Four Stingrays swimmers find form ahead of home club carnival on Saturday

Narrabri Stingrays Swimming Club will host its annual carnival, a long course qualifying meet, at Narrabri Aquatic Centre this Saturday and the town’s local swimmers are excited to compete at their home pool against other swimmers from around the New England and North West region once again.

Four Stingrays enter the carnival in fine form following impressive efforts and achievements at the Kootingal Moonbi Swimming Club’s two-day qualifying meeting that was held last weekend.

Ten-year old Serena Malcolm, 13-year-old twins Ava and Hunter Smith and their 15-year-old brother Daniel Smith all lined up at that carnival and represented team Stingrays in style as they combined for 21 personal best times and 12 placings.

Serena just missed out on a placing as she swam her way to fourth, fifth and sixth across the weekend, but she set six new personal best times.

One of those was a massive 15.62-second PB in the 100-metre individual medley, and another was a 10.36-second PB in the 100-metre freestyle.

She also qualified for the girls’ 10-years-and-under 50-metre dash for cash, in which she finished fifth.

Ava Smith was impressive throughout the weekend and finished up with two third-placed finishes and five new personal best times from her seven events.

She swam her best PB in her third event of the carnival, which was the 100-metre butterfly, as she shaved 2.25 seconds off her qualifying time.

Her two third-placed finishes came in her final two events, which were the girls’ 13-years 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre backstroke races.

Hunter Smith competed in five events across the weekend, and he remarkably set personal best times in all of them.

He earned his largest PB in his final event, which was the 200-metre freestyle, as he cut 7.09 seconds from his qualifying time.

He also earned one placing as he finished third in the boys’ 13-years 50-metre backstroke event.

Daniel Smith had another superb outing across the weekend as he won seven of his eight events, swam his way to a second-place finish in the other, and recorded four PBs.

He was victorious in the boys’ 15-years-and-over 50-metre freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke and 100-metre freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke events.

He also qualified to compete in the boys’ 13-years-and-over 50-metre freestyle dash for cash event, in which he placed second.