Essex League – Round 3

Harwich Swimming Club travelled to Hornchurch last weekend to compete in round 3 of the Essex League, looking to build on the previous week’s success at the Essex Mini League, and the swimmers did not disappoint. Competing against hosts Hornchurch, Halstead, Runnymede, Witham and Dunmow Atlantis, Harwich were more than up to the challenge with the gala one of the closest fought competitions of recent years.

First places were hard to come by. Poppy Tilley secured the first win in the 13 and under 100m backstroke, Hugo Arthey achieved double first in the 15 and under age group in 50m butterfly and Backstroke. However there were a plethora of second and third places and fantastic relay swims which ensured that Harwich stayed in contention throughout the gala.

Individual second places came from Katie Holmes in the open age group 50m butterfly and 100m breaststroke, her breaststroke time of 1.19.94 being the fastest she has swum since lockdown. In the 13 and under age group, Alex Glover shaved half a second off his 100m backstroke time to gain second place with a second place also in the 50m butterfly. Rosie Hazelton and Tyler Dean both secured 2nd places in personal best times in the 11 & under freestyle, with Tyler following this up with a 3rd place in the 50m butterfly. Lucia Cockle swam to 2nd place in the 11 & under 50m backstroke, cutting over a second off her previous best in 43.29. Nancy Garner swam a strong 50m butterfly in the 13 & under age group, grabbing 3rd place and cutting more than a second off her time, finishing in 37.87. Second places also came from Jemima Garner in the 15 and under 100m breaststroke, Isabelle Race in the 11 and under 50m butterfly, Evelyn Gadsby in the 13 and under 100m breaststroke, Poppy Tilley in the 13 and under 100m freestyle, and Finn Muldoon in the 11 and under 50m breaststroke. Aoibheann O’Dea gained a personal best in her 50m breaststroke in the 11 and under age group to gain 3rd place in a time of 48.81.

Again, big personal bests were the name of the game. Sean Bibby cut over 4 seconds off his 100m freestyle time in the 15 and under age group stopping the clock at 1.07.12. Laurence Wynne-Jones cut 3 seconds off his 100m breaststroke time in the 13 and under age group finishing in 1.33.60. Harry Tilley cut 2 seconds off his 100m breaststroke time in the open age group touching in 1.20.85. Polly Lyons cut a massive 6 seconds off her 100m backstroke time in the 15 & under age group, finishing in 1.23.85. Shaidon Higgon-Williams cut over a second off his 100m freestyle time in the 13 & under age group finishing in 1.17.09.

However, the performance of the gala came from Menna Beegan in the open girls 100m freestyle. She swam strongly from the start, holding her own and in the final length found a little bit more to accelerate from halfway down the length to overtake the 2nd placed swimmer to grab the 2nd spot in a time of 1.05.88, smashing her personal best by 3 seconds. This excellent swim, together with fantastic relay swims earned her the accolade of swimmer of the gala.

There were only a few points between the top three throughout the gala with all riding on the final race. The 8 x 2 squadron freestyle relay summed up the entire gala with the top three teams battling it out with just a second or so between the three of them throughout the race. In the end the Harwich team, comprising of Rosie Hazelton, Tyler Dean, Poppy Tilley, Alex Glover, Jemima Garner, Hugo Arthey, Molly Richardson and Harry Tilley, snatched first place and the gala finished with Harwich just in second place by 2 points, their highest and closest ever position with Runnymede winning the event on 205 points, Harwich second on 203 points and Halstead on 194 points. Witham came in 4th with 190 points, Hornchurch 5th on 173 points and Dunmow trailed in 6th place with 55 points.