National Swimming League Final
Another fantastic result at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre on Sunday. This time a superb Wasps team came 2nd in the final of the National Swimming League and 2nd overall in the league table.
We were unbeaten in the two rounds leading up to the final although we had not come across Bolton who led on points overall having also won both their earlier rounds. In true Wasps style, we got off to a flying start and took an early lead; however Bolton pulled back the points and in the end beat us 252 to 228. Throughout the gala we did not sink below 2nd place on points and finished with a clear 39 points gap between us and third place. Last year we finished 3rd overall so maybe next year Bolton should watch out …
The whole team should be very proud of their achievements but as always there are a couple of outstanding stories.
What can we say about Lydia? Stunning! She had a tremendous day winning the 13/u 50m Fly and the 15/u 100m Fly and coming 3rd in the Open 100m Fly and 2nd in the 13/u Breastroke as well as competing in 2 relays. Well done.
James Cook kept us on the edge of our seats till the very last millisecond to secure his victory in the 50m Fly when his final sprint>won the race by 5 one hundredths of a second.
Annabel Cook was also in winning form when she clocked up a win in the 50m backstroke having never swum in a 50m pool before.
Thomas Bishop confirmed his strength in Breastroke when he led from the start of the 50m event and produced a very convincing win.
Charlotte Archdeacon cruised to victory in the Open 100m backstroke and had time to take her hat and goggles off before the rest of the competitors finished.
Ellie Reid and Thomas Penn both had great races beating their short course pbs – Ellie in the 50 Fly leg of the relay and Thomas in both the 50m Free and 50m Fly.
As always Joe and Jamie had a hefty race schedule and put in a tremendous effort – both swimming in 7 races (it keeps them out of trouble) and notching up a win each in the individuals and 2 wins in the relays.
The mixed relay teams did very well too with the 15/u and 11/u teams winning both the Medley and Freestyle events.
In spite of stiff competition in the league, especially in the final, the following swimmers were unbeaten in an event all three rounds:
Jamie Taylor – 15/u 100m Backstroke.
Joe Evans – 15/u 100m Freestyle.
Thomas Bishop – 13/u Breastroke.
Charlotte Archdeacon – Open 100m Backstroke.
The 15/u Medley Team – Jamie, Bryony, Ellie and Joe.
The 15/u Freestyle Team – Bryony, Rachel, Jamie and Joe.
Every point in every event counts and whether you swam one event or 7, it all added up to a tremendous result. So congratulations to everyone!
A big thanks also to all the supporters and poolside helpers who made the trip to Liverpool and to Emma for her stencils and Jess and Abi for their great tattoos.
Next Gala is the Crusader League in January.