Berks
and South Bucks County Championships
Berks
and South Bucks Day 3 Report
Reading's top swimmers took the water again as the 2006 Berks and South Bucks championships passed the midpoint with three more sessions at Maidenhead's Magnet Pool.
The Post-sponsored squad's medal haul began with the first girls' event, the 200m individual medley.
The top 15-16 age group girls were also top three overall. Reading's Louisa Downs took the bronze behind Wycombe's outstanding Katie Ambridge and Anna Jemielity, which also gave her the junior silver for swimmers still under 17 at the end of the year.
Francesca Wilkins continued her domination of the 12 years group. A time of 2.36.98 was a winning margin of six seconds, while Katie Hawkins placed fifth. Rachael Mills matched this one age group up, and Kristina Paige was within a quarter-second of the gold in the 14s group, narrowly beaten by Slough's top swimmer Ashleigh Lloyd.
Leona Jones, as usual drawing on a strong breaststroke, placed fifth overall and second in the top age group, where Louisa Herring was fourth, Amy Thomas fifth and Beth Ayerst sixth.
The boys' and men's 100 free, probably the most exciting event for spectators at any meet, drew a surprisingly small total field of 65.
Alex Macarthur (14) and Garry Dixon (16), junior and senior 800 and 1500 double champions a week earlier, showed they can sprint as well, Macarthur with an age group silver and Dixon fourth in his year. Reading were delighted to see Russ Korting back in action after illness and he placed sixth in the 15-16 group. Adam Barrett, dominant in the 13 age group in the series so far, had to settle for silver behind Windsor's Jonathan Naish.
With Holly Tanner dropping out through illness, Naomi Herring was Reading's top-placed 200m backstroker in eighth overall in a field of almost 100. Herring's 2.28.33 slashed her previous best by seven seconds and won the 14s age group bronze.
Frankie Wilkins yet again won her year by a big margin in 2.36.21, and 11-year-olds Annette Hopson and Ellie Wood were among their year's rosette winners in fifth and sixth.
Reading placed three boys in the overall top eight in the tough 200 fly – like all middle and longer-distance events, decided on heat times rather than via an eight-lane final.
Dixon was fourth, Macarthur fifth and Barrett eighth. Barrett's 2.26.61 won his year by a huge 14 seconds. Dixon also won his year and Macarthur placed second, and both made the rostrum as second and third junior. Markus Orgill, with a previous best of 2.37, lopped off four seconds and won the 14s bronze.
Swimmers tackling 100s, though, had to do it again in a final. Leona Jones, 17, got it right twice with the day's fastest breaststroke heat in 1.16.05, topped by the county championship trophy after swimming 1.15.10 second time around.
Leanne Haas, 16, missed the final by one place as ninth out of 80 overall and was fourth in her year. Amy Kunicki went one better and took the 14s bronze. just ahead of Paige. Rachael Mills was another finishing fourth, and Wilkins again put clear water between her and the opposition with an age group win in 1.25.20.
Reading again just missed out on medals in a couple of categories in the boys' 50m breaststroke. Callum Willcox was joint fourth 12-year-old and Chris Boyce in the same position one year up.
York Kloeppel was one place outside the overall final and fifth 16-and-under on the day, but with two boys ahead of him turning 17 before year-end won the junior bronze.
The age groups' 400s yielded still more Reading fourth spots, via Willcox and 10-year-old Barnaby Kempster in his first distance swim at this level of competition, while James Bradley was fifth 11-year-old.
Kloeppel was third in his year, but Barrett yet again blew away the opposition - within three seconds of the national standard and beating a silver medallist Fabian Whitbread of Windsor by exactly 10 seconds in 4.25.19.
Dixon was just pipped to the senior 400 free gold by Wycombe's 18-year-old David Ryan, but lifted the junior trophy.
Alex Macarthur made his first national qualifying time of the season in the 800 freestyle the previous weekend, and added the 400 with a great 4.15.50 - just 0.34 inside his target time, an age group silver.
Leona Jones was hoping to make it a breaststroke double triumph, but was just pipped over 200 metres by Katie Ambridge.
The top swim in the event, however, saw Wilkins beat a record set four years ago by Chesham's Nicola Ballingall - who went on to be a national champion over 100 metres. Wilkins lowered Ballingall's mark of 2.55.55 to 2.54.89, a PB by almost 10 seconds. This placed her an outstanding sixth overall among 90.
Hannah Field, 15, was hot on her heels with easily Reading's best swim of the day relative to previous experience. Field slashed a 3.06.20 entry time to 2.56.12, an age group silver, fifth junior and seventh overall - a great advert for combining swimming with rugby!
Reading scored well throughout the 200 breast field with bronze medals for Hawkins, Mills and Paige, plus a fourth place for Hopson.
The boys' meet closed with the 50 fly – wins for Barrett and Macarthur, a bronze for Boyce and fourth places for Orgill and Craig Frankum - and the girls with the 100.
Downs and Paige both made the final, finishing third and seventh and securing Downs the junior silver. Haas was one place outside the final and Amy Thomas third in the top age group, while there was a very rare reverse for Wilkins - pushed into second place by Slough's Alexandra Wiseman by a margin of just 0.28.
-----------------------
As in the senior female championship, far too few clubs took an interest in the men's relays - just three. Reading's freestyle quartet of Macarthur, Dixon, Korting and Matt Sandell were just touched into bronze position by Bracknell, with a second bronze in the medley where Alex Perrin came in for Korting.
The 13-and-under fields were much healthier. Conor Sandell, Boyce, Willcox and Barrett claimed two fourth places and the "B" team of James Tichband, James Bradley, David Mills and county debutant Andrew Middlewick twice finished ninth.