Youngsters show best at State titles

Albany’s next wave of up and coming swimmers achieved an impressive personal best rate at the State Junior Short Course Championships at HBF Stadium in Perth late last month.

With many competing at their first State event, the Albany Swim Club members shone at the championships for swimmers aged 12 and under.

The Albany squad of Coco Smargiassi, Creed Shepherd, Charlie Hick, Hamish Bowles, Ned Shepherd, Itsuki Tomita, Stella Gleeson and Blake McFarlane swam strongly, leading to an impressive number of personal best times.

The Albany team came home with four medals, with 11-year-old Coco and eight-year-old Creed each winning a silver and bronze medal from the meet.

Coco collected a bronze in the 200m individual medley and a silver in the 100m freestyle and was named in the top 10 swimmers of the championships after also producing her first less than 30-second swim in the 50m freestyle with a time of 29.86sec.

Creed picked up a silver in the 8-year 50m breaststroke and a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle to cap off a successful championships. Albany Swim Club head coach Marshall McAleese said the junior swimmers achieved a 91 per cent personal best rate.

“They were phenomenal,” he said. “Most were swimming for the first time at a State championships.”