Banbridge swimmers excel at start of season

WITH autumn training just underway the Banbridge PTL (Provincial Towns League) squad were literally thrown in at the deep end with their first gala of the season away to Ballymena.

With only a few vital squad members missing from the team the swimmers looked strong and were well supported by parents, coaches and club officials who had made the journey to Ballymena.

The gala commenced with the youngest Group A Girls in the medley team relay and Claire Liggett, Olivia Knox, Bethany Wilson Parry and Charlotte Campbell were just off the pace in second place.

Group A boys Alex Donnelly, Eunan Quinn, Ryan Porter and Max Lyttle maintained a good pace with a comfortable win. Group B girls Jane Kilpatrick, Jodi Doyle, Esme Hall and Georgia Davies were pipped at the post despite valiant efforts but Group B boys Ross Johnston, Patrick McNIff, Joel Milligan and Caolan Quinn were home first with seconds to spare.

Group C was a force to be reckoned with, with Jenny Wilson, Allyce Nixon, Megan McKenna and Emer Doyle having a comfortable win, as did Robert Lyttle, Cameron McDonald, Graham Stevenson and Conor Morgan for Group C boys.

Finally Group D’s Catherine Downey, Olivia Loy, Kate Farson and Heather Wilson couldn’t match the pace of the home team and took second place as did Matthew Bell, Daniel Battersby, Jordan Davies and Patrick Morgan for the boys. At the end of the medley relays Banbridge and Ballymena were all square indicating very competitive individual events to come.

Group A girls 50m backstroke kicked off with Olivia Knox in second and Charlotte Campbell fourth for the girls with Alex Donnelly securing a comfortable win to teammate Ryan Porter in second. Group B Girls saw Georgia Davies and Esme Hall in second and third with new club member Joel Milligan and Patrick McNiff securing first and second place points.

In Group C Megan McKenna and Jenny Wilson were first and second supported by Allyce Nixon, also competing in PTL for the first time, in fourth place.

Group C boys looked strong from the outset with Robert Lyttle setting the pace in first place with Cameron McDonald second and Kealan McCambridge third. Group D completed the 50m backstroke event with Catherine Downey in third and Heather Wilson fourth for the girls and Patrick Morgan third and Jordan Davies fourth for the boys.

The 50m breaststroke event commenced with a lovely swim from Olivia Knox in first place with teammates Ryan Porter, Eunan Quinn and Alex Donnelly securing maximum points in first, second and third for the boys. In Group B the competition was strong and Esme Hall had to settle for second place by the narrowest of margins with Jodi Doyle in fourth but Patrick McNiff and Joel Milligan secured first and second place.

In Group C Jenny Wilson was out in front with first place followed by Allyce Nixon in third and Emer Doyle in fourth. Robert Lyttle had an impressive swim to take first place with Graham Stevenson in second and Cameron McDonald in third. Olivia Loy swam well to come home in third place for the girls and Daniel Battersby completed the 50m breaststroke event in fourth place.

With no announcement of the running scores poolside during the event the Banbridge swimmers anticipated that the competition was tight and moved up another gear for the 50m butterfly event. Group A got the event underway with both Olivia Knox and Alex Donnelly securing first place points. In group B Esme Hall had an outstanding swim to take first place with Georgia Davies in fourth and Joel Milligan gave a text book performance in first with Caolan Quinn third and Patrick McNiff fourth.

Megan McKenna and Jenny Wilson maintained a perfect record with first and second place followed by Emer Doyle in fourth while Cameron McDonald stormed home for Group C boys followed by Graham Stevenson in third and Conor Morgan in fourth.

In Group D Olivia Loy took third place for the girls with Patrick Morgan completing the 50m butterfly event in impressive style in first place with Jordan Davies in second.

With the gala moving at a fast pace the swimmers embarked on 50m front crawl with Olivia Knox again out in front for Group A girls as was Alex Donnelly for the boys with Max Lyttle in fourth. In Group B Esme Hall and Georgia Davies secured second and fourth while Joel Milligan and Caolan Quinn were consistently strong in first and third. Megan McKenna and Jenny Wilson had their own personal battle for first and second while Cameron McDonald, Graham Stevenson and Robert Lyttle were again impressive in first, second and third.

The 50m front crawl finished with Heather Wilson and Olivia Loy in third and fourth for the Group D girls and Patrick Morgan taking second place, in a fantastic swim, with Jordan Davies in third.

With the youngest swimmers starting to tire it was with a sense of relief that the last individual event, 100m individual medley, got underway for Group A with Olivia Knox in first place for the girls and Alex Donnelly and Eunan Quinn securing first and second for the boys.

In group B Esme Hall was second and Jodi Doyle fourth for the girls while Joel Milligan took another valuable first place with Patrick McNiff in third and Caolan Quinn fourth.

In Group C Jenny Wilson was first from Megan McKenna in second and Allyce Nixon in fourth while Cameron McDonald, Graham Stevenson and Robert Lyttle were again in impressive form in first, second and third.

The Individual events came to an end with Group D and Catherine Downey in 4th place while Patrick Morgan finished in third for the boys.

With a sense of anticipation that a victory might be in sight the swimmers embarked on the freestyle team relays with renewed energy and the Group A boys team of James Neill, Ryan Porter, Max Little and Alex Donnelly took first place.

In Group B Jodi Doyle, Georgia Davies, Jane Kilpatrick and Esme Hall had a comfortable win as did Michael Rafferty, Patrick McNiff, Caolan Quinn and Joel Milligan.

In Group C Emer Doyle, Allyce Nixon, Jenny Wilson and Megan McKenna finished a fantastic nights swimming in first place as did Conor Morgan, Robert Lyttle, Graham Stevenson and Cameron McDonald for Group C boys. Where both D groups had to settle for second place the standard of swimming overall was extremely high and the Banbridge swimmers knew they had exceeded expectation for the first gala of the season.

In the closing speeches a Ballymena spokesperson welcomed Banbridge complimenting both teams on their effort and determination announcing Banbridge to be the winners by 596 points to 502 for Ballymena.

A Banbridge representative thanked Ballymena for their hospitality and head coach Geraldine Hill was delighted with the performance of all of her swimmers, especially newcomers to the club and those competing in PTL for the first time. The next PTL Gala will be home to Dungannon on Saturday October 16.

For further information on Banbridge ASC visit our website on www.banbridgeasc.co.uk