The Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club's 2006-07 home meet programme closed on a high note on Saturday with the annual club sprints at Central Pool.
A swathe of records fell, some of many years' standing. The meet was a double triumph for 10-year-old Alex Cawthorne, who not only swept all five events in his age group – 50-metre races in all four strokes plus a four-length individual medley - but broke every single record.
Two of these new marks (the 50 breaststroke in 43.00 and the IM in 1.21.41) beat times which stood to Callum Willcox, who himself made a clean sweep of the 13s category and in the process beat Alex Perrin's 1996 50m breast record.
Another of Cawthorne's new records had been held by Adam Barrett. He in turn beat the oldest record to fall, Tom Jones's 1993 mark for 14-year-olds in the 50 fly, together with James Alderman's 1996 freestyle record. Barrett himself claimed four golds with Chris Boyce (50 breast) picking up the other in their year.
York Kloeppel completed the record-setting in the male programme, beating another of Alex Perrin's standards, set five years ago, as he stopped the clock in 30.99 in the top age group's breaststroke event. Garry Dixon took the other four 16-and-over golds.
Two girls' records went. Kristina Paige chopped half a second off Danielle Mason's four-year-old 50 free record for 15-year-olds, a typically powerful last 5 metres bringing her home fastest across all age groups as she dominated her year. And Naomi Herring, 16, shaved just 0.03 off Wendy Edmond's 1998 50 back record in sharing the 16 and over golds with Amy Kunicki (breast and fly) and Holly Tanner (IM and freestyle).
At the other end of the scale, the meet gave a first-ever competitive swim to a large group at the youngest end. Ellie Fields, just eight, won the 10 and under breaststroke gold and in doing so prevented a clean sweep by current Swimmer of the Month Nicole Ryan, herself still nine.
Alex Bell and Catherine Abbott shared the honours among 11-year-old girls, with Georgie Wilkins cleaning up the 12s category and Ellie Wood - putting serious pressure on older swimmers in the fastest heats in the programme - the 13s.
Three girls shared the 14s category wins - Eleanor Cawthorne claiming three, Zoe Clark the breaststroke and Frankie Wilkins the fly.
Alistair Maguire (three) and Patrick Stewart (two) divided the 11s boys' first places between them. Barnaby Kempster – called up along with James Tichband to join the club's 14-and-under relay squad at the national age group championships – almost had the 12s golds to himself, but was beaten in the 50 breaststroke by a great effort from Sam Kemp.
Peter Barkat was sole 15-year-old male entrant, but still swam a series of strong heats to earn his medals.
Numerous swimmers sharing the minor medals included returning students Dan John (Loughborough), David Thomas (East Anglia) and Rob Knott (Portsmouth), and Leona Jones, 18, who competes only occasionally these days, was a very narrow second to fellow County Squad swimmer Kunicki in the 50 breaststroke.
Stars among the younger swimmers about to move into the club's competitive squads included Faith Thomas, 11, with bronze in the 50 back and breaststroke, and Emily Chow, who tied on time with Development 2 swimmer Ayesha Rateb in the 10s 50 free, with the judges giving Australian Rateb the silver by a fingertip.
Another 10-year-old, James Ellison from Development 1 Squad, was in very good form in his first home meet and picked up four silvers and a bronze behind Alex Cawthorne, in times which in many seasons would have won the events. Ruaridh Sheppard broke the sequence with a 50 breaststroke silver.
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The Evening Post-sponsored club was prominent in and out of the water at the Reading junior schools finals gala at Central Pool earlier in the week, supplying most volunteer meet officials and many top performers – including Alistair Maguire, Patrick Stuart and Morgan Nash, who finished one to three in the open butterfly, and Tommy Trees with a series of good swims in Nash's team.