The 2021 Swimming NSW Country Regionals meetings were held across three venues on Saturday and Sunday, January 23 and 24 – Orange, Taree and Oak Flats.
Narrabri Stingrays Swimming Club and Wee Waa Swimming Club were represented at the Orange and Taree meetings.
The 16 swimmers in action from both clubs combined for 10 first-placed finishes, 10 second-placed finishes and six third-placed finishes.
In Orange, Wee Waa’s Jaxon Gray and Narrabri Stingrays’ Bella Bakhuis were in action.
11-year-old Bella competed in seven events. She recorded personal best times in the 50-metre butterfly, 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre breaststroke.
10-year-old Jaxon competed in eight events, racing to a win, a second-placed finish and a pair of third-placed finishes. He won his 100-metre butterfly event with a 1:37.27 time, dropping an impressive 15.87 seconds off his entry time. Jaxon then placed second in his 50-metre butterfly event with a personal best time, and third in his 50-metre backstroke (with a personal best time) and the 100-metre breaststroke. He also dropped time in 100-metre backstroke, 100-metre freestyle and 50-metre freestyle to finish the meet with six PBs.
At Taree, Stingrays swimmers Clare Jensen and Pip and Millie Collins competed, as did Wee Waa Swimming Club members Harry and Kobe Bennett, Lilly Burford, Nate Dewson, Eddie, Jack and Luke Lowick, Will Smith, Aleria Sunderland, and Patrick and Chris Welsh.
Stingray Clare Jensen competed in three events at the Taree meet. 14-year-old Clare continued her long distance success, placing third in the in the 11-years-and-older girls’ 800-metre freestyle event.
11-year-old Pip Collins competed in seven events across the weekend. She achieved a country qualifying time in the 11-years girls’ 100-metre freestyle and also swam six PBs.
13-year-old Millie Collins competed in six events. She swam to personal best times in two of those.
14-year-old Harry Bennett enjoyed another successful carnival. Harry competed in 12 events, all of which he swam to top-three finishes in. He won the 14-years boys’ 100-metre backstroke, 200-metre butterfly, 50-metre backstroke, 200-metre individual medley and 200-metre backstroke, and the 11-years-and-older boys’ 400-metre individual medley. He placed second in the 14-years boys’ 50-metre and 100-metre butterfly events as well as the 100-metre freestyle, 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre breaststroke, and he finished third in the 14-years boys’ 50-metre freestyle event. Harry also secured four personal best times at the Taree meet.
11-year-old Jack Lowick returned home from Taree with three wins and a second-placed finish, and personal best times in six of his seven events. Jack won the 11-years boys’ 50-metre butterfly, 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre breaststroke, and placed second in the 11-years boys’ 100-metre butterfly. He also raced to fourth-placed finishes in his other three events.
Nine-year-old Eddie Lowick also had a successful weekend. Eddie swam in four events and placed in all four. He finished second in the 9-years-and-under boys’ 50-metre breaststroke, 50-metre backstroke and 100-metre breaststroke, and set PBs in all three of those events. He also placed third in the 9-years-and-under boys’ 50-metre freestyle.
11-year-old Aleira Sunderland swam two country times at the Taree meet. One of those was the 11-years girls’ 50-metre freestyle, in which she placed third, and the other was the 11-years girls’ 100-metre freestyle. She competed in six events, all of which she recorded PBs in.
11-year-old Kobe Bennett competed in eight events in Taree, dropping time in seven of those. In his 100-metre butterfly event he swam a 1:39.49 which saw him drop an impressive 7.02 seconds off his previous best time.
12-year-old Lilly Burford competed in eight events at the Taree meet and swam PBs in three of those. In her first event, the 100-metre backstroke, she swam a 1:23.73 to drop 8.96 seconds off her entry time.
10-year-old Nate Dewson competed in six events in Taree and dropped time in five of them. In his 100-metre butterfly event he swam a 12.09-second PB with a new best time of 1:29.50. Nate just missed out on a top-three finish in that event after finishing fourth.
13-year-old Luke Lowick competed in seven events, swimming PBs in five of them.
10-year-old Will Smith competed in three events. He dropped time in two of those, one of which was the 50-metre butterfly in which he set a 6.78-second PB with a 37.38 time.
Nine-year-old Chris Welsh was in action in five events, four of which he set PBs in. One of those was a 10.45-second PB in the 100-metre freestyle which he swam in 1:43.87.
13-year-old Pat Welsh competed in seven events in Taree, six of which he dropped time in.
Narrabri Stingrays Swimming Club and Wee Waa Swimming Club members have now turned their attention to the Swimming New England and North West Speedo Sprint heats, which will be held on Saturday, February 7, and Area Championships, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 6 and 7, both in Armidale.
Meanwhile, the Swimming NSW Country Championships will be contested from Friday, February 19, to Sunday, February 21, and the Speedo Sprints finals will be contested on Saturday, March 6. Both of those events will be hosted by the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
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