The Profab Shield 28th Sept 2013
05 Oct 2013
Pershore Swimming Club travelled up to
Wolverhampton at the weekend to compete in The Profab Shield Gala against six
other clubs from the region including Stourbridge, Kingsbury, Redditch,
Oldbury, Bromsgrove and Haden Hill.
Despite missing a couple of key
swimmers, Pershore beat off challenges from Redditch to secure fourth place
just behind Oldbury and Kingsbury, with Stourbridge running away clear winners.
Megan Annis (10) got
Pershore off to a flying start, coming second in the girls 50m freestyle in
34.01 and securing a new County Qualifying Time (CQT). This was followed with maximum points for
Pershore with William Gearey (10) easily winning the boys 50m freestyle in
31.25. Jack Betteridge (13) put in a
superb performance in the boys 13 year old 50m breast stroke, battling hard to
take third place in 40.50 seconds and Owen Leeks (13) secured another third
place for Pershore with a 1.14.68 in the boys 14 year old 100m backstroke. The boys and girls 11 year old 4 x 25m medley
teams both put in strong performance, with Ellen Cope, Rebecca Phillips, Isobel
Cumming and Melissa Radley taking third in 1.20.54 and Patrick Heeks, Luke
Betteridge, William Gearey and Chris Vizard also finishing third in 1.16.54.
After the first ten
events, Pershore found themselves in second place on 58 points just behind
Stourbridge on 64 points and ahead of Oldbury on 55 points. The next ten events saw Pershore struggling
to grab a top three finish, with many of the swimmers just being edged out into
fourth and fifth place. And after twenty
events, Pershore found that they had slipped down to fourth place overall, with
Stourbridge moving into a commanding lead on 129 points and Kingsbury (117) and
Oldbury (110) moving ahead of Pershore (100) into second and third places
respectively.
Jasmine Taite (12)
got Pershore back on track in event 21, with an excellent third place in the
girls 13 year old 50m fly in 37.06 seconds. Isobel Cumming (11) then produced another strong swim in the girls 11
year old 50m fly, coming second in 41.32 and helping Pershore edge back into
contention. Gearey (10) then made it two
wins from two, taking first place in the boys 11 year old 50m fly in 38.25 and
securing a CQT. Hannah Simister (12)
then put in one of the best performances on the evening ensuring Pershore took
maximum points by winning the girls 12 year old 50m breast stroke in 43.94.
Two more podium
places were secured by the 13 year old girls and boys 4 x 50m medley relay
teams. Pershore girls quartet were up
first, with Naomi Marsden (11), Hannah Simister (12), Jasmine Taite (12) and
Cassarena Ferriera (12) taking third in 2.33.96. The boys team of Josh Lane (13), Jack
Betteridge (13), Owen Leeks (13) and Callum Sanderson (13) also took third in
2.30.57 seconds.
Jake Spencer took
third in the boys 14 year old 50m fly in 34.34, Ellen Cope grabbed third in the
girls 11 year old 50m back stroke in 43.90 and then Patrick Heeks (10), showing
much promise in the backstroke, took second in the boys 11 year old 50m
backstroke in 42.90 and achieving a new CQT.
After 35 events and
despite closing the gap on Oldbury, Pershore found themselves still in fourth
place on 158 points, Oldbury in third on 165, Kingsbury second on 174 points
and Stourbridge clear leaders on 192 points.
Gearey (10) managed
to grab second place in the boys 12 year old 50m freestyle in 32.51 and Josh
Lane grabbed a superb second in the boys 13 year old 50m backstroke in 42.90
and his first CQT of the year. With only
ten events left, PershoreÆs swimmers found themselves again being edged out
into fourth and fifth spots meaning they were struggling to catch Oldbury in
third place.
The final podium
finishes at the gala were left to the boys 14 year old 4 x 50m medley relay
team, with Josh Lane, Michael Evans, Adam Palin and Jake Spencer showing superb
fighting spirit. Spencer found himself
in fourth place in the last leg of the relay, managing to power past his rival
to grab third place for Pershore in 2.25.91; the girls 11 year 4 x 25m
freestyle also took third in 1.11.10 seconds with good performances from
Rebecca Phillips, Megan Annis, Naomi Marsden and Isobel Cumming; and the boys
quartet of Callum Sanderson, Jack Betteridge, Josh Lane and Owen Leeks grabbed
third place by just 0.45 seconds in a thrilling touch finish by Leeks.
The final positions
were Stourbridge (335 points), Kingsbury (296), Oldbury (279), Pershore (253),
Redditch (250), Haden Hill (216) and Bromsgrove (103).
PershoreÆs head coach
said: "Slightly disappointed not to have
finished third but the overall effort from the swimmers was great. I was particularly pleased with the
performances of some of our older swimmers, with Josh Lane grabbing a CQT in
the backstroke and the relay teams looking in strong form.ö
Ends.