Reading "A’s" 2004 National Speedo League season ended with the mid-table Premier Division South gala at Haslemere’s stunning Herons Pool.
The team had reached the comfort zone of the middle-six gala in the 18-team Premier Division South via solid third slots in both rounds one and two, but maintaining their pre-meet position of eighth overall looked a tough call in the enforced absence of two big hitters in the 12/13 age group in Adam Barrett and Amy Kunicki.
Head coach Graeme Thomas’s squad ran out equal fourth after the night’s 50 heats and 10th in the table. However, finishes in Rounds 1 or 2 above the teams which placed two and three at Haslemere, as well as the one they tied with 0n Saturday, suggested that at full strength the Evening Post-sponsored club could well have placed a comfortable second at least.
League rules allow for "swimming up" in more than one age group, and 11-year-old Chris Boyce completed his outstanding league season by again winning both permitted individual events in his own year and swimming four relays in all. James Tichband and Rachael Mills were two more dogged 11-year-olds doing relay duty in the older category as well as individual and relay swims in their own year, Tichband twice hanging on grimly for valuable relay points as anchor.
Stars among the older groups were Russel Korting with a huge winning margin in the 14/15 100m back in 1:03.97, and Leona Jones swimming a powerful 1:16.21 to take the open 100m breaststroke. Danielle Mason again got the meet off to an excellent start with second spot in the open 100m individual medley.
York Kloeppel impressed with a powerful second in the 14/15 100m breaststroke, a placing matched by Leanne Haas in the 14/15 girls’ programme, where Louisa Downs placed second in both fly and free. Further fly success came in second spots for Emma Zadrozny (open), Garry Dixon (14/15) and Alex Macarthur (12/13).
The electronic timing display showed just how close many races were, with numerous placings decided by a few hundredths. Reading had the best of one of these with a superb last few strokes taking Zadrozny to third spot in the open 100 free by just 0.03, while the other side of the coin saw Rob Knott miss second place by 0.07 in the men’s race.
Top performances in the relays again came in the 14/15 group. Kristian Statham added blistering final legs to the efforts of Korting, Kloeppel and Dixon as the quartet won both their freestyle (1:47.81) and medley (2:03.00), while Holly Tanner and Rebecca Alderson joined Haas and Downs to win their medley in 2:11.50.
The 11-and-under freestyle boys – Boyce, Tichband, Callum Willcox and Matteo Spanu – were Reading’s pick in the youngest group with third. An excellent second leg of breaststroke by Sam Flory set up the 12/13 medley quartet for third place, which the boys matched in their freestyle effort – two fine performances, particularly with Boyce and Tichband "swimming up".
Final scores: 1. Canterbury 214; 2. Herne Bay 181; 3. Haslemere 172; 4 = Reading/Brighton 171; 6. Bexley 140.
Reading team:
Bruno Bamberger; Chris Boyce; Garry Dixon; Andy Flett; Sam Flory; Daniel John; York Kloeppel; Rob Knott; Russel Korting; Alex Macarthur; Matteo Spanu; Kristian Statham; James Tichband; Callum Willcox.
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