Pictured: Liana Deery representing Yass in the Girls Open 100m Butterfly in which she placed first in the 13 years age group.
Eleven Yass Swimming Club members ventured out to West Wyalong recently for the annual SISA LC Championships and Speedo Sprint Heat Series.
There was some incredible swimming and results achieved by this competitive group of Yass athletes. The club returned with 13 gold medals, eight silver medals, and nine bronze medals.
Chelsea Shannon represented Yass in the 17s girls age group. This is Chelsea’s 10th year at this annual carnival, and she swam in seven events over the two days with some great results. This season’s Club Captain, Chelsea is a fantastic mentor for the younger swimmers and always displays sportsmanship and encouragement to everyone around her.
Felicity Shannon represented Yass in the 14s girls age group. Felicity was a powerhouse in the pool competing in 11 events and finished with five gold medals, two silver medals, two bronze medals and a couple of cracking PBs – Over two seconds in her 50m butterfly and nearly six seconds in her 200m IM.
Next, we had Sophie Baker who represents Yass in the 10 years girls age group. Backing up from the previous weekend Sophie had an amazing weekend of swimming, competing in 6 events. Sophie continues to develop at every carnival and shows a natural talent and love for this sport. She finished with three cracking PBs, most notably in her favoured
50m breaststroke. This resulted in a top four spot, which means she will go on to represent Southern Inland at the Speedo finals in Syd- ney next month.
Trae Douven represented Yass in the nine years boys age group and was the club’s youngest competitor. He swam in six individual events including the 12 years and under boys’ relay and finished with three huge PBs – Most notably nearly 10 seconds off his 100m freestyle, over three seconds in his 50m freestyle, and over seven seconds in his 50m butterfly. This earned him a spot to swim in Sydney next month. Trae also swam his 100m backstroke for the first time where he placed first and received a gold medal.
Kaylee Douven represented Yass in the 13 girls age group. She competed in seven events over the weekend resulting in six PBs. Most notable was over 11 seconds in her 200m IM, nearly three seconds in her 50m fly and over two seconds in her favoured 100m backstroke. Kaylee is in a tough age group having only just turned 13 last month and only just missed qualifying for Sydney by one place.
Then, the club had Alexander Donaldson who represents Yass in the boys 11 years age group. Alexander competed in six individual events resulting in three fantastic PBs in his 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle and nearly four seconds off his 100m backstroke. Alexander also competed in the boys 12 and under freestyle relay.
Flynn Wullaert represented Yass in the 12 years boys age group. Flynn swam in five individual events on Sunday and was also a part of the 12 years and under boys freestyle relay. He swam four from five impressive PBs, including a monster over 32 second PB in his 200m IM where he placed 5th in his age group. His other PBs included 50m freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke.
Lucy McClelland represents Yass in the 13 years girls age group and competed in six events over the weekend. Lucy shows a natural talent when in the pool no matter the stroke. Without much training over the past few months, she came away with some strong times heading towards the school carnival.
Lara McClelland also represents Yass in the 13 years girls age group. Always strong in the pool, Lara competed in a big program with 10 events over the two days, resulting in one gold medal, three silver medals and three bronze medals. Lara is always a tough competitor and with some already impressive times she managed close to a one second PB in her 50m breaststroke. Lara has also qualified to swim in Sydney next month at the Speedo Sprint finals in all four 50m events.
Jake Deery represented Yass in the 11 years boys age group. He swam in seven individual events and was also a part of the 12 years and under boys relay team. Jake continues to improve and impress with his skill in the pool, particularly in his favoured breaststroke events. His endurance showed in both his 200m breaststroke with close to a two and a half second PB and close to 15 seconds off his 200m IM. He also had a big PB in his 50m butterfly and a long-awaited PB in his 50m breaststroke – Both events he has now qualified to swim in Sydney next month at the Speedo Sprint finals after he finished with two silver medals last weekend.
Lastly, Liana Deery who represents Yass in the 13 years girls age group had eight events over the two days where she continued to show her determination and skill in the pool. In particular, to some already impressive times Liana also had a fantastic PB of over two seconds in her 200m IM. Liana shows great sportsmanship and medalled in all her events finishing with six gold, one silver and one bronze medal and has qualified in all four 50m events for Sydney’s Speedo Sprint finals next month.
