Bann swimmers triumph at contest with Coleraine

Banbridge Amateur Swimming Club travelled by coach to Coleraine to compete in the final PTL gala on February 20.
Dromore man Mark Walker and John Shannon display their medals.Dromore man Mark Walker and John Shannon display their medals.
Dromore man Mark Walker and John Shannon display their medals.

The coach was packed and the atmosphere was full of fun and anticipation for the night’s action.

The Group A girls took to the blocks to begin what was to be a strong performance from the visiting team, Banbridge.

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Ellie Bingham, Jodie McMullan, Katie McFarlane and Niamh McGeown pulled off the first of eight medley relay victories.

Individually Jodie won every race which included backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle and IM (Individual Medley). What a wonderful performance from our 10 year old swimmer.

The impressive 8 year old Katie was in great shape achieving 2nd in backstroke, fly and IM and 3rd in breaststroke.

Ellie swam great swims in freestyle where she came 2nd and in 3rd in backstroke, fly and IM.

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Dia McCrory was 4th in breaststroke and Niamh McGeown was 5th in freestyle.

Ellie, Jodie, Katie and Niamh also won the freestyle relay.

The Group A boys were also well ready to perform to their best ability. In their medley relay Carter Bell did backstroke, Jack Lennon, breaststroke, Ronan Quinn was in butterfly and Issac Forsythe was in freestyle.

They had a strong finish, well ahead of their competitors, Coleraine. Ronan was in super shape with 1st positions in fly, freestyle and IM and 3rd place in breaststroke.

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Issac had an excellent backstroke time and he came 2nd in freestyle and IM, 3rd in fly and 5th in breaststroke.

Jack Lennon had an impressive 1st place in breaststroke and Jack Dougan had a great finish in fly in 2nd place and 4th in freestyle.

Carter was in top form with great swims in backstroke (2nd) and freestyle (3rd). Issac, Jack L, Carter and Ronan also won the freestyle relay.

The Group B team had the biggest number of swimmers so they had strength before they even started.

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The winning relay team had the mighty 4, Ruby McNiff, Rachel Blemmings, Julia Knox and Aidín Quinn. Julia was on top of her game with wins in every race, which is not surprising from a swimmer who now has British times.

The freestyle relay team was Ruby, Rachel, Aidín and Julia, which again beat Coleraine.

The Group B boys were ready for action. The medley relay swimmers were Dawson Patterson, Adam Wilson, Finley Wright and Peter Bigley.

Their finish time was excellent and secured yet another win. Adam was in first position in breaststroke and IM and 2nd in fly. Peter was 1st in freestyle and 5th in backstroke and 6th in breaststroke.

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The freestyle relay team was made up of Dawson, Niall, Adam and Peter. It was yet another win. Well done.

The Group C girls had five swimmers, Rebecca Pinkerton, Maeve Cleland, Ellie Wright, Caitlin Kearney and Erin Smyth.

They had tough competition from the Coleraine girls but fought hard. In the medley relay they had to settle for 2nd place and fortunately it was the only relay in the whole gala. Banbridge won fifteen out of sixteen relays.

Maeve achieved 1st in fly, freestyle and IM, 2nd in backstroke and 3rd in breaststroke.

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Becki swam a fast backstroke, coming in 1st along with 2nd in breaststroke, fly, IM and 4th in freestyle. Caitlin was 5th in IM and 6th in breaststroke.

Ellie was 5th in backstroke and 6th in freestyle. Erin was 6th in fly. To finish, the girls won their freestyle relay, Ellie, Caitlin, Becki and Maeve.

The Group C boys were down to four swimmers and they were needed for both relays and most individual swims. William Pinkerton, Christopher Morrow, Jack Bingham and Declan McGeown made up this team.

They competently won, both their relays, medley and freestyle.

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William was 2nd in both breaststroke and IM, 3rd in fly, and 4th in backstroke and freestyle. Chris swam well also with 2nd in fly and 3rd in all his other individual events, backstroke, breasstroket, freestyle and IM.

Jack was a strong 2nd in backstroke, 4th in fly, 5th in IM and 6th in freestyle. Declan was 5th in breaststroke.

Group D girls were down to four also, the bare minimum for a team but they won the relays and all the individual events. Well done to the fine foursome, including, Kate Allenby, Jenny Wilson, Elli Robinson and Emma McElderry.

Kate won all around her in an impressive show of strength and she was backed up by Jenny who achieved 2nd in backstroke, breaststroke and fly and 3rd in freestyle.

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Elli was 2nd in freestyle, 3rd in IM and 4th in fly. Emma was a strong 2nd in IM and 4th in backstroke and 5th in breaststroke.

The Group D boys had a sixsome to complete their team, including Lee Galloway, Ross Johnston, Alex Donnelly, Caolan Quinn, Eunan Quinn and Aaron Brown. Lee won backstroke, breaststroke and fly and came 2nd in freestyle. Ross was 2nd in backstroke and IM as well as 4th in fly.

Alex was 3rd in breaststroke, fly and IM. Eunan came 4th in breaststroke and 5th in freestyle. Caolan was 3rd in freestyle and Aaron 4th in backstroke. Ross, Alex, Lee and Eunan won the medley relay and Ross, Caolan, Alex and Lee won the freestyle relay.

It was a fine finale for the Banbridge team as they won the league and remained in First Division for yet another year.

Banbridge 650 vs Coleraine 494.

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Thanks to all the coaches, especially Geraldine Hill as team coach and also to Graham Knox, Davey Wilson, Patrick Dougan, Doretta Rippon, Fiona Cleland, Deborah Hamil, Stephen Farson and Lee Galloway.

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