Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club lifted their game in the final round of the Arena National League at Ealing with a commanding twenty-one top three finishes.
Swimmer of the gala went jointly to Lucy Hutchins and Kyle Holmes. Hutchin’s award was in recognition of her willingness to compete in events outside her comfort zone in order to cover for absent swimmers. In one of these, the u12 50m butterfly, she was rewarded with a personal best time of 39.29, coming fouth. In the 50m backstroke she finished third.
Kyle Holmes, meanwhile, scored the only individual first win of the night- twice, beating the opposition in both the u12 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke.
Other swimmers to make it into a top three position included Tom Sherriff who finished second in both the u16 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Louis Dunham came second in the u14 100m backstroke with a personal best time and third in the 100m butterfly.
Megan Pirrie broke her own record to finish third in the u12 50m breaststroke. Lewis Beardsworth PB’d to finish third in the u14 100m breaststroke. Max Jelfs posted third in the u12 50m backstroke whilst Lois Moore and Matt Sherriff came third in their respective 100m freestyle races.
Hemel Hempstead SC finished in second spot on the night. Pending final ratification of the overall league positions, team manager, Bill Woodhouse, is optimistic that the team has done enough to retain its place in the first division for another year. A great achievement in such a high level league.