Double delight for Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club in the Herts Major League

In Division 1, the Hemel A led from the start against teams from Hoddesdon, Potters Bar, Harpenden, Hatfield and Stevenage. There was great consistency on the night with 14 firsts, 15 seconds and seven third places.

Hemel were dominant in the men’s open, with wins for Tom Sherriff in the 100m freestyle, Jack Spence in the 100m backstroke and Freddie Woodcock in the 100m butterfly. Tom Frewin took second in the 100m breaststroke, and the boys combined to win the medley and freestyle relays.

There were more strong performances In the ladies’ open, with Emily Jelfs, Aimee Abrey, Lois Moore and Grace Rayner taking second places in the 100m freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke, respectively.

They went one better to win the medley relay, before taking a close second in the freestyle relay.

In the U14 boys’ events, Hemel were again dominant with commanding individual wins from Charlie Rayner in the 100m breaststroke and butterfly, while Max Jelfs won the 100m backstroke and freestyle.

They then combined with Ashley Coombes and Harrison Mills in the 4x50 medley and freestyle relays to secure further first places.

Charlie Rayner swam up an age group to take the U16 100m breaststroke, while Max Jelfs and Ashley Coombes also covered in the U16 age group where they combined with Harrison Newbury-Kemp,Kyle Holmes and Chris Cox to take second in the freestyle and medley relays.

The U14 girls were also in good form, with Eleanor Bevan taking first place in the 100m breaststroke with a strong finish in a close race.

There was a second place for Shona Mckenna in the 100m freestyle and third in the 100m backstroke, while Leanne Abrey took third place in the 100m butterfly, as well as a third place when swimming up an age group in the U16 100m breaststroke.

The girls then combined with Megi Prince to take second in both the medley and freestyle relays.

In the U16 girls’ age group, Alice Fender, Shaminah Sherwani-Keeling, Rebecca Sewell and Keelin Mckenna put in some good performances to take second in the medley and third in the freestyle relays. Keelin McKenna added a solid third in the 100m back.

The U12 boys’ team of Luke Pestaille, Seyi Bankole, Mattias Morse and Mason Mills took first place in the 4x50 freestyle relay, and there were also second places for Pestaille in the 50m backstroke and Bankole in the 50m breaststroke, while Morse took third in the 50m freestyle.

The Division 2 team had another comfortable win, finishing 33 points clear of the second placed team.

The story of the night was consistency; 17 first places was fewer than the first round, but the result was achieved with 39 top three finishes from 49 events. There were also 21 PB times from 32 individual races.

The open boys’ squad of Jack Christie, Josh Frewin, Josh Gaines, Rob Jennings and Matt Sherriff had a perfect evening, winning both of their relays and all of their individual races.

Jack fought off a strong challenge in the 100m breaststroke, and Matt put in a storming final leg in the squadron to almost grab first.

The U14 boys’ quartet of Jamie Ayres, Joe Coldwell, Ben Davies and Jonny Farrow also won both their relay events, with Jonny adding wins in the 50m fly and the 100m back.

The open girls’ quartet of Kira Doyle, Molly McLoughlin, Paige Wilding and Lauren Windsor won their medley relay and came second in their freestyle, with Lauren continuing her good form in the individual 100m fly with a strong first place.

The U14 girls’ quartet of Izzy Anderton, Billie Grant, Georgia Purkis and Becci Rumble finished first and second in their free and medley relays.

Georgia added a win in the individual 100m breast, while Izzy came second in the 100m back and third at the same distance competing against the older girls in the U16 event.

The U12 boys’ team of Reuben Balch, Neil Brevern, Michael Broner, and Niall Marsden won their relay medley, with Reuben adding victory in the individual 25m fly.

Special mention goes to Emily Holland’s fourth place in the 100m fly with a PB time despite illness, as well as Lois Goad’s strong final leg to secure second place in the U12 freestyle relay.

Millie Anderton, Fynn Archibald, Nell Baughan, Freya Beresford, Luke Carl, Fred Davies, Samuel Hutchings, Helen Jennings, Chloe Purkis and Emily Young also competed.