Deepings youngsters excel at the county championships

Deepings Swimming Club won nine medals at the second weekend of the 2019 Lincolnshire County Championships with some outstanding performances from the younger members of the team.

With many of the senior squad choosing to chase British Championship qualifying times at the annual Burns long course open meet in Sheffield over the same weekend, the spotlight shifted to the junior swimmers. And they didn’t disappoint.

In the girls 10/11year-old age group, Lucia Karic and Emma Dennis both came away with medals after producing personal best swims. Karic won gold in the 200m backstroke, dipping under three minutes for the first time to record 2.59.33, and bronze in the 200m individual medley (IM), also in a new best time.

Dennis continued her excellent form in the breaststroke, winning silver in the 100m final.

She missed gold by just three-hundredths of a second, but her time of 1.34.11 was a new personal best.

Alex Sadler gained three podium places making it eight championship medals in total. In the 12yrs age group, he won silver in the 200m IM and 200m backstroke and bronze in the 50m freestyle.

Joe Lund, Zack Treharne and Tom Adams also added to their medals from the first weekend of county competition.

Lund swam a huge four-second PB in the 15yrs 100m breaststroke final to take silver in a time of 1.16.74, while Treharne collected bronze in the 15yrs 200m IM and Adams did likewise in the 16/O 200m IM.

Treharne andAdams came agonisingly close to medalling in the 50m freestyle final, both coming fourth.

Other finalists:

50m freestyle: Emma Dennis, Ella Gerrard, Lara Treharne, Lilly Tappern, Hannah Matthews, Zack Treharne and Tom Adams.

50m breaststroke: Tom Adams, Zack Treharne and Bailey Jackson-Chilvers.

100m breaststroke: Lara Treharne, Lexi Cooper and Lorna McGill.

While most of the team were competing at the county championships in Grantham, Bethany Eagle-Brown, Holly Leggott, Louis Metselaar and Tom Neal made the journey north to Sheffield to compete in the annual Burns meet in the hope of swimming British championship qualifying times.

All four swam well, hitting several personal bests, although they ultimately fell just short of achieving their targets.

However, Metselaar came away with a club record after equalling Alex Wray’s 16yrs 50m butterfly time of 26.80.

The four swimmers still have chances to make the times ahead of the British champs in April.

Deepings medallists at the Lincolnshire County Champs medallists:

Boys

50m freestyle: 12yrs – Alex Sadler, bronze.

100m breaststroke: 15yrs – Joe Lund, silver.

200m backstroke: 12yrs – Alex Sadler, silver.

200IM: 12yrs - Alex Sadler, silver; 15yrs - Zack Treharne, bronze; 16/O - Tom Adams, bronze.

Girls

100m breaststroke: 10/11yrs – Emma Dennis, silver.

200m backstroke: 10/11yrs – Lucia Karic, gold.

200IM: 10/11yrs – Lucia Karic, bronze.