2010 Wiltshire County Roundup

This year’s county championships concluded on Sunday and Corsham swimmers can be justifiably proud of their efforts this year.

In the youth competition a small, but determined Corsham team put in some excellent performances. As usual, both Hayley & Kelly Orner competed well in all their events. Richard Worthy turned in some great swims, especially in the Breaststroke where he narrowly missed a medal finishing 4th in the 50m & 5th in both the 100m & 200m events. Laurence Meiklereid once again swam well in the 100m Backstroke, finishing 5th in his age group and 5th in the Junior Championship. Peter Ammel demonstrated the strength of his Fly with a 4th place in both his age group and the Junior Championship in the 100m event and a 6th place in his age group and Junior Championship in the 50m event. Not to be outdone, Alex Jones was also placed 6th in the 100m Breaststroke Junior Championship, although the highlight of the championships from his point of view was probably finally breaking the 1 minute barrier in the 100m Freestyle. Despite reducing the number of hours he trains in order to concentrate on his A-levels, James Marygold put in a number of competitive swims. His most successful event being the 50m Breaststroke where he picked up a bronze medal. However, once again, Melissa Birkett was Corsham’s most successful swimmer as she won both the 100m & 200m Butterfly in her age group and was 2nd in the Junior Championship and 2nd & 3rd respectively in the overall Championship. She also took bronze in her age group in both the 100m & 200m Backstroke events and was 3rd in both the Junior & overall Championships. Melissa also demonstrated her speed over a shorter distance by winning silver in her age group in both the 50m Fly and 50m Backstroke events and taking 2nd in the Junior and overall Championships. Well deserved rewards for all her hard work this year. 

In the Bagcat events, the Corsham squad also turned in some excellent swims. For the younger girls Izzy Ledbury, Kaliah Barker & Maddie Moore all competed well in their first Championships. Both Ella Golledge and Nesta Unwin notched up two PBs each in their events and Libby Harris demonstrated her usual competitive streak with a number of top 10 finishes, culminating with a well deserved bronze medal in the 50m Fly. The older girls also swam well. Emily Barker and Ebony Trudgeon both showed their usual guts and determination to break a number of PBs. Charlotte McGettigan & Hannah Lias fought hard in all their events, with Hannah’s 100IM being her best performance. Megan Trollope & Lauren Jones showed that they can compete with the best in the county, as they both won a medal each. Megan took a very satisfying 3rd place in the 50m Free and Lauren once again showed how well she can swim Breaststroke, by winning silver in the 50m event.

For the younger boys debutants Will Matthews, Harry Bridgeman, James McGettigan and Oliver Warren-Fisher all swam well. The highlights being Oliver’s 6th place in the 50m Backstroke & Will’s 7th place in the 50m Breaststroke. Oliver Johnson also put in a creditable performance in the 200m Breaststroke. In the older age groups Duncan Wilson & Alex Johnson also swam well and helped to lighten the mood with some fun and games… even if Duncan couldn’t get the rest of the team to join him in dancing to YMCA!!! Jesse Bacon, swimming in his first counties, swam competitively in both his Breaststroke events. Matthew Harris continued his recent improving form as he ducked under 30 seconds for the first time in the 50m Freestyle, claiming 4th place in the process. Sam Ross again demonstrated that he is an excellent sprinter with great performances in the 50m Freestyle & 50m Backstroke, rounding off with a superb silver in the 50m Breaststroke. Jonathan Brend also swam well and picked up his first county medals. A 3rd place in the 200m Butterfly was followed by a 2nd place in the 100m event. However, it was the 400m IM that was his most satisfying swim, where an extremely gutsy and energy sapping performance saw him take 12 seconds off his PB to win his first county gold medal.

Finally, a big thank you to all the parents who volunteered to help throughout the events - without your support Corsham’s involvement in the Championships would be a lot harder to arrange. However, a special mention has to go to Nikki Harris, who helped as team manager, coach or competitors’ marshall in every single Bagcat session. I know that all the swimmers and their parents are very appreciative of her dedication. Now it’s time to start looking forward to next year’s events!!