betteridge (10) who
secured an excellent bronze in the boys 10 year old 50m breaststroke in new pb
of 53.82 seconds. Betteridge also
recorded pbs in the 50m backstroke (45.29) and 100m IM (1.45.32).
For some of the younger swimmers in the club, it was their
first taste of competition. Hazel Clay
(9) recorded pbs in the 50m back (1.02.91), the 50m breast (1.11.00), the 50m
fly (1.06.03) and the 100IM (2.12.09); Sophie Thomas (9) made it four pbs from
five events in the 50m freestyle
(47.17), the 50m breast (47.17), the 50m fly (1.07.28) and the 100m IM
(2.04.35); and Euan Campbell (10) recorded massive pbs in the 50m freestyle
(47.77) and the 50m back (54.32).
Other swimmers recording pbs included Casarena (12) and
Satara Ferriera (10), Rebecca Phillips (10), Melissa Radley (11), Jack
Betteridge (13), Ben (13) and William (11) Clarke, Owen Kirby (9) and Josh
Sharratt (11).
Tom Naughton, PershoreÆs head coach, commented: "This type of development meeting is very
important for our younger swimmers and gives them invaluable competitive
experience. ItÆs great to see some new
faces within our squad on the podium, with notable performances from the three
younger boys û Saunders, Leach and Heeks. There were some promising performances from our young female swimmers
too.ö
Ends