Swimmers make a real splash against Templemore

The medley relays got underway with a magnificent three out of four wins for the Banbridge side. Banbridge were looking decidedly strong.

Next up was the backstroke, led by the group A girls. Julia Knox, Ruby McNiff and Aidin Quinn showed a fine performance by producing their first hat trick of the night, first, second and third. The Group A boys, Dane McCullough, Dawson Patterson and Sam Johnston came in with a super first, third and fifth.

Group B girls, led by Anna Long, was followed closely in second place by Rebecca Pinkerton and in 4th with Caitlin Kearney. Group B boys, James Whan, Patrick Doyle and Declan McKeown produced an excellent trio of first, second and third.

Group C girls, Lauren Lyttle, Hannah Hubert and Sophie Mount came in third, fourth and sixth place. Group C boys, Harry Farson, Chris Morrow and Harry Dougan were superb in their first, second and third places.

Group D girls, Olivia Knox, Ellie Purdy and Kate Allenby swam well in first, third and fifth position. Group D boys, Alex Donnelly, Ryan Porter and Aaron Brown swam an admirable second, third and fifth.

Now , on to the breaststroke. The Group A girls continued what was to keep going the whole night, they kept producing hat- tricks. This time the positions included Julia Knox in first, hot on her heels was Aidin Quinn and followed very closely was Ruby McNiff. Zoe Kilpatrick completed this very strong group of young swimmers of only 8 and nine years of age! Group A boys, Sam Johnston, Dawson Patterson and Niall McKeown were excellent in their third, fourth and fifthpositions.

Group B girls, Rebecca Pinkerton, Jessica Robinson and Caitlin Kearney produced a fine second, third and fourth place to add to the essential points for the night. Group B boys, Patrick Doyle, James Whan and Luke Milligan executed a wonderful first, second and third place.

Group C girls, Eimear McMullan, Sophie Mount and Charlotte Farson, brought in third, fifth and sixth position. Group C boys, were very strong and Chris Morrow, Harry Dougan and Harry Farson had superb times in first, second and third.

Group D girls, led by Ellie Purdy, in a very strong 1st position, was followed by Olivia Knox in fourth and Emma McElderry in fifth. Eunan Quinn led the Group D boys with a very fine performance in first place. Ryan Porter and Thomas Nixon were hot on his heels to bring in a close second and fourth.

The impressive butterfly was the next stroke for the strong little Group A girls to tackle. Again, not to disappoint, the superb threesome included Julia Knox in first, Zoe Kilpatrick in second and Aidin Quinn in third. What a tremendous group of girls! Group A boys weren’t far behind with Dawson Patterson ,Sam Johnston and Niall McKeown (still seven years old ). They produced third, fourth and fifth place.

Group B girls, Rebecca Pinkerton, Anna Long and Caitlin Kearney, were in wonderful form with a first, third and fourth place finish. Group B boys James Whan, Patrick Doyle and Declan McKeown were wonderful in their grand performance of first, second and third.

Group C girls, Sophie Mount, Hannah Hubert and Eimear McMullan, were holding well with fourth, fifth and sixth place. Group C boys, never disappoint and this time Harry Farson produced the fastest butterfly of the night. What a performance, Harry! Harry Dougan and Connor Woods also had great times, finishing in fourth and fifth place.

Group D girls, was led by Olivia Knox in a great first place performance. Ellie Purdy and Charlotte Campbell, swam well in fourth and sixth position. Group D boys, again led by Eunan Quinn, produced an excellent performance on the night. Eunan was in second place and was followed very closely by Alex Donnelly in third and Aaron Keegan in fourth.

The final individual stroke of the night is always the frontcrawl. The Group A girls again took to the blocks to produce yet another first, second and third. These girls were Julia Knox, Ruby McNiff and Aidin Quinn.They make a fine team, this foursome, including Zoe Kilpatrick. The Group A boys, were very close behind with Dawson Patterson, James McKee and Niall McKeown, coming in a fine first, second and fourth place.

Group B girls,Caitlin Kearney, Anna Long and Jessica Robinson had fast times in first, second and fifth place. Group B boys, Patrick Doyle, James Whan and Declan McKeown, were superb in yet another hat-trick of the night. This is a particularly strong group too, and James Whan and Patrick Doyle take turns coming first and second! This has been going on all season!

Group C girls, Sophie Mount, Lauren Lyttle and Hannah Hubert did well coming in fourth, fifth and sixth. Group C boys,led by Harry Farson and followed closely by Connor Woods and Harry Dougan, were delighted with first, second and fifth positions.

Group D girls, again led by Olivia Knox in 1st place, did superbly to produce a fourth and fifth from Ellie Purdy and Kate Allenby also. Group D boys, again a very strong team,did a fine job of bringing in a second, third and fourth from Eunan Quinn, Alex Donnelly and Aaron Keegan.

At this stage of the competition, Banbridge looked really strong but the freestyle relays would determine the final outcome!

To our absolute joy, Banbridge won three out of four relays. Our fate was looking very positive!

The final score was Banbridge 229-168 Templemore.

Well done Swimmers, coaches, parents and all helpers who give freely of their time.

The next competition is the Aquasprint final on June 1 (location yet to be determined).

For further information on Banbridge Amateur Swimming Club, visit the club’s website on www.banbridgeasc.co.uk