Dolphins in fourth

GAINSBOROUGH Dolphins claimed an outstanding fourth place in the third and final round of the Lincolnshire Junior League held recently at the brand new Pods Leisure Centre at Scunthorpe.

Competing against the Gainsborough club were Lincoln Vulcans A, Cleethorpes and Scunthorpe Aquatics (CASA) A, Louth and City of Lincoln Pentaqua (CLP) A and Grantham.

Dolphins competed head-to-head with Louth for the coveted third spot to which their rivals just edged despite the Gainsborough outfit recording 20 top three finishes.

Making it a hat-trick of wins over the three rounds, 10-year-old Ben Ambrose proved why he is number one ranked in the county in his age group as he romped home to win the 50m breaststroke.

Dolphins managed only two other victories and these were achieved by James Beresford (boys 10/U 50m backstroke) and Ewan McKay (boys 11/U 50m butterfly). James also recorded a second place finish in the boys 10/U 25m butterfly while Ewan finished third in the boys 11/U 50m breaststroke. Alongside William Walmsley and Ben Ambrose both James and Ewan swam an excellent relay to finish second in the boys 11/U medley relay.

The girls nine years quartet of Chloe Huddart, Harriet Webster, Lucie Blades and Lily Talbot were just beaten into second place in both their freestyle and medley relays while Chloe gained two fantastic second places in her individual 25m freestyle and backstroke events with Harriet third in the 25m butterfly.

Ten-year-old Shannon Conway was unlucky as two close finishes meant she placed second and third in the 25m butterfly and backstroke respectively. Shannon was joined by Katie Bindon, Molly Creed and Grace Tooke in the girls 10/U freestyle and medley relays as they secured third place in both while the boys squad of James Beresford, Ben Crookes, Ben Ambrose and Alex Berry matched this feat in their 10/U relay events.

In her final Junior League 12-year-old Loveday Beresford finished second in the girls 12/U 50m freestyle while she came in third in the 50m butterfly.

Also in this age group Charlotte Smith was placed third in the 50m backstroke with Lydia Waring also finishing third in the girls 11/U 50m breaststroke.

The achievement on the night could not have been gained without the excellent performances of Zara Thomas, Ella Marsh, Thomas Humphreys, Zaki Thomas, George Tooke, Aidan Clover, Ethan Burton, Max Marshall-Malone, Declan Woodhead, Toby Sutherland, Hollie Watkins, Lucy Thornton and Dougie Watson.

The Club would like to express their thanks to all the parents and supporters as well as coaches Andy Crookes, Leanne Clover and Chris Webster, kiddie catcher Georgia McKay and timekeepers Tony Bindon and Nic Clover.

Final result: 1, CASA A 237 points; 2, Lincoln Vulcans A 212; 3, Louth 168; 4, Gainsborough Dolphins 151; 5, CLP A 141; 6, Grantham 99.