Close race for Awatapu swimming sports titles

It all went swimmingly last Thursday, for Awatapu College's annual Swimming Sports at the Lido Aquatic Centre.

A day of mild and warm weather and a lively atmosphere, saw some close battles for the championship titles, said sports coordinator Jeanette Daysh.

"As usual the championship titles were fiercely fought for and there were some close battles among the age groups."

"Amy Smith, a year 10 student, broke the Open Girls 50 metre butterfly record that had stood since 1994, which is a fantastic achievement," said Daysh.

It must have been close in the senior girls' championship races if year 13 star athlete Kara Macdermid dropped into second place. Macdermid, who won the category last year, placed second, behind year 12 student Zara Lawton. Lawton placed second in last year's intermediate girls' championships.

In the senior boys' championships, year 13 student Daniel Nevin didn't manage to make the top three, following his win last year. Nevin, a year 12 student at the time, was up against year 13's Tyler Brayshaw and Quinton Good, who placed second and third respectively in the category last year.

Cody Barnett is the new senior boys' champion, who climbs up the ranks since being third in the intermediate boys' category in 2014.

The College's young and rising top swimmers were out and evident in the water, reflected in a tight race for the intermediate girls' and boys' rankings.

Smith continues to be a passionate and high-achieving swimmer for the school. In addition to breaking the Open Girls 50 metre butterfly record, which has stood for 21 years, she is the new intermediate girls' champion. Smith was the junior girls' champion in 2014 and competed in the Manawatū Inter Secondary School Swimming Sports and the North Island Swimming Championships last year and gained credible results in her events.

Dominic Reid also competed in those inter-secondary and North Island events. He has once again proven his dominance as a high-achieving swimmer, holding onto the title as the College's intermediate boys' champion, after his win in 2014. Last year's junior boys' champion, Kerrin Stuart, placed second in the intermediate boys' category.

All the junior finalists were new to the record-keepers.

Kaitlyn Hook is the junior girls' champion and Joshua Keen took out the junior boys' championship title.

A notable addition to the finalist results is Noah Macdermid, a younger brother to Awatapu sporting stars Kara and Zia Macdermid, who placed second in the junior boys' championship.

Daysh said it was great to see students embracing the house competition - dressing up in house colours and flying house banners.

"It was great to see so many people getting fully behind the house competition and dressing up in house colours."

"Equally good was seeing the effort that has been put into the painting of the house banners, they were outstanding this year," she said.

The house competition was won by Rutherford house. They also won the school's interhouse trophy last year.

The school's next major sporting event is its Athletic Sports on March 5, where more house points will be up for grabs.

FULL RESULTS

JUNIOR GIRLS

1. Kaitlyn Hook
2. Helena McLachlan
3. Natalya Bradley

JUNIOR BOYS

1. Joshua Keen
2. Noah Macdermid
3. Bryn Thompson

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS

1. Amy Smith
2. Briony Archibald
3. Sara Hill

INTERMEDIATE BOYS

1. Dominic Reid
2. Kerrin Stuart
3. Sam Smith

SENIOR BOYS

1. Cody Barnett
2. Frank Lawton
3. Daniel Purdie

SENIOR GIRLS

1. Zara Lawton
2. Kara Macdermid
3. Danica Thompson

DIVING

GIRLS: Moera Martin
BOYS: Keaton Kawana

BOMB

GIRLS: Cheleigh Murray-Witana
BOYS: Kwaylin Hubbard

RECORD BROKEN

Amy Smith broke the Open Girls 50 metre butterfly record with a time of 33.03 seconds. The previous record was held by N Watson, 33.31 seconds, recorded in 1994.

HOUSE COMPETITION

1. Rutherford
2. Sheppard
3. Hillary
4. Ngata

Source: Awatapu College Website