Inverclyde Now Logo SWIMMING — Inverclyde ASC Squads In Action At Grangemouth Meets

4 February, 2020 | Local

YOUNG Inverclyde Amateur Swimming Club (IASC) swimmers were in action at Grangemouth junior age group (JAGS) and middle age group (MAGS) competitions earning an impressive haul of medals over the two days of competition.

JAGS is a graded meet. Graded competitions are designed to offer less experienced swimmers the opportunity to race and are the entry point to competitive swimming for many young athletes. MAGS is not graded, meaning a higher level of competition.

At the JAGS meet, IASC’s 14 swimmers won multiple medals competing in the 50-metre events of all four strokes. A real mix of competitors was involved –- from youngsters in their first competition to swimmers looking to update their times.

Charlotte Jones had a great competition, taking four ‘Too Fast’ awards and setting four new personal best (PB) times. Abi McAnerney delivered the same results in the two events she competed in. Newcomer Honor McCardie also set four new PBs as she took home two ‘Too Fast’ awards, one gold and one silver medal.

The boys also took a piece of the ‘Too Fast’ silverware. Douglas Campbell took one award and a silver medal with another four PBs and Josh Docherty took another ‘Too Fast’ and silver medal and set three new PBs.

Gold medals were won by another three swimmers. Mirrin Fay and Samuel McClumpha both won a gold medal each and Cameron Mather took a gold and a bronze medal. All three swimmers also set four new PBs each.

Silverware also went to Oliver Jones and Layton Bonner, both of whom won bronze medals and secured a number of top-six finishes. Oliver also set new PBs in his four events. Special mention must also go to newcomer Kirsty Conway for four good swims and new fastest times.

The youngest swimmers competing for the club –- Katie Deegan and Eve Buchanan — were just seven years old. Katie put in a great performance to set significant new PBs in her three events. And newcomer Eve, who was making her competitive debut had a great competition, gaining valuable experience and setting good times to build on.

At Sunday’s MAGS event it was time for the older swimmers to compete in the 100-metre version of all four strokes along with the 200-metre freestyle and 200-metre individual medley (IM). Fifteen swimmers were in action, with some of the older swimmers from JAGS staying on to compete in the 100-metre events.

The top performance came from Mirren McConnell, pictured, right. Fresh from her fine swim at the Scottish Schools finals, Mirren set four new PBs to take four gold medals in the 100-metre butterfly, backstroke, freestyle and 200-metre freestyle. Solid performances in her remaining two events saw her crowned as ‘Best Girl’ in the 11 and under age group.

Lukas Kong put in a strong performance across all six events, with four top-10 finishes and four new PBs. The youngest competitor representing the club was Blake Herdman who performed well to secure three new PBs and finish well up the list of older swimmers.

Swimming siblings Eilidh and Kerr Melrose also gave positive performances. Eilidh competed in all six events, setting new PBs and recording good placings for her age in half of them. Similarly, brother Kerr performed well in his three events, setting two new PBs and placing well for his age.

Charlotte Jones, Samuel McClumpha and Abi McAnerney all competed at the MAGS event after their JAGS success. Charlotte continued her good form to set two new PBs and equal another in her three events. Both Abi and Samuel set good PBs in their first event, but were disappointed to be disqualified in their second events. Olivia McNally suffered the same fate in her backstroke, but set a good PB in her favoured breaststroke event.

Peter Maloney, who had also performed well at the Scottish Schools finals, didn’t quite manage to beat his times, but still secured top-10 finishes in his three events. Lucy Campbell -– who was a reserve at the schools finals –- also missed out on new times, but secured five out of six top-10 finishes.

Kiera McCrorey, Lois Herdman, Isabella McClafferty and Anna McClafferty all recorded good placings in their various events, and set new fastest times in one event each: Kiera and Isabella for the backstroke, Lois for the breaststroke and Anna for the butterfly.

While some swimmers were disappointed not to record more PBs at MAGS, coach Shirley Reford said: “January is always a tough month for competition after the Christmas break and then a block of hard training. Sometimes, the times aren’t what matter the most. Every swimmer taking part learned from the experience and has identified areas to work on across the coming months.”

Pin It on Pinterest