PERSHORE Swimming Club secured their place in the 2014 PGL League final with a good performance in round three at Worcester as they battled hard against their rivals from Worcester, Stourbridge and Haden Hill.
Pershore, who finished second, 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 was not long before Pershore had notched 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 the girls 12/u 50m backstroke, recording a good time of 42.14, and she also grabbed second in the 11/u 25m fly in 19.59. Later in the evening Winkley then took the top podium spot 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 freestyle in 17.71.
Unfortunately Pershore’s boys and girls 10/u 4x25m medley relay team 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 backstroke 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 freestyle in 20.82 and second in the 25m fly in 24.07, whilst Georgia Winkley snatched second in the girls 9/u 25m freestyle 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 of the night to secure maximum points in the girls 13/14 50m freestyle 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 secured victory for Pershore with a fantastic first place in girls 11/u 25m freestyle 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, whilst 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 backstroke 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, whilst Sophie Thomas also produced excellent displays to take second places in both the girls 10/u 25m freestyle in 18.38 and 25m backstroke in 23.33.
Liam Cope managed third place in the boys 10/u 25m freestyle in 19.48, as did Jamie Saunders swimming up an age group in the boys 12/u 50m freestyle in 37.34. Saunders also secured second place in the boys 12/u 50m freestyle with another strong swim in 43.91, whilst Olivia O’Sullivan won 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 by coming second in the girls 12/u 50m freestyle in 37.30.
Several of the relay teams powered to victory too including the girls 11/u 4x25m medley squad, the mixed 9/u 4x25m medley team, the boys 10/u 4x25m freestyle squad and the girls 10/u 4x25m 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 at Gloucester on June 7.