YOUNGSTERS from Ludlow Swimming Club put in a fine display in the Shropshire Age Group sprints and relays at Market Drayton – claiming three silver and three bronze medals and achieving some excellent personal bests.
A squad of 17 swimmers aged from nine to 15 took part in the 50m sprints and 100m individual medleys on day one. In the girls’ 50m butterfly Isla Meredith (13) cut her time by more than two seconds and recorded 36:26, which deservedly won her bronze.
William Cooper (15) put in an impressive performance in the 50m backstroke and secured silver in the boys’ 15 and over category.
In the girls’ 50m breaststroke, Chloe Bayliss swam to fourth place in the 14 and over age group, while Isla was fourth among the 13-year-old girls. Latasha Lewis succeeded in getting her old time down by more than five seconds to 44:43, shooting up from 17th to fifth place in the 11-year-old girls.
Ludlow swimmers recorded more personal records in the boys’ 100m individual medley, with Ewan Dalziel and Kieran Martin improving their times by more than eight and nearly eight seconds respectively.
Isla Meredith kept up her form in the afternoon, earning not only another bronze medal in the girls’ 100m IM, but also a silver in the 13-year-old girls’ 50m freestyle. Latasha Lewis again performed strongly, cutting her personal best in the 100m IM by almost 10 seconds.
Jordan Angell (14) put in a strong performance throughout the two days, consistently getting himself into the top six in his age group and ending in fourth place in the 50m butterfly. In the boys’ 50m breaststroke Kieran Martin ended up just outside the medal range, cutting his previous time by over two seconds to 39:24.
Ludlow’s youngest competitors, Alice Martin, Beatrice Benson-Lawley and George Thomas, all aged nine, held their own in their first major competition. Alice swam a strong 50m backstroke, setting a PB, while Beatrice improved her time in the 50m freestyle. George put in a great effort in the freestyle and breaststroke events.
On day two, the girls’ 14 and under team – Chloe Bayliss, Anouska Gwillam, Amy King and Isla Meredith – scooped silver in the medley relay and bronze in the freestyle. In the boys’ 14 and under medley relay Jordan Angell, Maxwell Dalziel, Ben Gutteridge and Kieran Martin just missed out on bronze.
Other Ludlow swimmers achieving new personal bests during the championships were Walter Meredith (15) , Maxwell Dalziel (13), Eddie Thomas (11), Emily Barker (15), Ben Gutteridge (13), Nicole Lewis (11) and Miriam Barker (10).
Ludlow swimmers line up at the county event (back, from left) Latasha Lewis, Isla Meredith, Emily Barker, Walter Meredith, Jordan Angell, Ben Gutteridge, William Cooper, Kieran Martin, Maxwell Dalziel; front, Nicole Lewis, Miriam Barker, Beatrice Benson-Lawley, Alice Martin, Ewan Dalziel, Eddie Thomas, George Thomas. Not in photo: Chloe Bayliss.