Reading's top swimmers under head coach Graeme Thomas spent three days on the big stage at the Wales National Pool in Swansea for the annual mid-season Dragon Meet. Big fields included teams from as far afield as Sheffield and Stockport, as well as a number of Ireland's top swimmers.
Thirteen-year-olds Frankie Wilkins and Rachael Mills were first in the water in the 400 free, both recording PB times with Mills having the edge in 4.47.90 to 4.49.46. Seniors Holly Tanner and Louisa Downs got close to qualifying times for the national youth championships, finishing 14th and 16th overall in the field of almost 60.
Kristina Paige, 15, was Reading's first to make an evening final, qualifying sixth in the open 100 fly and repeating the placing. Matt Sandell missed out by one place in a very strong 50 fly field – won eventually by Wales Commonwealth Games swimmer Owen Morgan - but won the B final in 26.45.
Zoe Hester claimed Reading's first medal, third in the open 100 backstroke, while in the B final Tanner was runner-up and Naomi Herring placed seventh.
Afternoon swims in the programme for younger entrants included fine 100 fly PBs for 13-year-olds Chris Boyce and Callum Willcox, by two and four seconds respectively, at the younger end of their two-year age category.
Barnaby Kempster (11) and David Mills (12) were in even better form in their 200 IM, both beating three minutes for the first time as Kempster secured a near 10-second PB of 2.57.11 and Mills (2.57.41) beat his previous best by eight.
Ellie Wood, on her first visit to the pool, impressed in the 100 freestyle, which she entered on 1.08.79 and finished three seconds quicker.
The Wilkins sisters closed their first day by medalling in 200 fly finals - Georgie beating the three-minute mark for the first time for a bronze in the 11 and under group and Frankie swimming PBs in both heat and final for a 12/13 silver in 2.36.80. Rachael Mills also made the 13s final, placing eighth.
Paige was another B finalist in the open competition in the 50 free, inside her entry time in her heat and then cutting that to 28.00 to finish sixth, and Reading's last swim of day one was a further B final appearance for Sandell, eighth as he repeated his 50 free heat placing.
Day two
Alex Macarthur made a brilliant start with a PB of almost a second as he recorded 25.95 in the 50 free – his placing half-way down the field of almost 50 was deceptive as only two other 15-year-olds beat it. York Kloeppel also PB'd, as did Macarthur again soon after in his 100 fly, by over a second.
Among the girls, Tanner and Hester were off their 200 backstroke best but Tanner made the A final and Hester the B, while Herring slashed her entry time by four seconds and also made the B final.
In the evening finals, Tanner cut her heat time by two seconds and improved from eighth to sixth in a national qualifying time, while Hester improved drastically to romp the B final in a time which would have won the overall bronze had she made the A final. Herring placed eighth in the B final, repeating her seeding.
Three Reading girls qualified for the 200 fly open finals, although Tanner dropped out of the A final to concentrate on the 200 back. Paige and Downs both made the B final, where they placed first and second – Paige pulling out all the stops to overhaul Downs in the last few metres, after swimming the morning heat well within her capabilities.
The age group programme saw Georgie and Frankie Wilkins again make finals – in both the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke. Georgie eventually placed sixth in the IM and Frankie missed bronze by a fingertip, while it was the younger sister's turn in the breaststroke – fourth by just 0.06, with Frankie eighth in her final.
The IM heats saw a five-second PB by Ellie Wood, who also took more than three seconds off her 100 fly time where although 13th she was behind only two 12 year-olds in the 12/13 category.
Kempster produced the top boy's swim with a 100 free PB by four seconds which made him fifth 11-year-old in a big 11/12 field, while in the next group up Boyce swam a two-second PB of 1.01.41
Sunday
Downs registered her second NQT of the season in the longest event – needing to beat 18.12.36 in the 1500 free, she clocked an impressive 18.03.81 – while Paige's 29.92 50m fly (in an event not included in the national youth programme) was close to qualifying for the British senior championships.
Ellie Wood missed the 12/13 50m free final by one place and just four hundredths, while Kempster's breakthrough meet continued with two more huge PBs by some 10 seconds in the 200 back and 13 in the 200 free.
Adam Barrett, swimming against tougher opposition by tackling the open programme rather than the age group events, PBd in the 100 back as he had in Saturday's 100 fly. Both times would have made finals in the age group programme.
Kloeppel put in two strong 200 IM swims. Four seconds inside entry in his heat put him into the men's B final, where a further improvement earned sixth spot.
Callum Willcox capped an excellent meet for the younger entrants in particular with a brilliant 200 breaststroke silver in 2.49.00, typically pacing the race well and moving up through the field in the second half.