10 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers travelled to the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, Bangor to compete in Round 2 of Swim Ulster’s ‘Aspiring Champions’ Meet Series on March 9-10.
This spectacular 50m pool was the perfect venue for the many challenging events the Fermanagh swimmers were eager to dive into over the weekend.
Kiril Chursin (18) ranked 5th in the 100m Freestyle and a new PB brought him to 4th place in the 50m Freestyle. He hit the wall in 2nd place in both the 50m and Breaststroke events.
Myleene Leonard (13) collected a bronze medal in the 50m Freestyle race and secured a new PB in the 100m Backstroke. She maintained her times in the 200m Backstroke, 100m Freestyle the 100m Breaststroke events.
Hannah Lynch (15) powered through the 800m Freestyle to hit the wall in 1st place, collecting a new PB on the way. Hannah also claimed gold in the 400m Freestyle, 2nd place and a qualification time for Summer Nationals in the 200m Individual Medley as well as a further two silver medals in the 50m and 100m Freestyle races.
Kate McDade (16) secured a dazzling five gold awards across the two-day meet, in addition to three qualifying times for the prestigious McCullagh International meet.
She topped the podium in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke, 200m Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley.
James Mongan (17) hit the wall in 2nd place in his age group in the 200m Backstroke. He secured a silver medal in the 100m Backstroke and bronze medals in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events.
Younger brother Ryan Mongan (14) clocked three seconds off his PB in the 100m Breaststroke to secure a top 10 finish. He went on to collect further PBs in the 100m and 200m Freestyle events.
Ava Neal (14) hit the wall 5th place in her age group in the 200m Breaststroke inside the time band for a silver medal. Ava collected further silver medals in the 100m and 200m Freestyle races.
Erin Salcedo (14) clocked new PBs and won silver medals in the 200m and 50m Freestyle races. She posted a further PB in the 200m Individual Medley winning bronze before collecting a further PB in the challenging 100m Butterfly event.
Emma Speer (13) clocked a qualifying time for the Summer Nationals in the 200m Breaststroke, winning a silver medal. Further National qualifying times for the 100m Breaststroke and the 200m Individual Medley brought Emma bronze medals in each. She also collected bronze medals in the 50m and 100m Freestyle races, securing a qualification time for the Ulster Championships in the latter.
Conal Walker (16) won silver awards in the 50m and 100m Freestyle and bronze medals in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events.
The swimmers’ families expressed their gratitude and praise for the coaching team led by Head Coach Ben Wiffen and the club volunteers who helped out over the two days.
They hailed the 10 swimmers who demonstrated the fruits of committed training in the weeks and months leading up to this meet. Another successful weekend for the Lakelanders, representing the South-West region in Bangor.
Many of these swimmers will travel to Dublin to compete in the Irish Minor Schools’ Championship in two weeks' time and as they represent their schools at this National competition in Dublin.
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