Dynamic all-rounders Ethan Giles and Indi Bland were host club Bundaberg Swim Team only Age Champions at the time-honoured 49th annual City of Charm Carnival at Norville Pool, taking out the 11 years Boys and 13 years Girls’ titles respectively.
But there were many other outstanding performers from the team, including Gorgi Pollock, who was runner-up in the 8 years Girls’ category.
A total of 297 swimmers from 24 clubs from throughout South and Central Queensland contested the meet, which started on Friday night, ran throughout the day on Saturday, and concluded on Sunday, running through to early afternoon.
The Swimmer of the Meet, which is awarded for breaking the record which has stood the longest, was taken out by Mya Harris, of the powerful Miami club, clocking 1:03.99 in the Girls’ 11 years 100m Freestyle to shave 1.30sec off the mark which had been set in 1993 by Barbara Hirche.
Miami also claimed the High Club Points Score Trophy, ahead of Rocky City, with Bundaberg a highly commendable third.
Ethan dominated his 11 years Boys’ age group, powering to victory in the 50m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley (IM), 100m Breaststroke, 200m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, and 200m Butterfly, and also grabbing silver in the 100m Butterfly and 100m Backstroke.
Indi snared Gold in the 13 years 100m Backstroke and 100m Freestyle, Silver, behind club-mate Lara Parker in the 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, and 200m Freestyle, and also Bronze behind Lara in the 200m IM.
Lara also took out the 200m IM and 200m Butterfly, and picked up second in 100m Butterfly and third in 100m Freestyle.
Gorgi bagged Silver in 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, and 50m Backstroke, and Bronze in 100m Freestyle, to be second in her age championship to Gabriella Price, of Hervey Bay, who picked up the Danny Carswell 12 & Under Highest Point Score Trophy.
Matthew Walk and Libby Venner carried BST to the fore in the Multi-class category, with the former triumphing in the Men’s 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke, and the latter clinching Gold in the Women’s 50m Butterfly, and Silver in 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, and 50m Breaststroke.
Amelie Ing grabbed a home-town Girls 10 years 100m Breaststroke-100m Backstroke double, while Silas Wang racked up Gold in the Boys 8 years 50m Backstroke and Bronze in 50m Freestyle, Mia Holden beat all comers in the Girls 11 years 200m Butterfly, and Jett Irvine secured Gold in the Boys 8 years 200m IM, Silver in 50m Breaststroke, and Bronze in 50m Backstroke, and 100m Freestyle.
BST’s other Medallists included Atlanta Day, who snared Silver in the Girls 9 years 200m IM, Koby Irvine, who swam well throughout a big schedule, including grabbing dual Bronze, in the Boys 12 years 200m Breaststroke and 100m Breaststroke, with one Bronze each to Lewis O’Brien (Boys 10 years 50m Freestyle), Tomas Mason (Boys 12 years 200m Backstroke), Freddie Collins (Boys 15 years 200m IM), Florence Lewis (Girls 10 years 100m Breaststroke), and Archie Gatley (Boys 11 years 100m Breaststroke).
Rocky City produced four Age Champions, Mackenzie Wyeth (Girls 11 years), Amelie Smith (Girls 14 years), Lachlan Kuss (Boys 15 years), and Emma Doherty (Women 16 years and over), with two from Boye Tannum, Jai Mckenna (Boys 10 years) and Madison Mckenna (Girls 12 years).
The other Age titles were shared around, between Mark Fedorenkov (Pelican Waters, Boys 8 years), Lily Costa (Kawana Waters, Girls 9 years), Nathan Cullen (Springsure, Boys 9 years), Hannah Keen (Fraser Coast, Girls 10 years), Levi Thomsen (Caribeae, Boys 12 years), Blake Templeton (Eumundi, Boys 13 years), Kayden Gibson (Gladstone South, Boys 14 years), Shianne Plunkett (Gladstone, Girls 15 years), and Maximillian Giuliani (Miami, Men’s 16 years and over).
Nineteen-year-old Maximillian chalked up a hat-trick of Freestyle Gold, in the 50m, 200m and 100m, while two club-mates were also covered in Gold in Men’s Open events, Noah Kamprad, who bagged four, in the 400m IM, 400m Freestyle, 200m IM, and 200m Butterfly, and Alexander Grant, who flexed his muscle in 800m Freestyle.
The other Age runners-up included Fraser Coast foursome Cooper Roberts (Boys 10 years), Chloe Hogbin (Girls 11 years), Aryan Chauhan (Boys 12 years), and Isla Baker (Girls 13 years), Caribeae brothers Judd and Zachary Thomsen, in Boys 8 years and 11 years respectively), Boyne Tannum duo Cooper Jaenke (Boys 9 years) and Cole Sullivan (Boys 13 years), Miami pair Jessica Conrad (Girls 12 years), and Lacy Kamprad (Girls 14 years), Laurel McWaters (Eumundi, Girls 9 years), Riley Richards (Goodlife Community SC, Boys 14 years), Amy Doddow (Hervey Bay, Girls 15 years), and Kai Devine (Gladstone, Boys 15 years).
Lara and Jack Parker, Indi Bland and Koby Irvine will now mix it with the best in individual events at the 2022 McDonald’s Queensland Championships at Chandler, which start tomorrow and run through to next Friday, while Koby will also join forces with Lewis and Hamish O’Brien and Tomas Mason in 4x50m Freestyle and Medley Relays.
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