The end of the summer holidays heralded a return to Hucknall Leisure Centre and another JC Dobb Gala.
The younger boys (Ethan Hough, Harrison Morroll, Oliver Long, and Liam Hastings) started the gala well in the under 10s 4×1 freestyle relay and although no points could be earned, they finished a solid 4th, closing the distance between 3rd and 4th position in a great final leg.
Gaby Marriott had some fantastic swims on the night, coming 2nd in the 14/u 50m backstroke in a strong field. She excelled in the open 50m freestyle, earning 1st place after a superb, perfectly timed swim. Well done Gaby!
Luke Hastings, just days after his 13th birthday, put in a superb effort in the under 14s 50m backstroke and despite coming 6th, he smashed his PB by more than 4 seconds! Well done! Later in the evening, he came 6th in the 14u 50m freestyle, but earned yet another PB for his race. Well done!
Alice Brumwell, knocked another 1.83 seconds off her PB in the girls 12/u breaststroke, finishing 5th. In her second individual race of the evening, the 12/u 50m backstroke, she put in a great performance, resulting in a well deserved 3rd place.
Harrison Morroll battled into 4th place in a close, tightly packed race in the boys 50m breaststroke. He swam a fantastic race, gaining all the time and slashing 7.6 seconds off his PB in the process! He also posted a new time for the boys 10/u 25m freestyle, finishing 3rd in an extremely close race.
Rebecca Horne, Connor Cruickshank, Bethan Simmons and Matt Price excelled in the mixed open 4×1 medley relay finishing in a well-deserved first place, with strong swims from all four swimmers and a fantastic final freestyle leg from Matt Price. Superb!
Oliver Long gave a spirited performance in the 10/u 25m backstroke, battling into 5th place in a tightly packed field, knocking more than half a second off his PB. Later in the 10/U 25m fly, he put in a sterling effort in a tough race, to finish 6th.
Briony O’Keeffe narrowly missed her PB target in a solid performance in the U14 50m breaststroke, finishing 4th place in a very close race.
Stanley Toplass continued his terrific run of form with an outstanding swim in the boys U14 breaststroke, his final touch earning him a hard-fought first place his first PB of the evening. He followed up with another PB and fantastic win in the 14/u 50m fly. He was up against some superb swimmers in the open 50m backstroke, working hard to secure 5th place in a hard fought race.
Beth Taylor came 6th in her individual 14/u 50m fly event and she contributed greatly towards the superb team effort in the girls 14/u 4×1 freestyle relay with Briony O’Keeffe, Bethan Simmons, and Gaby Marriott. The girls claimed first place, leaving the other teams in their wake, and posting a fantastic time, 1.04.08.
Lucian Munro bounced back from 6th place in a competitive 12u 50m backstroke with a well-deserved 2nd place and PB (shaving 6 seconds of his time!) in the 12/u 50m freestyle.
Ethan Hough had a solid swim in the boys 10/u 25m breaststroke, coming 5th to post a new time.
Bethan Simmons had a fantastic race in the 14/u 50m freestyle, getting a well deserved 2nd place.
Bethan Simmons, Rebecca Horne, Beatrice Munro and Gaby Marriott were just too good in the open 4×1 freestyle relay, earning themselves a speeding ticket. Meanwhile Luke Hastings, Stanley Toplass, Connor Cruickshank and Matt Price earned a solid 4th place, with Matt fighting all the way in a super 4th leg.
In the mixed 12/u 4x1m medley relay, Liam Hastings, Lucian Munro, Anna Beesley and Lilly McGill worked hard in a tough race, finishing 5th.
Although no points were awarded, Lilly McGill, Alice Brumwell, Anna Beesley and Briony O’Keeffe put in a sterling effort in the girls 12u 4×1 freestyle relay; whilst Oliver Long, Ethan Hough, Liam Hastings and Lucian Munro finished 6th in their freestyle relay, despite Ethan swimming well and gaining some ground in the second leg.
Rebecca Horne had some great individual swims on the night, finishing 2nd in the open 50m breaststroke and again in the 50m backstroke. Well done, Rebecca.
Similarly, Connor Cruickshank put in some great performances against stiff opposition, swimming an excellent Open 50m breaststroke to earn a hard-fought 3rd place, with great swims in the 50m open freestyle (a very close, exciting race) and the 50m open fly where he finished 3rd in each of those races.
In the 14/u 4×1 freestyle relay, Liam, Lucian, Luke and Stanley put in a spirited performance, finishing 5th in a tough field.
Anna Beesley put in a sterling effort in the 50m 12/U fly, finishing 6th but shaving more than a second off her PB.
Unfortunately, as with the JC Dobb Gala back in June, no swims, disqualifications and races where we couldn’t get any points, due to not enough swimmers in the age group, meant Portland finished 6th overall. However, this small team of swimmers, some of whom swam many races did us proud and what they lacked in numbers they more than made up for in the enthusiasm and effort they put into their performances.
11 personal bests were smashed during the course of the evening too: Luke Hastings and Stanley Toplass had two PBs and Alice Brumwell, Harrison Morroll, Oliver Long, Anna Beesley, Liam Hastings, Beatrice Munro and Lucian Munro had one. In fact, Beatrice’s PB in the girls open 50m fly was so fast, she got a speeding ticket!
Thank you to all of the volunteers and coaches and well done Portland swimmers!
Log in at Swimmers’ Corner for the full results.
