Drogheda Swim Club had 29 swimmers in action in 93 individual events and four relay teams at the second Leinster Swimming “Future Challengers” meet for 10-14-year-olds which took place at the National Aquatic Centre on Sunday 13th February.
Some of the Drogheda swimmers were taking part in their very first gala and visiting the NAC for the first time which was a great experience.
From the 93 swims, club members came away with 52 PBs and 27 events tried for the first time. With some place results still pending, the top performers were Jessica Sweeney (1st 50m Backstroke, 3rd 50m Breaststroke, 4th 50m Butterfly), Dan Cojocaru (2nd 200m IM and 200m Freestyle) and Titas Bisikirskas (2nd 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 4th 50m Butterfly) while we had 4th place finishes from Orlaith Crowley (200m IM), Dylan Brady (100m Freestyle), Lauren Fearn (25m Freestyle Kick) and Isla Mathieson (100m IM).
There were very impressive swims from both Dan Cojocaru (2.34.58) and Amelia Tuite in the 200m Freestyle. Amelia set PBs at 50m and 100m on the way to a very fast time of 2.46.58 while Dan also swam exceptionally well in the 200m IM where he clocked 2.53.60 – marginally outside a National Division 2 Qualifying Time.
Titas Bisikirskas just missed a sub 30 second clocking in the 50m Freestyle by 0.07 seconds but is now top of the charts in the 13-year-old age group in the club records. Titas also had a great swim over 100m Backstroke (1.20.74) and will be aiming for the national QT of 1.17 very soon.
Our new swimmers didn’t let the occasion get to them and were rewarded with great swims from Coalition McAloon (100m Freestyle), Dawid Wajgelt (50m Butterfly, 100m IM, 100m Back), Adam Deery (50m Freestyle), Ethan James (100m Freestyle), Lili Patchell (50m Freestyle), Luke Morcross (100m Freestyle).
Twins Paul and Peter Byrne took part in the 100m Freestyle blue riband event for the first time with Peter (1.46.24) just getting the better of Paul (1.57.61) and both setting new PBs at 50m along the way.
Lauren Fearn got her supporters excited with her swim in the 50m Backstroke when she took off like a rocket and finished in 43 seconds, but a small misjudgment at the turn resulted in a DQ. She made up for this in the 50m Breaststroke however with a fantastic glide technique to finish in a super time of 46.45 which puts her second in the club age group records. Equally as impressive was Maria Kozak in the 50m Freestyle with a stunning swim showing great sprint technique finishing with a huge PB of 33.27 seconds.
There were great swims from Aaron Quinn (100m Breaststroke with a 37 sec PB), Clodagh Harmon (100m Freestyle), Alana Brady and Anna Sweeney (50m Breaststroke). Boann Tivnan scored four PBs from four swims as did Cormac Grogan who finished with a sub 3 minute clocking in the 200m Freestyle and Dylan Brady who took more time off his 100m Freestyle (1.07.52) after a big PB at the Leinster Schools last week while Robert Tiltu was well under the 90 second mark for the 100m Backstroke for the first time with a 1.26.98 clocking.
Fiadh Tivnan chopped 6 seconds each from her 50m Backstroke and Breaststroke times while Isla Mathieson replicated that figure in the 100m IM along with great swims in the 100m Free and 50m Fly and Breast. Kweva Fitzpatrick took victory in her heat of the 50m Breaststroke with a 7 second improvement.
Kate Harvey showed nerves of steel and displayed excellent technique in the 100m Breaststroke and came away with a massive new best in the 50m Freestyle for good measure. Despite being out of the water for a couple of weeks, Lewis Tuite stormed back setting new PBs in the 100m Free (1.18.72) and IM (1.30.66). In the toughest event of the day (100m Butterfly) Orlaith Crowley took 25 seconds off her best when stopping the clock at 1.32.59 by going out hard and hanging on as long as possible! She also scored a great time of 3.11.96 in the 200m IM off strong fly and breaststroke legs.
The club would like to thank the Team Manager, Deirdre, coaches Paula, Siobháin and Magda and the many parents in attendance for all their support on the day. Gala season is well and truly back and there is lots of competition coming up over the next few weeks after the very long layoff.
For more about Drogheda Swim Club see https://www.facebook.com/DroghedaSwimmingClub/
