Another superb performance was put in by Louth SC junior swimmers at the Meridian Pool Louth on 14/05/11, as Louth Swimming Club paid hosts to the 2nd Round of the Lincs Junior League. Louth had 11 individual wins on the night, an improvement of 4 wins from Round 1 and finished in a superb 2nd place overall, facing stiff opposition from Cleethorpes and Scunthorpe Anchor (CASA) “A” and “B” teams, City of Lincoln Pentaqua (CLP), South Axholme and Lincoln Vulcans (LVSC) “B”. Louth SC “Swimmer of the Night” accolade was shared between 2 super fast boys – Jay Clarke (10 yr age group) and Oliver Hardesty (9 yrs age group), who both achieved fabulous double wins, achieving Pb’s in both winning swims.
The 1st Louth individual winner of the evening was Jay Clarke in the Boys 10 yr 50m Breaststroke. Jay finished a second in front of all opposition after a couple of disqualifications, gaining a very fast 2 second Pb time. Next winner for Louth was Luke Freeman in the Boys 11/u 50m Backstroke. Luke led from the start and finished a second in front of the swimmer from CLP.
Oliver Hardesty, just 9 years of age had his 1st win of the night in the Boys 9 years 25m Breaststroke. He had a faultless and smooth swim, gaining a good Pb time and finishing just under a second in front of his nearest rival from CASA “A”. He later won the 9 years 25m Butterfly too, getting a huge 3 second Pb. Fabulous swimming Oliver!
Jay Clarke was again a winner in his best event, the Boys 10 years 50m Backstroke. Jay is a double winner in this event now, having also won in the 1st round. However, Jay managed yet another Pb of approx 1.5 seconds and more importantly, gained himself his first County Champs qualifying time for 2012.
Lily Miller was only one of two girls achieving individual Louth wins on the night, in her favoured event the Girls 12/u 50m Freestyle. Lily led from the off, had a great turn and fought off stiff opposition from CASA “A” in the next lane. She celebrated with a PB time and a County Qualifying time to boot!
Jan Meiwald, swimming in the boys 12/u 50m Freestyle, was again a double winner both on the night and also from having won this event in round 1 too. Yet again Jan swam like a rocket, winning by half a second. He gained a fast Pb time and a County qualifying time also. Jan had his 2nd victory in the 50m Backstroke later on in the evening. Jan again was a winner in this event in Round 1, but found the competition a bit harder this round, just touching out the swimmer from CASA “A”. He bagged another County qualifying time in the bargain.
Joshua Wright was another Louth double victor, in the Boys 11/u 50m Freestyle event, also the event he won in Round 1. Josh kept his smooth stroke throughout this race, leading from the start, winning by 1.5 seconds and managed to achieve a County qualifying time too. His second win of the night came later in the Boys 11/u 50m Breaststroke, whereby he maintained an unassailable lead, winning by a massive 3 seconds and again, although not quite a Pb, he did notch up yet another County Qualifying time.
Sofie Schneider was Louth’s only other female winner on the night in the Girls 12/u 50m Breaststroke. Again she had also won this event in round 1. Sofie achieved Louth’s biggest win of the night, beating all her fellow swimmers by almost 4 seconds. Sofie never looked like she would be beaten and in fact extended her lead as she went along. This gained her another superb Pb time and a well deserved County qualifying time. She had previously got 2nd place in the 50m Butterfly, again with a Pb and a County time.
Louth had 4 Relay wins in the evening, achieved by just 2 teams. The Girls 12/u Freestyle and Medley team consisting of Lola Sharrock, Marie and twin sister Sofie Schneider and Lily Miller. They had an exciting win in the very first event of the night, winning the 4 x 25m Medley relay by just over a tenth of a second! They had a somewhat easier time in the Freestyle Relay at the end of the night, with a 2.5 second win. All the girls set very fast times indeed. Not to be outdone were the 11/u Boys Medley and Freestyle teams of Luke Freeman, Joshua Wright, Robbie Sweatman and 1st time gala swimmer Callum Kidd. The Freestyle team had a whopping 3 second win, but they found quicker competition in the Medley relay, which they won by just under 1 second.
Louth Team put in a superb performance and had many 2nd places during the night which helped the team gain 2nd overall. These were achieved by the following swimmers (along with those already previously mentioned):
Boys 12/u Medley and Freestyle relay team consisting of Jan Meiwald, Tom Harrop, Ivan Koslow and Josh Wright; Boys 9yr Medley team of Joseph Vickers, Drew Thompson, Oliver Hardesty and Jevon George-Jones. Both Drew and Jevon were 1st Time gala swimmers, who had only recently joined Louth SC – talk about being thrown in at the deep end boys! They had great swims, gaining the team valuable points; Joseph Vickers Boys 9 yrs 25m Freestyle; Ellena Bartup Girls 9 years 25m Breaststroke; Paige Kelly Girls 9 years 25m Backstroke; Leon Page Boys 10 years 25m Butterfly; Thomas Harrop Boys 50m Breaststroke and Marie Schneider Girls 12/u 50m Backstroke. The last event was the 8 x 25m Freestyle cannon race, consisting of 4 boys and 4 girls, one of each from the 4 age groups swimming. This is always a very exciting event and this one was no exception! Louth came 2nd to CASA “A” who we were gaining on as we progressed through the race, but had just not got enough left in the tanks to take the win right at the end.
Other swimmers not previously mentioned, but helping the team to gain valuable overall points and putting in great performances, many achieving valuable Pb and County Qualifying times, were, Emma Maw, Ely Miller, Lily Jacklin, Hugo and Lottie Fry, Qian Yue To and Scarlet Torrington. The Louth Coaches all said that the overall performance from the squad was great. Swimmers gained 30 Pb’s and 11 County Qualifying times were achieved by Sofie Schneider, Marie Schneider, Lily Miller, Emma Maw, Jan Meiwald, Josh Wright, Tom Harrop, Ivan Koslow and Jay Clarke.
The gala was very well attended by parents, family and friends and the atmosphere was electric. Let’s hope the Final round on 10th September will be just as thrilling.
Results in points on the night were – 1st CASA “A” (251), 2nd Louth (215), 3rd CLP (178), 4th CASA “B” (137), 5th South Axholme (123), 6th LVSC “B” (57).
Sarah Richardson
Team Manager
