Swim juniors strike gold

By Marc McGowan
THE Casey TigerSharks found a new star at the Metro All-Junior Finals at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on the weekend.
Nine-year-old Adrianna Grech won a gold and bronze medal in the 50m backstroke and breaststroke respectively to help her team-mates exceed assistant coach James Fox’s expectations.
Grech achieved personal bests in both events in the semi-finals on Saturday before lowering them further the next day.
She qualified fourth in the 50m backstroke, only to slash three seconds off her best time to triumph by more than a second.
The club’s other medallists were eight-year-old prodigy Jake Duggan (four gold) and 10-year-olds Jake Templar (one gold) and Matthew Shaw (one bronze), as 12 TigerSharks reached finals.
Duggan eclipsed Mark Ursu’s 21-year-old meet record in the boys’ eight-and-under 50m freestyle with a stunning 34.63-second swim.
He also came within one hundredth of a second of adding the 50m butterfly mark to his rapidly growing resume in the pool.
The other eight finalists were eight-year-old Talia Banh, 10-year-olds Nicole Rodriguez and Ben Lodder, 11-year-old Taylor Lindsey, 12-year-old Caitlin Collingwood, 13-year-olds Sarah Corbett and Andrew Butler and 14-year-old Alexandra Collingwood.
But Fox was particularly enthused about Grech’s performances.
“I didn’t think we would have any female medallists, so for Adrianna Grech to get a gold and bronze is pretty good,” he said.
“It’s a huge thing for the club, especially for the younger girls.
“We’ve always had a lot of Jake Duggans and Jake Templars up there with medals, but to have a girl up there is quite impressive.”
Fox admitted to being shocked at Duggan’s remarkable efforts, but said there was still a long-term focus for the competitors.
“We have the same emphasis for all these young kids who get up there and manage to medal,” he said.
“We tell them that there are three Ts in swimming – technique, technique, technique.
“We really drill that into them. It’s not just about swimming fast.”
The younger Casey swimmers are now looking forward to the club’s annual three-day Junior Extravaganza on 7, 8 and 9 April.
The event starts with a training session at Casey ARC on day one before heading to Phillip Island and Geelong for a variety of bonding activities over the following days.
Club officials are also running a recruiting drive next to Boost Juice at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Brad York followed up his semi-final performance in the 50m backstroke with several more impressive showings at last week’s Australian Swimming Championships.
He was the 22nd-fastest Australian in the 100m butterfly, 23rd in the 100m backstroke, 37th in the 200m backstroke and 48th in the 50m butterfly.