Young team record fine win in league

Portadown won the first two opening medley team relays in very close finishing races.

However Lurgan’s 10 year olds or ‘C’ group relay team, Daniel Wiffen, Megan Gellately, Una McConville and Rhys Dale thrilled the Lurgan spectators with their win.

Similarly, Lurgan’s 11 year olds or ‘D’ group, Cait Towe, Ella Beatty, Rory Burns and Thomas McKibben, added first place points to the score.

With two out of four wins in the opening medley team relays, the scores were level going into the individual events.

Wins in the backcrawl events for Niall Dummigan, Emma Mulholland, Una McConville, Harry Owen and Rory Burns, together with second place points for Eimear McConville, Oisin McAliskey, Daniel Wiffen, Cait Towe and Adam Lau, gave Lurgan an eight point lead.

There were many close finishes in the breaststroke events.

‘A’ swimmers Niall Dummigan, Conor O’Carroll and Jaden Wylie looked comfortable over the 33 metre pool distance.

‘B’ girls Emma Mulholland, Eimear McConville and Casey Li had fantastic breaststroke swims. ‘B’ boys Charlie Doherty, Oisin McAliskey and Odhran McGibbon had very close second, third and fourth placings.

‘D’ boy Thomas McKibben blew everyone away with a superb win well ahead of his competitors.

Lurgan’s points lead was further improved with impressive butterfly swims.

‘C’ boy Philip Hayes came out of nowhere in a burst of energy to win a close butterfly race. A winning stroke of brilliance by ‘D’ girl Cait Towe added to the Lurgan team’s butterfly successes.

Ciaran Cahoon had a excellent win in the ‘C’ boys freestyle event and his team mate Rhys Dale added further points to Lurgan’s score.

Una McConville was a clear winner in the ‘C’ girls freestyle event, showing fantastic talent, with success in all four strokes.

There was great buzz and excitement when Lurgan finished the gala with two freestyle relay wins out of four.

Once again the ‘C’ team, Ciaran Cahoon, Helena Silva Reyes, Una McConville and Rhys Dale didn’t disappoint the Lurgan supporters with their win.

‘D’ swimmers Rory Burns, Anna McCaughley, Cait Towe and Thomas McKibben concluded the gala with a very impressive relay win bringing the final score to Lurgan 219, Portadown 181.

For many of the youngest swimmers, this was their first experience of Aquasprint Galas.

Newcomers Sarah Girvan, Rachel Girvan and Charlie Daniels who swam every race in their age group did well.

Lurgan’s youngest boys, Niall Dummigan, Oran McCafferty, Luke McAleenan, Jaden Wylie, Teelin Cahoon and Domhnall McConville participated with great enthusiasm and enjoyment.

Special congratulations to Niall Dummigan who won all his individual races.

The ‘B’ girls team, Emma Mulholland, Eimear McConville, Aoife McConville, Casey Li, Angela Loughran and Lily Towe, scored maximum points in the individual races, with Emma impressively winning all of the individual events.

Maximum points from the ‘D’ boys team, Rory Burns, Thomas McKibben, Adam Lau, Theo Dixon, Joshua Wells and Ben Sidor contributed to Lurgan’s gala success.

The team captains, Rory Burns and Cait Towe, did a great job by motivating and inspiring their team.