Swimming success at Country Championships

SWIMMING Gunnedah has produced another Country champion and clenched 30 top-10 finishes in a hugely successful performance at the NSW Country Short Course Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

A team of nine competed at Homebush earlier this month where a staggering 11 club records were also broken, including one dating back 26 years and two others from 2009.

Cameron Sills led the medal charge after winning gold in the 12 years boys’ 400m freestyle and toppling the club record previously held by Josh Spinks since 2004.

He also snatched four silver medals in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle and 100m breaststroke events, along with a bronze in the 100m butterfly.

Sills threw down a lightning speed swim in the 100m breaststroke where he thundered down the pool in a time of 1:22.52.

The 12&U girls’ relay team finished in the top 10. Left, coach Colin Marley, Macey Dalessandro, Georgia Abra, Matilda Ramien and Darci Dalessandro.

He eclipsed the previous long-standing record of 1:23.30 held by Clint Hartley since 2000.

The 12-year-old’s silver medal-winning performance in the 100m freestyle also entered the history books when he shattered Kalin Eade’s record that has stood since 2009.

He snatched a total of five records previously held by Spinks, including the 50m and 100m butterfly, 100m individual medley and the 200m freestyle records.

Also entering the history books again was Tayla Thompson, who broke the long-held 13 years girls 50m breaststroke record with a time of 38.65 and set in 2009 by Emma Donaldson (39.32).

She set a new benchmark in the 100m breaststroke to break Audrey Hannaford’s record while also toppling her own 100m individual medley record. Macey Dalessandro beat her own best time in the 12 years girls’ 200m breaststroke to break her own record with a time of 3:02.26.

Club coach Colin Marley was thrilled with his team’s performance with 30 top-10 finishes over three days of racing.

NSW Country champion Cameron Sills blitzed the pool in Sydney with six medals, including gold in the 400m freestyle. The 12-year-old also smashed seven Gunnedah club records.

In the junior ranks of the 50m breaststroke, Darci Dalessandro (10) snatched a finalist ribbon with ninth place while Aiden Sills (9) clenched fifth. Nathan Reeves (12) was also in fine form after coming home with three eighth-place finishes in the 50m breaststroke, 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle and a total of five personal best (PB) times.

Tayla also made the top 10 in the 50m breaststroke (eighth), 100m breaststroke (10th), 100m backstroke (ninth) and 100m individual medley (ninth).

Macey just missed a medal in the 200m breaststroke with fourth place. She finished fifth in the 50m breaststroke and seventh in the 100m breaststroke.

Matilda Ramien (11) clocked two PBs in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle to finish just outside the top 10, while Georgia Abra was just off her best time with a strong swim in the 50m butterfly.

The 12&U boys’ freestyle relay team. Left, coach Colin Marley, Cameron and Aiden Sills, Ayden Thompson and Nathan Reeves.

The club relays are always a firm favourite of the meet, with the Gunnedah supporters on their feet cheering on the two 12&U boys and girls’ teams.

The girls’ team of Matilda, Georgia, Macey and Darci smashed their best time by two-and-a-half seconds in the 4x50m medley relay to finish inside the top 10 with ninth place and rounded out the day with 10th in the freestyle relay.

The boys team of Nathan, Cameron, Aiden and Ayden Thompson threw down a strong swim in their freestyle relay but were disqualified on a technicality.

Swimming Gunnedah proved it can mix it with the best in country NSW after finishing 20th out of 57 in the overall club pointscore. Swimmers also bagged many state qualifying times ahead of the NSW Youth State Age Short Course Championships to be held in Sydney in September.