Hatfield Challenge Meet - May 2005

Twelve-year-old Chris Boyce added his name to Reading SC's squad for July's national championships in Sheffield with a great swim in the 400 individual medley at the Hatfield Challenge meet – making him Reading's 11th qualifier in already the largest squad for some years in either the age group or youth categories, with other swimmers close to making it and several qualifying meets remaining.

The superb 25-metre pool on a new sports campus – complete with a scoreboard giving swimmers' reaction times off the blocks - was an ideal venue for fast times.

With Emma Tarrant and Rob Knott coaching on poolside, Boyce got his meet off to a great start by winning his year's 100m backstroke in 1:12.22 and then made his landmark first ever "NQT" – a bronze medal swim in 5:30.90 getting inside the 400 IM target by just over a tenth of a second. Boyce was within a whisker of a couple more times, and collected silvers over 200 metres in both the IM and backstroke.

Callum Willcox, already a national qualifier via his 200 breaststroke swim at the Reading Easter Open, was well inside the 400 IM time in 5:50.11 – beating the target for 11-year-olds by some five seconds and finishing seventh in the two-year age category. Willcox was also in great form in the 200 breast, a time of 3:05.33 further improving his PB, and also swam a new best in the 100 fly.

Higher up the age range, Russel Korting was 15/16 400 IM winner in 4:48.22.

Frankie Wilkins, turning 12 just days beforehand, put in easily Reading's top female swim of the meet in the longest event, the 800 free, in a time of 10:17.66. Wilkins went out fast with a 35-second first 50 and then made new PBs at each major stage of her heat win – 100, 200 and 400 metres as well as the overall 800 – and took 12 seconds off her entry time.

Completing a great weekend's work, Wilkins recorded further PBs in the 200 breast, 400 free and 200 IM, making a good recovery from a slow reaction at the IM start.

Among the other girls Leanne Haas (15) was one place outside her year's 100m butterfly medals and Ashley James recorded a three-second PB in the 200m free in her best swim of the meet.

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