September 2006
The Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club launched its 2006-07 competitive season at the 50-metre B and C grade meet at Wycombe's Handy Cross pool on Saturday, just over a fortnight after training resumed in earnest at Central Pool and the club's various other venues around Reading.
Markus Orgill, 15, reeled off a great series of swims in the top age category, winning gold in the 100m back, 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle, silver in the 100m free and collecting "speeding tickets" (for times too quick for the meet limits) in both the 100 butterfly and 50 back.
Twelve-year-old Ellie Wood, an excellent prospect in sprint events in particular, picked up three speeding tickets. Wood's 100m butterfly time of 1:19.65 was a massive 16 seconds ahead of the next fastest and a two-second personal best.
Izzy Keenan just touched ahead of Wood in the 100m breaststroke, both girls getting speeding tickets with PB times. Wood collected a third speeding ticket in the 50m breaststroke.
Also in the 12 years age group, David Mills had a good competition, taking the 50m butterfly gold in 40.27 and bronze medals in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 100m backstroke, plus fifth spot in his 50 back.
James Tichband, tackling two swims in the younger half of the 13/14 group, swam a strong 100 freestyle to place fourth in a tightly contested event where well under a second covered the first five home.
Zoe Clark, also 13, missed a medal by the smallest of margins in both breaststroke events – fourth 0.05 and 0.06 seconds behind the bronze. Jennifer Taylor swam well in both her backstroke races for fourth and sixth places.
Alice Hopkins, 12, also claimed a backstroke fourth over 50 metres, less than half a second off a medal, and was fifth in her 50 breaststroke.
Among C grade events, Izzy Keenan won the 12s' 100 backstroke gold in 1.34.54 – a margin of just seven-hundredths over Faye Millin of Tigersharks.
Joanna Wakefield took fourth in the same event and fifth in her 100 fly. Wakefield, at her first ever long-course meet, was seven seconds quicker than her short-course 100 free PB in a 1.18.97 which delighted coach David Wittig.
Fourteen-year old Ailith Morrey won gold for her 50m freestyle in 35.66 in a tightly contested field, to go with bronze in the 100m breaststroke and fifth in the 100 free.
Coach Wittig summed the day up as "a very pleasing competition overall at this stage of the season".
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Top Squad swimmers Zoe Hester and Chris Ferguson have made the Division 10 regional team (Berks, Bucks and Oxford) after the English Schools Swimming Association championships at Barnet Copthall.
Hester swam an excellent early-season 100 backstroke time of 1.04.7, with Ferguson having pre-qualified by winning the 100 free at the UK school games in Glasgow. They now go forward to Manchester at the end of October, where further wins would secure selection for the England schools team to compete in Dublin later in the year against Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
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