Hemel Hempstead SC competed in Division One and Two of the final round of the Herts Major League this weekend.
The first team went to Hitchin for the winners’ final, drawn from the top six clubs in Division One. It was a tough night against the cream of the County’s swimmers but everyone pulled together to produce some great races.
As ever, the team was particularly strong in the relays. The u12 girls’ team of Paige Wilding, Rebecca Farrow, Freya Mayhew and Aimee Abrey finished second in both their freestyle and medley relays. Wilding also succeeded in coming third in both her individual 50m backstroke and breaststroke races.
The boys of the same age group – Thushira Kumerage, Kyle Holmes, Conor Parker and Peter Kennett – came third in both their relays. The u14 boys posted third in the freestyle relay, with Curtis Barnett enjoying PBs in every race he swam, including the individual 100m butterfly in which he finished third.
Kyle Holmes swam a phenomenal time of 40.67 to take the u12’s 50m breaststroke and smash his own former club record. He later added a third place in the individual 50m butterfly.
Aimee Abrey, Hannah Bagley, Kelsey Doyle, and Lois Moore swam up age groups, in addition to their own, working particularly hard all night to cover gaps in the team and earn valuable points.
Hemel Hempstead finished sixth in the gala and in the league overall, receiving a top six pennant.
Meanwhile, the second team was busy competing in Division Two at their home pool where they scored a resounding victory. The statistics speak for themselves, with 22 individual top three finishes and 10 individual wins, along with 11 relay wins.
Robert Sizeland was one such winner, posting a 5 second PB in the 12-13 100m breaststroke. Adam Daniell followed suit in the 14-15 event with a PB and strong win.
Carl Prince’s PB in the 9-11 25m breaststroke saw him touch first. Conner Reynolds put in a PB to claim the 12-13 50m butterfly. Alisha Kan improved her personal best to win the 9-11 25m butterfly.
Other wins were claimed by Lauren Windsor in the 9-11 25m backstroke, Lawrence Hall in the 14-15 100m freestyle, Emily Jelfs and Ben Garratt in the 9-11 25m freestyle and Louis Dunham in the 12-13 100m backstroke.
The team finished off the evening with a first place in the exciting 8 x 25 squadron to secure their overall victory. They finished seventh in Division Two making them the highest place second team in the league.
To see pictures of the club cuptains receiving the sixth place pennant and of the team at Hitchin go to the Photos section of the website.