Three in a row for Thurso swimmers
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The competition pits a male and female from each club against each other, with points awarded to each swimmer – five for first, three for second, two for third and one for fourth in each of the individual events.
The four age groups – 10-and-under, 11-to-12, 13-to-14 and 15-to-18 – compete in each stroke, with the 10-and-unders swimming 50m events and the other age groups competing over 100m.
Each age group also competed in mixed freestyle and medley relays, with 10 points for first place and six for second.
Eve Nicoll and Mark McCoustra got Thurso off to a good start with a first and second in the 50m fly in 41.30 and 43.47.
However, Orkney immediately drew level in the 11-to-12 backstroke – despite a valiant effort from Katie Mackay who was just a second shy of the second-placed Orkney swimmer.
Craig Yuille finished first in the 13-to-14 breaststroke, a good six seconds ahead of the competition.
Shaun Gray (1.01.26) and Rona Plowman (1.01.31) finished just ahead of Finley Hall of Orkney (1.01.65) in the 100m freestyle, taking maximum points. Euan Macdonald and Alix Macdonald were convincing winners in the 50m backstroke, finishing a good six seconds ahead of the Orkney swimmers in 42.56 and 43.26.
In the 11-to-12 100m breaststroke, Orkney’s Jack Duncan was a clear winner, although it was a very tight race for second with Gaby Macgregor managing to fend off Orkney’s Ewen Rorie, finishing a close two hundredths of a second ahead of him in 1.37.59.
It was another Thurso one-two in the 13-to-14 freestyle for Emma Budge (1.02.20) and Euan Bremner (1.03.85), both with PBs. Ellie Spencer took first in the 15-to-18 100m fly with Orkney’s Jordan Munro just ahead of Shaun Gray, completing the first half of the individual races.
The Thurso 10-and-under freestyle relay team of Mark McCoustra, Alix Mackay, Eve Nicoll and Euan Macdonald finished 20 seconds ahead of the Orkney team. The 11-to-12 Thurso team of Taylor Davidson, Bryony Jack, Katie Mackay and Jordan Bain finished just seven seconds behind their competitors.
In the 13-to-14 medley relay, Emma Budge, Craig Yuille, Jamie Mackinnon and Lucy Macdonald finished in 2.17.21 – 15 seconds ahead of Orkney. Their time would have beaten the older Orcadian team which finished seven seconds behind the Thurso team consisting of Rona Plowman, Ellie Spencer, Shaun Gray and Jason Ridgley, whose time was 2.06.15. At the halfway stage, Thurso looked a strong bet to finish ahead of Orkney.
The Thurso 10-and-unders continued their sequence of first and second places with Alix Mackay (49.09) and Mark McCoustra (51.38) in the 50m breaststroke. In the 11-to-12 100m freestyle, Orkney scored maximum points. The 13-to-14 100m fly saw Jamie Mackinnon finish first in 1.09.79 with Emma Budge second in 1.19.31.
Jason Ridgley was the first home in the 15-to-18 100m backstroke in 1.07.59. Euan Macdonald (37.23) and Eve Nicoll (40.61) completed the set of top two finishes in the 50m freestyle in the 10-and-under age group. Meanwhile, Katie Mackay (1.26.02) and Jordan Bain (1.34.05) broke Orkney’s monopoly in the 11-to-12 age group, taking the top two places.
It was clear Thurso were heading to victory as Bryan Stevenson (1.15.69) and Lucy Macdonald (1.27.43) took first and second places. The last individual event confirmed this when Rorie Stewart (1.19.78) and Ellie Spencer (1.19.84) took the top two places in the 100m breaststroke.
The Thurso 10-and-under medley relay team – Eve Nicoll, Alix Mackay, Euan Macdonald and Mark McCoustra – finished 30 seconds ahead of the Orkney team.
The results were reversed in the 11-to-12 age group with Jordan Bain, Gaby Macgregor, Katie Mackay and Taylor Davidson trailing Orkney by 11 seconds.
Both Thurso teams won the freestyle relays in the older age groups with Craig Yuille, Lucy Macdonald, Emma Budge and Euan Bremner finishing in 2.04.72, and Shaun Gray, Ellie Spencer, Jason Ridgley and Rona Plowman finishing in 1.58.91.
As in 2010 and 2011 Thurso finished clear winners.
n Thirty members of Wick Amateur Swimming Club attended the recent Thurso Mini Meet. There were a few newcomers to the competition scene and everyone gave their best, resulting in several personal bests.
Despite tough competition from Thurso ASC, Forres Bluefins, Freestyle, Inverness, Orkney, Tain and Skye Dolphins, Wick came home with one gold medal, five silver, three bronze and 10 fourth-place ribbons in the individual events and a silver, a bronze and a fourth in the relay events.
