SWIMMING

Armagh PTL team score comfortable win against Dungannon

Armagh Swimming Club recently played host to Dungannon Swimming Club in the third meet of the Provincial Towns League.

Armagh maintained their lead, created during the Backcrawl events, for the whole meet although there were weaknesses displayed in some areas. In the first events, the Medley Relays, the points were evenly shared with Armagh winning the B girls and boys, C boys, and D girls.

Armagh created a lead of twelve points in the first of the individual events, the Backcrawl. Group A girls Maeve O’Hagan and Niamh Quinn took four and fifth places. Group A boys Lorcan Oliver and Cormac Clarke achieved first and third places and this was repeated by Group B girls Sinead Gillen and Arlene McShane. In Groups B and C boys, the first three places were secured by Armagh. (B – Wayne Elliot, Paul Campbell and Duncan Steed, C – Gavin McParland, Matthew Lenagh, and Philip Megaw) Fionnula McKinney took third place for the C girls with Emma McManus and Eimer McKinstry taking maximum points for the D girls. Kieran Doyle took first place for the D boys with Mark Oliver coming in third.

Armagh stretched the lead to eighteen points, taking maximum points in Group B (girls and boys) and Group C boys. In Group A Maeve O’Hagan and Leah Brady scored points for third and fourth places in the girls event and Lorcan Oliver achieved second place in the boys event with Cathal Meredith coming in third. Sophie Murray and Arlene McShane, and Paul Campbell and Duncan Steed achieved maximum points in the Group B events. Group C girls, Clare Oliver and Fionnula McKinney took third and fourth places, with Gavin McParland, Matthew Lenagh and Patrick Steed taking the first three places for the boys. Group D girls Eimer McKinstry and Emma McManus took first and third places, with David Comiskey and Michael Megaw taking second and third for the boys.

The Butterfly events proved less successful for Armagh with maximum points being achieved in only one race – Group C boys (Gavin McParland, Philip Megaw and Patrick Steed) and the lead slipped back to twelve points. Lois Braden, in fourth place, was the highest placed girl in Group A, while Lorcan Oliver won the event for the boys. In Group B, Roisin Meredith and Sophie Murray took second and third places for the girls, while Wayne Elliot, Conor Oliver and Duncan Steed took first, third and fourth places for the boys. Group C girls, Fionnula McKinney and P Cosgrove, took third and fourth places. In Group D Carina Oliver and Rebecca Murray took second and third for the girls while Lochlainn Connolly and Darren Mallon took second and fourth for the boys.

The Frontcrawl events provided Armagh the opportunity to increase the lead to the pre-Butterfly figure of eighteen points. In Group A, Leah Brady and Lois Braden came in fourth and fifth for the girls, while Lorcan Oliver and Ross Finn took first and fourth places for the boys. Group B girls Sinead Gillen and Arlene McShane took first and fourth places, with Wayne Elliot, Duncan Steed and Paul Campbell taking the top three places for the boys. In Group C, girls Clare Oliver and Fionnula McKinney took second and third place points, with the boys, Gavin McParland, Matthew Lenagh and Philip Megaw achieving maximum points. Group D girls, Emma McManus, Rebecca Murray and Carina Oliver, also achieved maximum points. Group D boys, Mark Oliver and Michael Megaw achieved third and fourth places.

The Armagh lead again slipped, to eleven points, during the Individual Medley events. In Group A Lois Braden and Niamh Young took fourth and fifth places for the girls, while Lorcan Oliver and Cormac Clark took first and fourth for the boys. Sinead Gillen and Arlene McShane took second and fourth for Group B girls, while maximum points were achieved by the boys, Wayne Elliot, Duncan Steed and Conor McAleavey. Fionnula McKinney came in third place for Group G girls, while the second maximum score was achieved by the boys Gavin McParland, Matthew Lenagh and Patrick Steed. In Group D, Emma McManus and Eimer McKinstry took first and third places with Lochlainn Connolly and David Comiskey taking third and fifth places.

A better performance in the last event of the evening, the Freestyle Relays, where Armagh won six of the eight events, produced a final score of 584 (Armagh), 547 (Dungannon). Armagh’s wins were in Groups A and B (all races), Group C boys and Group D girls.

There were some excellent individual performances with twenty four swimmers achieving sixty seven personal best times. Gavin McParland has again excelled and set three new Club records and four personal best times! Lorcan Oliver achieved a maximum of five personal best times – one in each individual event. Four personal best times were achieved by Sinead Gillen, Fionnula McKinney, Cathal Meredith, Ross Finn, Cormac Clarke, and Philip Megaw; three by Sophie Murray, Roisin Meredith, Petrina Cosgrove, Wayne Elliot, Patrick Steed, and Niall Clifford; two by Aislinn O’Hanlon, Arlene McShane, Duncan Steed, David Comiskey, Michael Megaw and Lochlainn Connolly; and one by Niamh Young, Lois Braden, Eimer McKinstry and Conor McAleavey. Well done everyone!