Winberg and Neves shine

THE Guernsey Swimming Club returned from the second weekend of the Hampshire County Championships with two champions. Kristina Neves, competing as a 10-year-old, swam and won a grand total of 13 individual events.

Three of these events - the 100m individual medley and the 50m and 200m freestyle - were new championship best performances.

Neves also secured seven qualifying times for the South-East Region Champ-ionships.

She was, unsurprisingly, a clear winner of the age cate-gory, with her closest rival being Alice Lim, of Rushmoor Royals, who often found herself runner up to the Guernsey girl.

In the 400 metres freestyle, Neves set a new lifetime personal best of 5-39.02 to finish 25sec. clear of Lim.

Luke Winberg returned from Waterlooville as the overall winner of the 11-year-old boys. He competed in 12 individual events, winning 10, finishing second in one and third in the other.

Like Neves, Winberg also swam the qualifying times for the South-East Region Championships in seven events as well as securing his first national qualifying time in the 400m IM.

Nicole Hewlett, competing in the 11-year-old category, excelled in the breaststroke events. In all three - the 50, 100 and 200 metres - she was third in the age group.

These valuable points contributed to her finishing 11th overall in the age group. Hewlett achieved South-East Region qualifying times in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Ellie Ogier competed in the same age group and finished 13th overall.

The top 15 in each group went forward for overall presentations.

Ogier's best swims came in the 50m butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke in which she finished third.

Young Alex Butt completed the girls' contingent and finished 16th in the 10-year-olds. All her swims were a personal best.

Pierce Gregory, Aaron Mahieu and Luke Bourgaize competed in the same age group and finished 10th, 12th and 17th respectively.

Mahieu's best result was in the 50 freestyle where he finished fifth, Bourgaize's highest finish was ninth in the 200 breaststroke while Gregory was one behind Mahieu in the 50 freestyle and seventh in the 400m IM.

All swimmers competed in a minimum of six events. Mahieu also achieved a South-East Region qualifying time in the 200m backstroke.

In the 10-year-old boys, the GSC were represented by Jay Mason and Marco Petralia who finished 10th and 12th respectively. In all their events they consistently appeared in the top ten.

Petralia's highest finishes were third in both the 50 freestyle and butterfly. Mason's best was sixth in the 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 50 freestyle.

James Hewlett had an excellent first Hampshires.

Competing in seven events in the second weekend, he finished 13th overall. His best was the 200m freestyle where he placed sixth.

Hewlett came away with eight lifetime personal bests and three South-East Region qualifying times.